Student filmmakers share the stories of Norfolk’s historical boats
2nd April 2025 – Tags: A Levels, creative media, Creative Media Production
An evocative documentary by students from City College Norwich and Paston College tells the stories of the smacks and wherries that were once regular sights on Norfolk’s waterways, sharing interviews with enthusiasts who are keeping the traditions alive.
The documentary film about Norfolk’s historical sailing vessels is the culmination of a 2-year project by BTEC Media and A Level Film Studies students. It was produced in collaboration with Kick the Dust Norfolk and Creative Collisions, with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Arts Council England, and Norfolk Museums.
The documentary blends beautiful sequences of the boats on the water with fascinating interviews with three local sailors who are passionate about the historical boats.
Two smack boats on the horizon off the Norfolk coast.
Smack boats
Smack boats were a traditional type of fishing boat that was used off the East coast for most of the 19th Century.
Henry Chamberlain repairs, builds and sails smack boats. He outlines the historical importance of King’s Lynn as a trading centre – extending back to the 13th Century Hanseatic Trading League – and how boats that harnessed the power of the wind were integral to this early European trading network.
With the environmental challenges facing us in the 21st Century, Mr Chamberlain believes that there is much we can learn from traditional forms of wind-powered transport like smack boats.
The film also features the one-in-a-lifetime experiences that were gained by young people from Alderman Peel High School on another smack boat, the Excelsior, as they crewed it on the tall ship race from Lowestoft to Den Helder.
The wherry Norada is featured in the documentary.
Wherry boats
An iconic boat of the Norfolk Broads, the wherry, completes the trio of stories in the film. The wherry is a very large cargo boat with a distinctive sail that was widely used on the waterways of the Norfolk Broads network to transport cargo.
Peter Bower, from the Wherry Yacht Charter, brings to life the history of the wherry boats through a trip on ‘Norada’, which is more than 100 years old.
Valuable filmmaking experience for students
Dean Mooney, A Level and BTEC Media lecturer, said:
Throughout the process students gained valuable real-life experience of being on a film set, as well as the work that goes into the creative process of such a project. The underlying message we hoped to convey was that by looking at the past we may learn lessons to aid us in our future.”
One of the students involved in the documentary film project was Janie Collins who is studying Creative Media Production at City College Norwich.
Janie became involved prior to the start of her course, so the project provided her first experience of working with filming and audio equipment. She says:
I learnt about professional interviewing techniques and how to record audio. Some of the tips I was given for recording, I still use even now, for testing everything and checking for background noise, as well as angling. It really set me up to start the course, and I still use that to help me film now.”
The film was directed by A Level Film Studies lecturer Chris Thompson, who adds:
I believe that the best way to understand films is to make them. The application of knowledge enables students to see films differently. It was important to us to have students behind the camera, interviewing, and editing, as well as in front of the camera engaging with the subject matter by learning to sail on Excelsior. They become the subject matter as well as articulating it to us.”