Port Commissioners and staff unanimously agreed to strengthen collaboration with WBF Director Kaci Cronkhite, through co-operative ad and press releas efforts with regional and national boating publications. At least 5 major boat restoration projects will be publicized showcasing the talent, the breadth, the convenience and the quality of Port of Port Townsend facilities and marine trades businessess in efforts to promote Port Townsend as a year round repair, restoration and boatbuilding community. Point Hudson marina, the "homeport" of the Wooden Boat Festival since 1977 is now a part of WBF international advertising and Port tradeshow promotions branding the Port and Festival together year round.
March 17 is opening day for NWMC & WBF members to register for summer programs. April 1 registration opens to the general public. Sailing, rowing, camps, expeditions, charters, sail training and tours are all available this summer as programs continue to expand. For the latest information, go to http://www.nwmaritime.org and click on the Programs tab or better yet, stop by Cupola House to register. Scholarships are available for youth and adults. Contact Rob Sanderson, 360-385-3628, ext 103.
Come the end of May, the long-anticipated Northwest Maritime Center might finally be something more than a conceptual drawing.
Two contractors - Sequim-based Primo Construction and Bellevue's S.D. Deacon General Contractors - have bid to build the Northwest Maritime Center's future home, two buildings located at the end of Water Street bordering Point Hudson Marina.
If all goes well, the chosen contractor will break ground before June, Northwest Maritime Center Executive Director Stan Cummings said Tuesday.
SSS Falcon, the Port Townsend-based Sea Scout troop operating under Skipper Norm Stevens and Mate, Kim Aldrich at the Northwest Maritime Center is setting sites on new horizons for 2008. After a very busy winter rowing longboat Townshend, working on longboat Bear in the WBF Boat Shop, preparing for Pacific Challenge and volunteering with the restoration of schooner Martha at Boat Haven, they've recently announced plans to participate in the Silva Bay Shipyard School Raid (www.shipyardraid.ca) in British Columbia and to send one of their crew to Finland as part of the Atlantic Challenge.
The Northwest Maritime Center is now accepting applications for Capital Campaign Manager.
The Capital Campaign Manager reports directly to the Executive Director and works closely with the board, capital campaign committee, and campaign counsel. She/he is a key part of the development team, which includes a Major Gifts Officer, Membership Coordinator, and Annual Giving Coordinator.
In 2007, WoodenBoat publications recognized two iconic yacht designers with Lifetime Achievement Awards. One, Phil Bolger, received his award at the WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport in July. The other, Bill Garden, was unable to travel to the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival for the West Coast award, as he lives comfortably ensconced among boats, shops, and a studio at a remote island home in British Columbia. “Time is precious to him,” said Ted Pike of the Wooden Boat Foundation in Port Townsend, Washington, “and he doesn’t like to leave the island.” So, an intrepid delegation composed of WoodenBoat president and general manager Jim Miller, yacht designer Sam Devlin, and Pike, set out on a journey to Bill's island home to deliver the award—a half-hull model of BULLFROG, a 30' Garden-designed cutter, carved by Ellsworth Rice.
In 2007, Herb Weissblum, a Whidbey Island resident who has followed and supported the WBF and NWMC for years decided to step up his support. Indeed, he took two steps further in support of the organizations. He joined the NWMC Board and in November, he and wife Aileen stepped forward with a $300,000 gift for the new Wooden Boat Chandlery and exhibit area in the NWMC Heritage Building.
It was a banner year for programs, chandlery and festival accomplishments. With this fresh on their minds, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to go out to bid for the first of two Northwest Maritime Center buildings on January 28, 2008.
"The time is right", said David King, Board President since 2003. "We've got strong leadership, great momentum, a favorable construction bid climate and people who are ready to make it happen."
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) announced that she has included $2.7 million in funding for Olympic Peninsula transportation and community development projects in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bill. Senator Murray is the Chairman of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee. Among the projects that Murray included funding for in the bill is the Northwest Maritime Center. The bill includes $450,000 that will support the efforts of the city of Port Townsend and the Northwest Maritime Center to redevelop the former Thomas Oil Brownfield site. This initiative is aimed at revitalizing Port Townsend’s National Landmark Historic District and creating new economic, tourist, educational, and recreational opportunities. Senator Murray has previously secured $250,000 for this project. "I am so pleased to continue to support building this state-of-the-art facility in Port Townsend," said Senator Murray. "The Northwest Maritime Center will provide hands-on educational programs, a history of our region's maritime heritage and programs that will promote the maritime trades. Together with the revitalization of the downtown streetscape and the reopening of the Hudson Point Marina, this project is helping build Port Townsend's reputation as a first-class place to visit, open a business, and raise a family."
