Prizewinners at Coniston Water Festival in 1998 The band of Barrow Sea Cadets opened the festival, first playing on Coniston village green and then with a performance at the opening ceremony at Coniston Old Hall for invited guests and representatives of the organisations participating in the festival. After the opening ceremony, guests and competitors watched a sail past by Steam Yacht Gondola get the sailing side of the festival well and truly launched. Around 30 high-performance racing dinghies entered the first two of the five races for the Coniston Open Dinghy regatta trophy. A group of youngsters who finished the learn to sail course at Coniston Water Festival in 1998