BEACHGOERS at Mudeford Sandbank were treated to a stunning parade of boats in the sun.

Now in its third year, the midsummer parade past the seafront saw around 40 boats from Christchurch take part on Saturday.

The parade was welcomed by calm seas, a lack of rain and strong sunshine to create a water colour more reminiscent of the Bahamas than the English Channel.

The boats had around 150 passengers and were flanked by a jet-turbine powered EC130 helicopter.

This year’s turnout for what has come to be known as the Mudeford Navy was up on last year.

The picture above by Stephen Bath shows the parade along with the majority of the famous expensive beach huts, which are worth a combined £100 million.