Stamps celebrate island's traditional boat festival

Nicola Dixon originally created the designs to promote the festival

A special set of “colourful and energetic” stamps has been released to celebrate an traditional boating festival in the west of the island.

The six-stamp set features illustrations of a variety of vessels and Peel Harbour and Bay.

Held in July each year, the event includes a sail across the bay and a boat building competition and race.

The images were originally created by maritime artist Nicola Dixon as T-shirt designs which were also turned into posters for the Peel Traditional Boat Weekend Festival.

Ms Dixon, whose relationship with the festival dates back to 1994, said she was delighted to see her artworks “transformed into this wonderful set of stamps”.

The six-stamp collection showcases Peel Bay and its wildlife as well as the traditional boats

She added: “These beautiful traditional boats will now travel the world in a very different form, commemorating the Peel Traditional Boat Weekend that has been part of the island's maritime calendar for so many years."

Reflection on the images, Maxine Cannon of Isle of Man stamps and coins said the island was “incredibly lucky to have such an eclectic mix of so many talented artists”.

“The Peel Traditional Boat Weekend Festival has been such an important event for so many traditional boat enthusiasts and we are honoured to be able to keep the memories alive with these colourful and energetic stamps,” she added.