Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

In the far northwest corner of the Olympic Peninsula, where Victorian gingerbread mansions cascade down bluffs to meet the cerulean waters of Admiralty Inlet, September transforms Port Townsend into North America’s wooden boat mecca—a three-day maritime revival where the scent of varnish mingles with salt spray and the ghost of Joshua Slocum seems to walk the docks.

The 48th Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival (September 5-7, 2025) isn’t merely an event; it’s a pilgrimage where 30,000 devotees converge to worship at the altar of traditional craftsmanship, where a 1920s gaff-rigged schooner’s brass fittings gleam like holy relics, and where the tap-tap-tap of caulking mallets becomes a rhythmic prayer to the maritime gods.

This is where Silicon Valley executives abandon their screens to sand teak rails alongside fifth-generation shipwrights, where children launch hand-carved toy boats while their grandparents share tales of crossing the Pacific under canvas, and where the wooden boat renaissance that began here in 1978 continues to inspire a new generation to choose tradition over technology.

At a Glance: Port Townsend’s Wooden Boat Weekend

• Friday’s Fleet Arrival (September 5): Watch 300+ wooden vessels sail into Point Hudson Marina like a Turner painting come to life, join renowned boat systems expert Nigel Calder for his legendary electrical troubleshooting workshop ($60), or claim your spot at the Alchemy Distillery dock party where master shipwright Steve White regales crowds with tales of restoring the schooner Adventuress
• Saturday’s Maritime Immersion (September 6): Row a Viking longboat replica across Port Townsend Bay with the Northwest Maritime Center crew, witness traditional sail-making demonstrations at the Brion Toss Rigging tent, or bid on rare nautical treasures at the Shipwrights’ Auction while the Bayou Saints brass band transforms the main stage into a New Orleans-style second line
• Sunday’s Family Traditions (September 7): Race hand-built model boats at the Kids’ Boat Building Pavilion, print custom festival t-shirts using real salmon at the gyotaku station, or secure a sunset sail aboard the historic schooner Martha—all while the Port Townsend Community Orchestra performs maritime classics from the Northwest Maritime Center’s waterfront deck
• Beyond the Festival: Extend your wooden boat weekend with Thursday’s pre-festival diesel engine workshop with Nigel Calder, explore the Wooden Boat Foundation’s year-round boatbuilding school, or time your visit for the Race to Alaska send-off when engineless adventurers embark on their 1,200-nautical-mile odyssey to Ketchikan

Ready to discover why wooden boat aficionados mark their calendars a year in advance and why Port Townsend’s Victorian seaport becomes the center of the maritime universe each September? Continue reading to navigate everything from where to find the best fish and chips between boat viewings to which B&Bs offer front-row seats to the morning parade of sail.