Slideshow | Passion for the past draws crowds to Port Townsend festival
Sep 12 2009 in Boats, Destinations by Marty McOmber
For at least a few days, Port Townsend might as well have been the center of the universe for wooden boat lovers.
And if there was any questions about whether the 33rd annual Wooden Boat Festival would draw an even bigger crowd than usual, it evaporated in the Saturday morning sunshine as a line of people waiting to get in stretched for more than a block down Water Street, the main thoroughfare through town.
Festival director Kaci Cronkhite, greeting visitors on her boat, Pax, said attendance at the festival, which typically draws about 20,000 people, was around 15 percent higher this year. Indeed, throughout the day, the docks at Point Hudson Marina seemed to groan under the weight of the throngs of wooden boat fans. At times, the boards heeled like the decks of the classic schooners sailing just outside the breakwater in the afternoon’s building breeze.
It was, by all measures, a picture perfect weekend. Boat owners proudly recounted restoration projects and sailing adventures. Experts on a wide range of boating-related topics spoke to large and engaged audiences. Music poured from the large tent. It was a testament to a well-organized festival that has rightfully grown into one of the best maritime events on the west coast, and quite possibly, the entire country.
Carolyn said on September 14, 2009
I loved the slide show, the flowers, the beautiful boats all decked out were just awesome!
great story Marty, it sounds like Port Townsend was a delightful place to be last weekend.