By Jennifer Jackson, Peninsula Daily News
PORT TOWNSEND - "Now, my men, we have begun a long voyage. If we get along well together, we shall have a comfortable time. "If we don't, we shall have hell afloat."
With their captain's words hanging over them, the crew of Pilgrim set sail from Boston Harbor in 1834, a voyage recorded by Richard Henry Dana in the classic tale, Two Years Before the Mast.
These are also the words Stan Cummings used to launch his report on his first eight months as the director of Port Townsend's combined Wooden Boat Foundation and Northwest Maritime Center.
There's nothing like four days of clear, sunny weather in September to brighten the hearts of northwesterners, but this year's Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend set a record - for smiles and sun. If it was a stroke of sailor's luck or a result of global warming, folks soaked up the result while taking in an expanded array of small boats, green and innovative boating ideas and the very popular "Ask a Shipwright" options at the new Boatyard Stage and Port Townsend Marine Trades Association booth. Friday's attendance hit an all time high for ticket sales and the Jefferson Transit parking lot filled up the earliest ever in the history of the event. Lodging was booked for months ahead with out-of-state attendees staying overnight from Bainbridge to Port Angeles. While overall ticket sales were down slightly from 2006, boat, exhibitor and presenter attendance was up, improving the quality of the overall event and a clear reason why, coupled with the weather, that rave reviews continue to pour in from all participants. "This event has a world-wide reputation and my focus will always be to make it richer in maritime experience and community appreciation. The geography, the history, the people and economy are a perfect fit for this event. It's rare to have so many win-wins and so much positive effect in one weekend, but this event and the people make it so, every year," reports Kaci Cronkhite. "After 6 festivals, I'm still inspired."
More than twice as many boats under 30 feet than ever before, have registered for the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival September 7-9. A record 112 sail boats, rowing boats, motor boats, kayaks, guide boats and canoes will be exhibited on land and in the water during the weekend. Builders, owners, racers and dozens of organizations that support small craft opportunities are represented among the 80 exhibitors. "While we've got 60-70 large boats in harbor and expect a great turn out for the NW Schooner Cup Regatta on Saturday, the number of small boats illustrates the re-emergence of the owner-builder and the growth of boat schools, home-shop building and the down sizing or more conservative approach many are taking in early retirement," said Kaci Cronkhite, festival director. The world renowned festival has a casual start Thursday evening, with music and Port Townsend brews, then officially runs Friday-Sunday, 9a-7p. Tickets may be purchased online through Wednesday, www.woodenboat.org or at the Main Gate during the festival. Tickets are $12 for a day or $24 for three days. Members receive one day free, as well as discounts for merchandise and programs all year.
The Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival harbor is full! Boat owners who plan to exhibit on land can still apply through Wednesday, September 5 but "in water" boats must plan to anchor out (wait list for space, if available) or go to Boat Haven marina according to Festival Harbor Master, Brian McGuin. Email festival@woodenboat.org for information week of festival or anchor out and bring your dinghy to NWMC beach to inquire about space. Wooden Boat Festival boat applications are available February 1 for 2008.
You don't have to leave the wooden boat festival to take a stroll through a working boat yard in Port Townsend this year. Thanks to generous sponsorship and the collaboration of new owners at Sea Marine, up to 5 wooden boats will be exhibited "on the hard" near the Travel Lift and Cupola House this year. Bleachers will be set up near the area for Boatyard Stage talks and demonstrations, and more than a dozen northwest shipwrights will participate in "Ask a Shipwright", a time when audience and individuals are invited to ask these professionals their simple and complex boatbuilding or repair questions. The outstanding Woodworking & Boatbuilding Tool demonstrations at the Point will continue as in past years, thanks to sponsor Edensaw Woods and Festool. For a full list of presenters and times for their talks, see www.woodenboat.org.
Schooner Martha, celebrates her 100th birthday this year. The beautiful sail training vessel will be on display at Center Dock, in the heart of the Wooden Boat Festival throughout the weekend and will participate in the NW Schooner Cup on Saturday. Donations are sought for a major "below the waterline" restoration project to take place Winter 2007-8. Step aboard the boat and if you can, make a donation to this beloved local schooner. Meet Captain Robert D'Arcy and wife, Holly on the boat throughout the weekend. To sign up for the last Schooner Martha voyage of the year, see Rob Sanderson, NWMC Waterfront Coordinator at the top of Center Dock throughout the weekend. Read more about Schooner Martha at www.schoonermartha.org.
