The World Record has been broken!

1,739kgs of seafood cooked at a single sitting!

Update: Photo Gallery here

The over 1,000 seats at a table of unity, and over 7200 tickets were sold, making the Portuguese Carnival a huge success for the South Coast!

Umtamvuna Portuguese Carnival

In celebration of the annual marine sardine phenomenon and commemorating the Portuguese Mariners Carnival, this year we are combining the Portuguese Mariners Festival and the Sardine Festival. This awesome celebration will become the start of a new tradition on the South Coast and is certain to attract huge crowd participation. If we can break a world record while we enjoy ourselves that will be a huge bonus. We intend to sit 1,000 at a table of unity, on Saturday 19 July in Port Edward, to break the world record.

Port Edward will host this event in the main street, and a host of Portuguese entertainment will be on offer in a ‘mardi gras’ type atmosphere.

19th July 2008 - Umtamvuna Portuguese Mariners Carnival
Contact : Dave Watson - Tel. 082 374 4114
Venue: Main Street, Port Edward.
Time. 14h00 - till late.

Tickets are only R40 for adults and R20 for children.

Umtamvuna Portuguese Mariners Carnival

'Table of Unity’ - World Record Attempt

All records are made to be broken. Tourism South Coast has created the opportunity to do just that!

Imagine seating over 1000 people at one table along the beachfront of a small coastal village. Imagine a table set with white linen… fresh flowers… white crockery… candles… good wine… great cheer… live music… dancing… craft market stalls… and sardines and other seafood cooking over open flames by qualified chefs. Imagine knowing that South Coast Tourism will be doing just this.

There are two reasons that we are doing this…

Each year millions of sardines sweep past our coastline creating a phenomenon, known fondly as “The Greatest Shoal on Earth” , that has to be seen to be believed. Game fish, birds, seals and dolphins compete with man for a share of the bounty. The sight of wheeling squadrons of gannets folding their wings to plummet into the water around a school of hundreds of dolphins surging after a boiling mass of panic-stricken fish is an extraordinary spectacle. So too is the equally frenzied behaviour of man when shoals of sardines are pushed ashore during the famous 'sardine run'.

In 1552 the Portuguese ship Sáo Joáo was wrecked off the coast of Port Edward. It was regarded as one of the great losses at sea and carries the tale of the loss of one of the world's greatest ships. This wreck is of immense significance to South African and Portuguese history. Each year, the Portuguese Cultural Society travel to Port Edward to commemorate this event with a Mariners Carnival.

In celebration of the annual marine phenomenon and commemorating the Portuguese Mariners Carnival, this year we are combining the Portuguese Mariners Festival and the Sardine Festival. This awesome celebration will become the start of a new tradition on the South Coast and is certain to attract huge crowd participation. If we can break a world record while we enjoy ourselves, that will be a bonus.

The current Guinness World RecordTM for the most seafood prepared at an outdoor event is 1,622kg. This record was achieved in Kuwait on 9 May 2008. South Coast Tourism has an official claim logged with Guinness World RecordsTM and South Coast Tourism has been authorized by Guinness World RecordsTM to attempt to break this record. South Coast Tourism intend to cook a new target weight of in excess of 2000 kgs (2 metric tons) of assorted seafood at this event and make our first ever appearance in the Guinness Book of RecordsTM.

Local Hotel and restaurant chefs will be preparing the seafood in a variety of ways. Each chef will be judged on their recipe by a panel of judges. Here is a sneak peek at the prizes that will be awarded.

First prize - a trip for four people to the Johannesburg Portuguese festival (Lusitoland), which includes flights, hotel on a D,B,B basis and R5,000 cash for spending.
Second Prize - a weekend for four people at the Wild Coast Sun on a D,B,B basis and R3,000 cash for spending.
Third Prize - a weekend for four people at the Edwardian Hotel on a D,B,B basis and R1,500 cash for spending

Be part of the fun - get down to the Table Of Unity in Port Edward on Saturday 19 July 2008 for a rich and diverse range of seafood dishes and flavours that will blow your mind and tantalize your taste buds. You don’t want to be left out of the most exciting event, of the year on our coast.

As many people as possible need to attend this event to make this Guinness World RecordTM happen. Tickets will be on sale for a nominal rate (Adults R40 / Children R20) and this will include a seafood extravaganza buffet meal. A cash bar will be available for your enjoyment.

"A huge thank you all the community who participated in the World Record attempt..."
...read full letter from Michael Bertram
(CEO - UGU South Coast Tourism

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