WATCH: Pirate dinosaurs raise tankards at beer festival aboard HMS Warrior

From left: Tom Blockley, Simon Lawrence, John Ashby and Willoughby Chase embrace the spirit of Warriorfest.
Pictures by Habibur Rahman — From left: Tom Blockley, Simon Lawrence, John Ashby and Willoughby Chase embrace the spirit of Warriorfest. Pictures by Habibur Rahman

A total of 450 punters drank and danced the night away at the sell-out pirate-themed Warriorfest aboard HMS Warrior in the Historic Dockyard on Saturday. Organised by Southsea brewery Staggeringly Good, revellers impressed in their pirate and dinosaur attire – some even combining the two.

Guests could wander the iconic ship’s decks which were filled with various UK breweries and soak up the atmosphere with performances from Machete and Lady & The Dukes among others.

Nick Carter, from Milton, is a regular at the city’s beer festivals and said he ‘simply could not miss’ the chance to attend the festival on Warrior.

He said: ‘This really is just fantastic.

‘I never would have thought this would be able to happen. I know weddings take place on board but a beer festival? It is just brilliant.’

His friend, Jason Saunders, from Portsmouth agreed, stating: ‘I am really impressed by it all. It is an unusual location but to put on something like this is really cool.’

Stuart Aughen, performing at the festival as part of group The Shanty Buoys said: ‘It is a lot of fun to be here and to play at such a historic venue.

A group of punters enjoying the festival

‘Events like this are fantastic as it really signposts the city and shows that there is a lot of things going on.’

Joe Ross, co-owner of Staggeringly Good said: ‘We thought it was an amazing venue and now we’ve got a ship full of 450 pirate dinosaurs!

‘There was no point in us just doing another beer festival at the Guildhall, we wanted to do something iconic that would be really unique for people who love beer and want a good time.’