The public is invited to go sailing on one of several beautiful Port Townsend boats on Thursday, September 6th. The boats will sail in company off the Port Townsend waterfront to raise money for the local high school youth sailing team. For a $100/ person tax-deductible donation you can join one of the vessels as a guest/crew for an afternoon sail. It is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the Port Townsend waterfront, to get to sail on and with some great boats, and to support the local youth sailing team.
The vessels (Martha, Suva, Alcyone, Annie Too, Erin, Crusoe, Lotus, Bryony, Sprit and Limfjord) will be boarding at a variety of locations at 2:30 PM on Thursday, September 6th, the day before Wooden Boat Festival. Each vessel will carry three to six guest/crew depending on their size. For more information about joining the sail call Leslie McNish (Schooner Alcyone) at (360)- 385-7646 or (360) 531-0356.
Don't just build a boat - build a family! That's the theme at the WBF Boat Shop Family Boatbuilding program in Hudson Point. Up to five families can build a Skunk Island Skiff this summer at one of 3 Family Boatbuilding events. The first takes place July 9-13, the second from July 23-27 and the third during the 31st Wooden Boat Festival, September 7-9. Stop by the Shop weekdays 9-4 or weekends in the summer. Information is also available on the website, www.woodenboat.org/programs.
To register your family to build a boat, call Rob Sanderson at NWMC 360-385-3628, extension 103 or come by Cupola House. Only 2 more boats available.
The 2006 Annual Report of the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation is available as a pdf online or by mail. The annual report includes a brief overview of the progress made in programs and governance, as well as the year end financial statement. A long list of thank yous, acknowledge the many donors, supporters, members and organizations that contributed to 2006 success. "Pulling Together", the 30th Wooden Boat Festival theme,
Popular among local and regional boatbuilders, restoration project managers and sailors, the Wooden Boat Chandlery is the west coast resource for all things wooden boat. Today, more than 400 high quality, hard-to-find products that had only been available in the small Port Townsend store are available online. 2007 Wooden Boat Festival posters and organic clothing will soon
Beginning youth classes set sail this week at the Northwest Maritime Center Dock. Adult classes, including a women-only option, start June 25. Youth classes are all taught by US Sailing certified instructors using Optimist Dinghies and Vanguard 15s. The boats were purchased last year and run in conjunction with the Jefferson County YMCA. Adult classes are taught aboard the classic northwest designed Thunderbird 26'. Classes are small, with student to teacher ratios no more than 4:1. Registration forms can be printed online at www.woodenboat.org (click on Education/Programs) or by calling or stopping by the Cupola House. Hours are 9-5 weekdays and 10-4 Saturdays. Call 360-385-3628, ext 103.
The Puget Sound Explorers program was awarded $25,000 for ongoing development of the decade long program. Greg Coy, foundation trustee, announced the award to PSE Program coordinator, MB Armstrong and program manager, Kaci Cronkhite. Armstrong has been involved with the program for five years under the tutelage of Marci van Cleve, program founder. "MB's commitment to students, her passion for teaching and her skills in the longboat make her the perfect fit to take the program into it's next decade," said Cronkhite. "This foundation recognizes her skills and our commitment. They know their money is putting new sails on a well-found boat. Now we can get where we want to go faster."
Port Townsend's Mar Vista Bravo Team (a Puget Sound Explorer program of NWMC) and Captain/Instructors Rob Sanderson and Nancy Israel competed in the 15th annual Pacific
Challenge, marking the end of a fantastic year. "It was definitely a challenge, but the students did great. It was our first year to compete together," said Sanderson. "We really came together as a team."
The 122' Port Townsend based Schooner Adventuress is the first "big boat" to offer online ticket sales for sails during the annual Wooden Boat Festival. Operated by Sound Experience, a non-profit environmental education organization that creatively specializes in marine science and maritime programs for school-aged children, the Adventuress will offer public tours at the dock during the annual festival. For those who would like to sail on Adventuress this summer, or during the festival, tickets and schedule throughout Puget Sound are available online at http://www.soundexp.org. Click on "Come Sail With Us!". Sound Experience is a long time education alliance partner of the Northwest Maritime Center & Wooden Boat Foundation.
Schooner Martha, a fast, beautiful 86' wooden schooner based in Port Townsend, celebrates 100 years marking her place as the oldest working sail training vessel on the West Coast. Martha and her well-respected crew provide excellent sail training programs for youth and adults throughout Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. 100th Birthday festivities start Friday evening through Sunday, May 27 at the City Dock in Port Townsend. To sail aboard Martha this suummer, contact Northwest Maritime Center at 360-385-3628. If you miss seeing Martha this weekend, plan to see her and go aboard during the 31st Wooden Boat Festival, September 7-9. Learn more Martha's rich history...
