Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival 2026

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.