When Olympia Sand & Gravel Company owner Arthur Weston put his new tugboat Sand Man into operation in 1910, he probably couldn’t have imagined that a party would be held in honor of his workboat a century later.

That’s what will happen on Saturday in Olympia, when a centennial celebration is held to mark the vintage tug’s many years of service to the maritime community. The event will include live bands playing bluegrass and country music, food booths and a presentation from Secretary of State Sam Reed. Several other historic tugboats will be joining the event at Olympia Port Plaza.

The sounds of steam whistles will fill the air at Foss Waterway Seaport in Tacoma starting tomorrow, when about 20 steamboats will gather for the weekend. The Northwest Steam Society is holding its annual gathering at the Seaport Aug. 6 through 8. The weekend will include dockside tours of the boats, parades and a “bang-and-go-back” [...]

The Sloop Tavern Yacht Club’s annual Race to the Straits is among the region’s most popular regattas, drawing around 100 boats for a double-handed, overnight race to Port Townsend and back in early May of each year.

Boat owners choose their vessels for specific and highly individual reasons, and owners of Islander Freeport sailboats are no exception.

A few of those owners got together recently to talk about and show off their boats at the inaugural Pacific Northwest Islander Freeport Rendezvous, held July 16 to 18 at the Port of Kingston Marina.

To say boat building is a hobby for Tom Larkin would be a bit of an understatement. Larkin has built about 10 boats at home, including canoes, kayaks, runabouts and a 24-foot sailboat. But his newest creation is his biggest and most ambitious so far, a 25-foot mini-tugboat designed by Olympia builder and designer Sam [...]

Three Sheets North West Editor Marty McOmber mentioned he had purchased a new alcohol heater to keep the Three Sheets crew warm. I wish him well, especially when remembering what happened to us when we installed a new stove and attended our first Opening Day. Built in 1940, Freya was from a plan Ed Monk, [...]

Walter Wallace makes one thing clear from the outset: he doesn’t like to talk about Neil Young. Yes, Wallace bought the sailboat he’s now selling from the Canadian rock legend. Yes, he’s met him. But if you’re looking for stories about when Neil Young owned the boat, how he used it, what rock luminaries might [...]