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire and State Representative Lynn Kessler toured the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation's Hudson Point facilities with Executive Director Stan Cummings, Project Manager Dave Robison and NWMC Board members David King and Dave Grimmer. Stops included the Cupola House Library, Chandlery and classroom, Pocock building in the Armory Building, WBF Boat Shop and the NWMC dock and construction site. MB Armstrong and her Puget Sound Explorer students from ICE/Pi Alpha team, Boat Shop Educator, Steve Soltysik, Chandlery Manager Adam Henley, Festival Director Kaci Cronkhite and boatbuilder Steve Chapin talked with the officials during the tour. A public reception followed at The Public House restaraunt on historic Water Street at 5:00.
Mark your calendars for a special presentation by Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People for Puget Sound on May 30 in Port Townsend. The event is co-sponsored by Port Townsend Marine Science Center, People for Puget Sound and the Northwest Maritime Center.
What did Governor Gregoire and the 2007 state legislature accomplish in the recently-concluded legislative session?
What are the next steps for the new Puget Sound Partnership on its way to making Puget Sound “swimmable, fishable and diggable” by the year 2020?
How will that affect Peninsula residents—and what can YOU do about it?
Share your thoughts with People For Puget Sound executive director Kathy Fletcher at a free community presentation on “Saving Puget Sound: The Partnership and the People” on Wednesday, May 30, 7 PM, at the Natural History Exhibit in Fort Worden State Park.
Kathy Fletcher is founder of People For Puget Sound, a citizens’ group
Port Townsend's "downtown" marina, the home of the Wooden Boat Festival for 30+ years, is due to re-open June 15. Owned by Port of Port Townsend, the marina has been under major renovation since November. Creosote soaked piles, old docks and 1940s utilities have been removed. The marina was emptied of all boats, docks, creosote piles,
Starting this week, the classic Maine lobsterboat, Martha J, will run on biodiesel. Thanks to assistance from diesel experts at Jefferson Transit and consultants at Yanmar, the 30' launch will make her contribution to improving our environment. The Martha J is named for Martha Foley who donated the boat to the Wooden Boat Foundation. Last summer, volunteers from Gray Wolf Ranch and adults from the community, worked with shipwright Steve Soltysik to restore the boat and put her into program use. A popular launch for setting race buoys, carrying photographers during festival and providing 7-10 year olds with their first motor boat ride during Messing About in Boats camps in 2006, the boat will now begin a more broad educational message. "We have many opportunities to use more healthy, more green practices in our boats and programs," said Steve Soltysik, boat shop manager. "This is a great step." The public is invited to visit the Boat Shop daily, in the building behind Puget Sound Express in Hudson Point marina district. Hours are 9-4 weekdays. Volunteers are welcome, call DeeAnn Nelson at 385-3628.
A special appropriation for the Northwest Maritime Center was approved by the Washington state legislature at its close of session on April 22.
One of the key advocates of the appropriation request was ‘freshman’ legislator Representative Kevin Van De Wege who said, “The Center will be an educational resource, a heritage center, and a partner with the marine trades businesses that keep Port Townsend an authentic maritime community,” According to Representative Lynn Kessler, “State funding will further the efforts of Governor Gregoire and the legislature in building awareness about Puget Sound and strengthening creativity in education.”
The junior varsity crew really showed their colors at the NWISA district competition, winning 3rd place among 8 teams in their first year. Coach Erik Coburn was very pleased with the results. The double-handed race took place at Poulsbo. First place went to Bainbridge Island and second to North Kitsap.
Carlyn Stark, Herb Weissblum and Craig Olsen have joined the Board of Directors for the Northwest Maritime Center. Stark, from Port Townsend, will also serve as Chair of the Wooden Boat Foundation. Weissblum lives on Whidbey Island and Olsen in Gig Harbor. All three bring strong regional experience to the board as program expansion and the capital campaign continue momentum in 2007.
Wooden boat owners, builders and product suppliers are just part of what distinguishes the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival as one of the very best in the world. Our exhibitors are some of the best in their field, experts who are willing to share their knowledge during our unique annual celebration. Our "faculty", are in booths, on demonstration stages, at indoor presentations and in combination lectures, creating an energy of learning and interaction that is key to the success of our maritime community, a hallmark of our maritime culture.
This year's Puget Sound Explorer BRAVO crew, a group of 11 students from Mar Vista alternative program at Port Townsend High School are preparing for their first International Pacific Challenge. They spent two weekends and a couple of Thursday class times giving the boat a round of paint, oil and routine maintenance - with special support from Waterfront Pizza.
