Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2026

As 20th century designers and builders created our area’s maritime history, photographer Ken Ollar was there to record it. For over half a century, he sped through the Salish Sea aboard his motor vessel Shutterbug, capturing the action at Swiftsure, fleet and PIYA races, Opening Day celebrations, unlimited hydroplane races, and yacht club cruises. His collection of over 10,000 negatives, slides, prints and ephemeral, is now part of the Gig Harbor BoatShop’s Northwest Fleet Photography Collection. Using archival protocol, a team of volunteers are digitizing images for a publicly accessible database. As the body of work grows online, the historical importance of it becomes more apparent. Ken Ollar’s stunning work is filling our maritime past with narratives and details never heard before. We will share gems and highlights with you through projected images and stories.