Please select your home edition
Edition
MySail 2025

41st Annual Wooden Boat Festival - Overall report

by Anika Colvin on 17 Aug 2017
41st Annual Wooden Boat Festival Wooden Boat Festival . http://www.woodenboatfestival.com
Tall ships, paddleboards, kayaks, tugboats, and everything in between—North America’s largest wooden boat festival celebrates its 41st year on September 8–10, 2017. Demonstrations, presentations, plays, music, dancing, and great food—this is a weekend of fun for all ages.

Port Townsend’s Wooden Boat Festival features over 250 boats; 100 presenters from around the world sharing their adventures, talents, and expertise on four indoor and four outdoor stages; and live music all weekend on the main stage. Find quaint bars, great food, and unbelievable scenery at this festival on the Salish Sea.

The Festival features free boat rides for all ages and a paddleboard pool that kids will love! For those more daring and adventur-ous, try paddle-boarding and kayaking off the beach. For a more relaxed way to get on the water, rowboats and launch tours are available, and for those who want some nostalgia, sail and row in a historic replica of George Vancouver’s 1792 ship! Highlights:

• Tall ships: Pacific Grace, Pacific Swift, and Schooners Zodiac and Adventuress will be available for tours and charters.
• Matt Rutherford’s presentations and movie of his incredible solo circumnavigation of the Americas will entertain and amaze.
• Howard Rice will give a thrilling account of his epic adventure in Tierra del Fuego with a modified SCAMP sailboat.
• Boat Shop: See a ship’s wheel being built, a ship in a bottle being constructed, and demos all weekend by the author of The Artful Sailor.
• Authors’ Tent: Meet the authors of the latest cruising, adventure, and technical books.



The Wooden Boat Festival is fun for the whole family. Kids Cove features kids’ boatbuilding, fish painting on t-shirts, a puppet theater, and face painting. Watch hilarious pirate plays daily on the North Star Stage, take part in marine science activities all weekend, and join a pirate treasure hunt on Sunday. Kids love the paddleboard pool, boat tours on the Martha J, singing sea shanties, and dancing to music on the main stage.

Over 50 vendors will share their wares. See the latest kits for building your own paddleboard, kayak, or wooden boat, and visit new and old favorites for repair and maintenance. Stroll down Artist Way to take in handmade crafts, clothing, and jewelry.

:



Watch entertaining boat races all weekend long from the Balcony Wine Bar or the infamous Wee Nip Bar.

The weekend ends with the awe-inspiring “Sail-By” at 3 p.m. Sunday, when 300 wooden vessels of all shapes and sizes pour out of the harbor and past the waterfront in full sail celebration.

For the weekend’s schedule and more information about all the activities during the Festival, go to www.woodenboat.org. Be sure to follow the Wooden Boat Festival event page on Facebook for the latest updates. For media inquires or further information about the Wooden Boat Festival or the Northwest Maritime Center, please contact Anika Colvin at anika@nwmaritime.org.

Maritimo 2023 S-Series FOOTERNavico AUS Zeus3S FOOTERSwitch One Design

Related Articles

The Ocean's Logbook amplifies global voices
A digital survey that looks beyond cold statistics to capture real stories A powerful new campaign designed to capture the world's emotional connection to the ocean is being launched today ahead of the third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France in June.
Posted on 27 May
SP80 kiteboat reaches a top speed of over 58 knots
100 km/h barrier is smashed in Leucate The SP80 kiteboat has reached a top speed of over 58 knots, or 108 km/h. This new personal best makes SP80 the second fastest sailboat ever recorded, behind Vestas Sailrocket II and its 68.01-knot top speed.
Posted on 27 May
Italian SailGP Team acquired by investors
The consortium includes Hollywood royalty, Anne Hathaway SailGP has today announced that the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, has officially been acquired by a consortium of accomplished investors and sports industry leaders, including Hollywood royalty, Anne Hathaway.
Posted on 27 May
Armstrong Foils: On tour - Home of Armstrong II
Join America's Cup champion, Blair Tuke and Armstrong team riders on the tour of NZ's Far North Join three times America's Cup champion, Blair Tuke and Armstrong team riders Olivia Jenkins, Naumi Eychenne, Bowien van der Linden, Cash Berzolla, and Reo Stevens, on the Home of Armstrong Tour II, as they explore NZ's Far North.
Posted on 27 May
America's Cup entries open on Sunday
A Cup in turmoil - has Grant Dalton dodged a bullet with the new Cup organisation? America's Cup gets underway in Rome with Round 2 of the official welcoming ceremonies on Wednesday in Naples. Emirates Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton apprears to have dodged a bullet with the formation of of new AC organising body.
Posted on 26 May
Italian PM welcomes America's Cup in Rome
Prime Minister Meloni set out a bold vision for the regeneration planned around AC38 The magnificent setting of the Casino del Bel Respiro, commissioned by Pope Innocent X in 1644, in the grounds of Villa Pamphilj, was the outstanding and historic setting for the formal presentation of the Louis Vuitton 38th America's Cup.
Posted on 26 May
Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta preview
Sørvind to debut at this edition, in Sardinia The Mediterranean superyacht racing season will kick off on 27th May with the Giorgio Armani Superyacht Regatta, organised annually by the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda since 2008 and supported by title sponsor Giorgio Armani since 2022.
Posted on 26 May
Winning Sails for Every Sailor & Every Program
Beer cans or the big leagues, North Sails perform From one design sails to custom inventories, trust the experts at North Sails to elevate your performance.
Posted on 25 May
72nd Melbourne to Apollo Bay Race overall
MRV stifles Ambition to take line honours and overall win Margaret Rintoul V (MRV), skippered by Damien King from the Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC), has sailed a fast and furious race to win the 72nd Melbourne to Apollo Bay Race (M2AB).
Posted on 25 May
The link between two great Australian sports
A unique connection between brute strength and beauty James Joseph Giltinan was one of Australia's great entrepreneurs of the early 1900s, and the man most responsible for creating a unique link between one of the most confrontational football codes in the world and the beauty of sailing.
Posted on 25 May