The first wooden Pocock single of the 21st century, built in Port Townsend by shipwright Steven Chapin, under the guidance of Bob Brunswick, 80, will be unveiled at a special ceremony during Opening Day festivities at the Seattle Yacht Club on May 3, and will lead the parade of boats through the Montlake Cut into Lake Washington on Saturday, May 5. The following Saturday, May 12, it will be featured as part of the Port Townsend Yacht Club Opening Day celebration. Mark your calendars now and plan to be there. Read more and see photo...
Ever wondered about what otters eat, what scares herring, how eelgrass grows, or how sea stars and sea anemones behave? Thanks to a program featuring 5 students from the Chimacum School PI program Advanced Biology class, many people learned the answers to those questions Wednesday evening (Feb 28) at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center (PTMSC).
For the past 2 years, PTMSC staff member Judy D’Amore has worked with science teacher Kit Pennell and her students, to collect relevant data about the local marine environment. Working with Battelle marine scientists, students have participated in an eelgrass monitoring program at the Northwest Maritime Center (NWMC) Dock in Port Townsend.
February is racing season on Port Townsend Bay. Four Vanguard 15s, each with a high school skipper and crew, hit the Bay for their first racing practice of the season under cloudy skies with a 2-5 knot NEly and winter temps. See photos and HS Regatta schedule....
The Pocock Classic Cedar Singles project took a major step forward this month when hull planks for the first Pocock single were steamed into shape. Bob Brunswick, the last remaining Pocock woodcraftsman, guided master boat builder Steve Chapin throughout the delicate process which was documented by videographer Jane Champion and photographer Dianne Roberts.
In January, six Blue Heron 7th grade teachers and principal, Mark Decker, spent a day in a Longboat, the historic replicas used by Captain Vancouver. "What an experience," wrote one teacher. "Now I understand why this is such an important and powerful way for kids to experience their environment and each other," wrote another.
Port Townsend shipwright, sailor and graphic artist Kees Prins' original watercolor "Crusoe, 1934" was selected as the 2007 Wooden Boat Festival art. Prins, born and trained in the Netherlands, moved here in 2002 as an instructor at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding. That year, he designed the popular "Skunk Island Skiff" used in the Family Boatbuilding program. His painting features the 38' cutter Crusoe, a beloved and familiar boat in montly races on Port Townsend Bay and at the annual wooden boat festival.
The 31st Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival theme is "Shipwrights & Sailors". "The dates for the event will be September 7-9, 2007.
So why this theme? "There's certainly symbiotic sibilance, but the bigger connection and the reason the committee ultimately picked this theme was to boldly thank the people who started and keep this festival full of passion, adventure, brain-power and skill," said Kaci Cronkhite, Festival Director. First step of festival planning is theme. Second, is selection of art. The Call to Artists went out to local papers, via email and is posted on the Wooden Boat Foundation website, www.woodenboat.org. Submissions must be received by December 15. Email festival@woodenboat.org for more information.
New facilities, programs and leadership for the next 30 years
Experienced Maritime Educator Takes Helm as New Executive Director
The Board of Directors of Port Townsend’s Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation has selected an executive director to guide the integrated organization into a new era of maritime education with increased emphasis on year-round programs.
Stanley Cummings, longtime director of the nationally renowned Ocean Institute in Southern California, will come onboard in January as head of the local non-profit organization, which will break ground in December for a new $12.2 million regional waterfront center.
Northwest Maritime Center, Wooden Boat Foundation and Jefferson County YMCA announce formation of a new High School Sailing Team. "Our sailing team was one of the best in the region and kids from here went to nationals" said Lisa Vizzini, whose Boat Haven based business, Port Townsend Rigging stepped up with the first $500 sponsorship. Parent and sailor information meeting is scheduled for November 27th at 5:30 in the Cupola House Classroom.
Starting November 1, the Wooden Boat Foundation and Northwest Maritime Center announce Wooden Boat Wednesdays, an hour and a half featured presentation from Port Townsend's reknowned Wooden Boat Festival.
Our commitment to wooden boats, boatbuilders and the legacy of what started at Port Townsend's first Wooden Boat Festival have never been stronger. Extending our high quality products, services and programs to a broader audience via the new online store allows us to grow services to the outstanding shipwrights, educators, members and life-long learners who visit our small store in Cupola House year around.
