Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2026

The modern sailor is awash in weather data with just a couple clicks on a mobile device.  This presentation will demonstrate how to choose an appropriate weather model, analyze the digital data for your own onboard forecast for wind and seas, and identify where you must rely on traditional weather knowledge and skills.

Capt. Sanders of U.S. Maritime Academy will explain (and simplify) the entire USCG licensing process including the various avenues on how to accomplish it. You will come away with some clarity dealing with this often confusing and overwhelming endeavor. He's been doing this longer than anyone on the Planet! Q&A will follow

The Bay of All Saints (Recôncavo Baiano, Brazil) holds one of the most distinctive maritime traditions in the Americas: the saveiros de vela (cargo sailing vessels). For centuries, these boats connected communities, transported goods, sustained local cultures, and became an emblem of the region.
But due to infrastructure development, declining economic opportunities, and lack of cultural visibility, master boatbuilders and sailors face the risk of their craft disappearing. Today, only about 20 saveiros de vela remain in active service. A new collaboration between Projeto Içar, BRANA, and the region's master shipwrights aims to revive saveiros de vela and increase the cultural visibility of the people who build and sail them by creating economic opportunities in traditional boatbuilding and sail cargo in the region. Through in-person remarks and video, this presentation introduces these boats, their makers, and their home waters to the Festival.