If you are in the City of Sails this weekend (1st & 2nd March) then try to make a little room in the diary for this… In association with the National Maritime Museum the Auckland Wooden Boat Festival are presenting two days of talks and workshops

The voyage of one hundred and twenty sea miles begins at Recherche Bay, the southern most anchorage in Australia, and the scene of an extraordinary cultural exchange in 1793 between the Lyluequonny people and the explorers from revolutionary France whose discoveries fuelled the European enlightenment.'

The idea was, that the two fully restored boats would go out on the Derwent and sail a short course in company. There would be a start boat to see them on their way, and then they would cruise sedately beside each other providing opportunities for photographs.

Well that wasn’t going to happen! On an overcast day with a 15 knot South Easterly blowing, the fog horn sounded, signalling the start ,and it was on for young and old!

Mark and Sal will be in Hobart on the waterfront for all four days of the festival. Don’t hesitate to come up and say hello, (especially if you’ve got a good story to tell in future pages of SWS!)

Owners have banded together to salvage, buy, restore, maintain and race the D’s, as they are called. They’ve found boats from as far afield as Burnie, Launceston, the Tasman Peninsula, even Sydney. They believe 18 still exist of the 26 or so that were built.

The vast Pacific Ocean covers one third of the world’s surface, and the story of its exploration and settlement is an epic tale of human endeavour. The three key speakers are a fascinating mix…

Seventy beautiful and unique Wooden Boats assembled at the RMYC Broken Bay for a great weekend of festivities and displays. The RMYC Festival now in its 23rd year is Sydney’s only annual celebration of classic wooden boats.

"The AWBF is a celebration of our collective heritage. The 2025 theme allows us to explore our connection with the Pacific like never before, bringing visitors face-to-face with historic vessels and remarkable people from across the ocean. We hope to create a festival experience that feels both grand in its spectacle and intimate in its sense of community."

The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) has been chosen by the ICMM Committee to host the next Conference scheduled for late 2026.

It’s a very different vibe to the big, broad spectrum boat shows in Queensland, Sydney and Melbourne. No one’s trying to sell you stubby holders for jet skis.

There’s some great Wooden Boat events coming up over the next six months. Commit early, plan thoroughly, do the work, then sit back, and bask in the satisfaction of the achievement.

A beautiful thing is the culture of reciprocity, you go into a relationship with people by exchanging gifts. I also like that you are defined by your kinship and relations, not your job title.

With registrations due to open later this month for the 2025 Australian Wooden Boat Festival, we thought it might be a good time to have a chat with the Festival Director and General Manager Paul Stephanus about his philosophy on the event, why you should make the effort to attend and the process for registering your boat.

It’s very low key event held on the beach at Sorrento to the west of the launching ramp. It's more of a family gathering, based around the extended Wooden Boatshop family. The Phillips boat shed opens onto the beach providing a vantage point and shade to keep the ice boxes cool. The dinghies are rowed or sailed and anchored ready for the rowing and sailing races later in the day.

As the name suggests, the rally is held on the main waterfront of Paynesville on the edge of the beautiful Gippsland’s Lakes with McMillan Straight separating Paynesville from Raymond Island, a five-minute, 150m ferry ride away. Raymond Island has a famous koala colony to its name.

OK, the forecast wasn’t great. Four days of temperatures in the high 30’s with either gusty northerlies or no wind at all. But as a wise sailor friend of mine constantly reminds me … “ITS JUST A FORECAST!”

Wooden Boat Festivals are strange ritualistic occasions. Beautiful (and occasionally not so beautiful) craft gather in one spot, flaunting their curvaceous bodies, and sparkling varnished jewels in the bursts of sunshine, as crowds mill around the pontoons, pontificating on the worthiness and attributes of each vessel

Six engaging speaker sessions will take place each day at the Maritime Museum, with films playing on rotation all weekend long. All are invited to join the celebration! Entry is free but bookings are recommended.

Here are the details of seven upcoming diverse wooden boat festivals… Whether you are in Victoria, NSW, Tasmania, Queensland or Auckland, there’s a celebration to get involved with. The pulse of our special field of interest seems to be beating a little more strongly!

“One of the best things about the class, he says, is the people. “I've met a lot of good people and some of them are my best mates now which is pretty amazing. If they aren’t mates they become mates pretty quick.”