Pulling Together, Celebrating the Spirit of the Crew September 8-10, 2006
Port Townsend's Wooden Boat Festival, the "Woodstock of Wooden Boats" turns 30 this year with gusto. If you haven't been to this festival, or haven't been for a while, or even if you were just here last year, this is definitely the year to go. Many of the festival founders and early boat exhibitors will be in town, mixed, as usual with a virtual who's who of wooden boats from across the country. Evening talks will feature George Maynard, a circumnavigator and boat builder with unending stories and sage advice; Matt Murphy, editor of Wooden Boat Magazine and Robert Ayliffe, a feisty boat builder and alternative energy advocate from Australia. As is typical of this event, there are lots of old salts, challenging conversations, beautiful boats and support for anyone interested in building, voyaging or just learning more about wooden boats and all the history and skill they conjure.
Join us for evening presentations at the Marina Room at Point Hudson Festival Grounds. Learn answers to these questions: Why is it important to keep wooden boats alive? Who does the work, how do they do it and who really cares? If you're curious about what's really involved in the restoration and preservation of historic wooden boats, or have specific questions about some major work done on large vessels in our region, then plan to attend this year's Symposium. Meet the shipwrights, see photos of the work and talk with representatives from major boat projects completed in the last few years in Port Townsend and Seattle. Presenters include George Maynard, Matt Murphy and Robert Ayliffe.
What kind of socks do pirates wear? Arrrrrgyles! What does it cost a pirate to get his ears pierced? A buccaneer! If you had taken the sold-out, wildly popular Messing About in Boats program this summer, you would know that. This is the second season for the curriculum designed for 7-to-9-year-olds called Messing About in Boats.
Messing About in Boats students learn about wind, weather, current, marine trades, maritime history and other things nautical. They learn to row, they sail aboard the classic lapworth 45 foot sloop Annie Too, and they walk the beach from Point Hudson to Fort Worden and back.
In partnership with the YMCA, the Northwest Maritime Center & Wooden Boat Foundation began the first year of youth and adult Learn to Sail courses along the waterfront of downtown Port Townsend. Not only did we have new boats, an excellent crew of instructors and a safe summer on the waterfront, but our enrollment increased significantly over 2005. Youth enrollment, co-promoted with the YMCA, was up 31%, along with a 45% increase in adult enrollment.
2006 is the first year the NWMC Dock has been used for classes, the first year with our new vanguard-15 fleet, and the first year in Port Townsend for new lead sailing instructor, Erik Coburn.
The Pocock Classic Cedar Singles project continues with a little help from our friends – especially Bob Brunswick! The idea for an entrepreneurial venture that would underwrite the organizations’ regional maritime programs was born in 2003 when the world-famous Pocock Racing Shells (PRS) donated the forms and jigs for building their elegant cedar singles so that their legacy would continue. After a century of wooden boatbuilding, PRS has moved on to concentrate on cutting-edge racing technology, and has handed us the gem of their wooden racing shell line. The PRS donation was directed to our organization based on the boatbuilding skills of local rower and shipwright Steve Chapin, who is known and respected in the Pocock community for his restoration work on existing wooden Pocock shells. Steve Chapin’s love of the sport, coupled with his appreciation for the craftsmanship behind the historic shells, nurtures his deep commitment to the project. He has not only agreed to be the contracted boatbuilder for the business, but has also already dedicated time and space in his boat shop to the storage of the Pocock materials as well as to the establishment of an area where the first cedar singles may be constructed.
The Northwest Maritime Center is pleased to serve as co-sponsor of the Westward Documentary Project. Celebrating maritime history is an important part of our core mission. The 86-foot M/V Westward, a motor yacht, was built in 1924. Her restoration has been tended to by several members of our local Port Townsend maritime trades. This documentary project will produce a film record of the M/V Westward that will become a uniquely accessible, influential resource for raising the public consciousness about our great Pacific Northwest traditions of wooden boat building and wilderness exploration.
Northwest Maritime Center announces another new project: a documentary film chronicling eight decades of Pacific Northwest and Alaska history as viewed from the decks of the MV Westward, arguably the region's most famous classic motor yacht. This project is in partnership with the Pacific NW Classic Yacht Association and John Sabella & Associates films in Seattle.
New boats and a new location mark an exciting start to the 2006 Program season at the Northwest Maritime Center. In partnership with the YMCA, the NWMC & Wooden Boat Foundation begin the first year of youth and adult Learn to Sail courses in dowtown Port Townsend. The programs begin June 12. Descriptions, dates and registration information are on our website or stop by Cupola House offices M-Saturday. Instructors are all US Sailing certified and include
Safe and sound. That's the state of the 2006 Puget Sound Explorers and Sea Scout students and crew as they near the end of their school year, with several sailing on to new adventures as they graduate next week.
For more than a decade, these programs – sponsored by the Wooden Boat Foundation & Northwest Maritime Center (WBF/NWMC) – have formed the heart and soul of life-changing, career-impacting, honest skill-building sailing experiences. Again this year, the students learned to row, sail, navigate, haul out, repair, journey, compete and, yes, even intentionally capsize the 26-foot longboats, replicas of those used by Capt. George Vancouver and Peter Puget.
Members and the public are invited to attend our second Community Open House at the Cupola House in Point Hudson. "It's great to all be together now under one roof," said Dave Robison, Executive Director. Robison and staff are well underway with new programs, improvements in the Wooden Boat Chandlery, 30th Wooden Boat Festival and Business Member renewals... just to name a few things. "It's definitely Spring in Point Hudson," he said.
The 30th Wooden Boat Festival marks a significant waypoint in our history and honors the spirit of the crew with our theme, "Pulling Together." This event and our success and reputation as a maritime community is built on the work we've done, together. In this year's Wooden Boat Festival poster, Port Townsend resident Gae Pilon, has captured the essence of the energy, the mateship, the reality of working together. "You can almost feel the wind picking up," said Kaci Cronkhite, fifth year Wooden Boat Festival Director. "Gae is well known for her illustrations and spinnakers, so we were thrilled to receive her entry."
After what could be called a major year-long haulout and refit, the Northwest Maritime Center & Wooden Boat Foundation emerge from their winter work to announce the launch of their first Community Open House of 2006.
On Thursday, March 16th, from 5-7 at the Cupola house, members and the public are invited to meet and talk with staff and board about 2006 maritime education programs, 30th Wooden Boat Festival and to visit the reopened Wooden Boat Chandlery.
"It's great to all be together in Point Hudson," said Dave Robison, Executive Director. “This is another great step in the broad community effort to support and promote our maritime community and to realize the vision of a vital Point Hudson for maritime education and marine trades.”
Curious about how the planned Northwest Maritime Center facility has evolved since its inception? Wonder how big it will be and how much it will cost? Interested in how eco-friendly its construction will be?
The Northwest Maritime Center and the Port Townsend Sailing Association (PTSA) are sponsoring two evenings of introduction to the functions of the Race Committee on November 15 and 22 from 6-8 p.m. at the Cupola House at Point Hudson.
We hope you are able to take advantage of a training session so that you will be able to enjoy the rowboats during your lunch hour, after work, or for an early morning row.
The Hoh, the restored wooden Pocock “four” that was rowed to Olympic gold in 1960, will be presented to the George Pocock Rowing Foundation in a public ceremony to be held at the George Pocock Memorial Rowing Center in Seattle at 5:30 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 8.
$20,000 challenge grant kicks off Pocock Classic Cedar Singles entrepreneurial project
In the history of rowing, the name Pocock signifies some of the best racing shells ever made. To the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat Foundation, it represents an extraordinary opportunity.
It was announced during the Wooden Boat Festival (Sept. 9-11) that Festival sponsor WoodenBoat Magazine would also sponsor one of the newest wooden boats to be produced by Port Townsend's boatbuilding talent: the Port Townsend 15.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced a $20,000 grant to the Northwest Maritime Center for science-based monitoring of its eelgrass restoration project.
Port Townsend has long been a provisioning port for sailing vessels, and that is the role the town will play next week in the 2005 Tall Ships Challenge, sponsored by the American Sail Training Association.
Between June 27-29, and again July 5-6, several “tall ships” are slated to stop over en route from public exhibitions in Port Angeles and Tacoma. And our own 135-foot schooner Adventuress, a National Historic Landmark Vessel, will be in port June 24-27, offering a public day sail on June 25.
Join us for the official start of boating season on Port Townsend Bay! The occassion is observed Sat., May 14, with a vessel parade, cake, a bonfire, and a FREE day-long family-oriented waterfront celebration centered around the Northwest Maritime Center site.
Click on "Full story" to view the schedule of events.
When the first Port Townsend 15 is launched this June, nothing like it will have been seen before.
This new class of racing dinghy will be judged unique on the merits of its design, its designer, and the remarkable nature of the nonprofit collaboration that is bringing it to reality.
In a fresh spirit of cooperation between an influential trio of maritime education nonprofits, the dinghies will be built by the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding (and outfitted by local marine tradespeople), owned by the Northwest Maritime Center, and used for intermediate and advanced sailing instruction by the Wooden Boat Foundation.
The Port Townsend 15 features a state-of-the-art gaff that is both “leading-edge and retro,” according to the boat’s famed designer, Paul Bieker. Illustration by Bieker Boats
Seattle P-I reporter Debera Harrell says the integration "brings together two non-profit organizations with mutual goals: fostering maritime education and on-the-water activities and building upon Port Townsend's reputation as a maritime community."
Port Townsend Leader publisher Scott Wilson editorializes,"The confusion over two organizations with similar goals but different emphases is over. It makes the future of the joint endeavor more clear, more efficient and more effective." (scroll down to second editorial)
Click on the above links to read their words. Click "Full Story" for links to more news coverage.
Today the Northwest Maritime Center announced its intent to legally integrate with Port Townsend's 27-year-old Wooden Boat Foundation -- perhaps most widely known as the organizer of the West Coast's largest wooden boat festival!
The purpose is to facilitate a stronger partnership and more collaboration in the planning, design and fundraising associated with the development of the $10 million Northwest Maritime Center facility, as well as sustaining and expanding the Wooden Boat Foundation’s renowned programs, activities and services, which will eventually be offered in our new facility.
Thirty-five young scientists from Port Townsend High School and the Chimacum School District's Pi Program are helping us understand how the new Maritime Center pier is interacting with the light-hungry eelgrass planted beneath it in May 2004.
Read the full story and find a link where you can view some of their monitoring data on the web.
The Northwest Maritime Center's "Education Dock" has been awarded a 2005 Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Washington.
Federal funding is flowing again for the Northwest Maritime Center project.
A special appropriation of $638,000 for the Northwest Maritime Center on Port Townsend Bay was included in a multi-agency appropriations bill that was approved by Congress Nov. 20 and signed into law by President Bush today, Dec. 8.
The combined efforts of U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Seattle) and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Bremerton) secured the allocation in the budget of the Economic Development Initiative program within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). It was the program’s largest appropriation for a single entity in Washington State.
U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks gives the thumbs-up to the Northwest Maritime Center at our dock-opening celebration in May.
When U.S. Senator Patty Murray wanted to better understand how Port Townsend – a small, rural community – has nurtured its thriving maritime industry, she asked the Northwest Maritime Center to convene a forum of local marine industry leaders and tradespeople.
“You have a great maritime industry here,” Murray proclaimed at the August forum, noting she was introduced to it when her son Randy attended the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuildingin 1995-96. “I got to know it as a mom, and I’m continually impressed by it. I want to do everything I can in my position to support it so this area really does become the maritime center of Washington state.”
Less than a month later came the announcement that $250,000 in Murray’s economic development initiative was slated for the Northwest Maritime Center.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray shares a laugh with NWMC President Brent Shirley at a marine industry roundtable sponsored by the NWMC. Photo by Jim Manders, courtesy of Peninsula Daily News
The Northwest Maritime Center is excited to announce that more than $600,000 has been raised since the September Wooden Boat Festival toward the $10.1 million campaign to build a regional center celebrating Puget Sound, its people and maritime traditions.
Major gifts include a state heritage grant and a leadership gift from one of the region's leading philanthropic families, the McCaw family of Seattle.
Campaign Steering Committee Member Carol Hasse founded and owns Hasse & Company / Port Townsend Sails, internationally renowned for high-quality cruising sails since 1978.
She herself has logged 45,000 offshore cruising miles and travels around the world to teach and lecture on sailmaking, sail repair, sail inventory, and sail handling. Hasse has also served more than 25 years collectively on the boards of directors and as an advisor for the Wooden Boat Foundation and the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding.
She's become an establishment fixture in Port Townsend, helping found the Wooden Boat Festival (the only founding member still in town) and now helping launch a $10.5 million campaign to build a maritime center.
The Northwest Maritime Center and the Port Townsend Sailing Association (PTSA) are sponsoring two evenings of introduction to the functions of the Race Committee on November 15 and 22 from 6-8 p.m. at the Cupola House at Point Hudson.
We hope you are able to take advantage of a training session so that you will be able to enjoy the rowboats during your lunch hour, after work, or for an early morning row.
The Hoh, the restored wooden Pocock “four” that was rowed to Olympic gold in 1960, will be presented to the George Pocock Rowing Foundation in a public ceremony to be held at the George Pocock Memorial Rowing Center in Seattle at 5:30 p.m. on Sat., Oct. 8. 
When the first Port Townsend 15 is launched this June, nothing like it will have been seen before.
Thirty-five young scientists from Port Townsend High School and the Chimacum School District's Pi Program are helping us understand how the new Maritime Center pier is interacting with the light-hungry eelgrass planted beneath it in May 2004.
Federal funding is flowing again for the Northwest Maritime Center project.
As William Dietrich wrote about Hasse in "