What I find endlessly remarkable about this Festival is that it is held together by the power of a very simple idea – the beauty and promise of wooden boats. To some this is a promise of adventure; to others a promise of comradery, history, craftsmanship, or simple relaxation.

The Islands of the Kent and Furneaux Groups are surely one of the great undiscovered cruising grounds of Australia. They are not for the faint hearted and will punish the arrogant sailor, but with preparation and respect, they reward in spades.

How fortunate can you be? This year’s fleet of 26 yachts has, over this past Friday, Saturday and Sunday, enjoyed three days of the very best of Sydney Harbour racing.

She now sits happily on her mooring in Mill Bay, Mangonui in the Far North of New Zealand awaiting her new life. At this stage future plans for ELIZABETH are to race her with the Mangonui Cruising Club on Doubtless Bay and take her south to race against other classics in the Tall Ships Race in the Bay of Islands in January

A first voyage in 1976 represented a bold attempt at what is known as “experimental archaeology,” testing aspects of material culture, in this case an arcane boat type, in order to understand their function and practicality, so writes Duncan Blair.

A recently discovered 1990’s documentary on the Couta Boats has been re-edited into 8 minutes of rich and fascinating history.

Although creating work centuries apart, both artists convey the power and politics of the ocean and explore its relationship to capitalism and colonialism.

Enjoying a very eventful delivery trip to Sydney in July 1971, when a rogue wave capsized the craft just south of Eden NSW, the crew narrowly avoiding disaster. In true testament to Jock's seaworthy designs, the boat righted again, mast and sails intact and crew in one piece save for a nicked nose from a flying kitchen knife.

In this, 100th Edition of our weekly magazine, we celebrate our top ten articles and thank the people who have contributed content and essential financial support. Here’s to the next 100 weeks and the 100 after that!!

Brendan’s vision was to rebuild her graceful design. And to create a yacht that would be both beautiful and very user friendly for himself and his family

My connection with the Australian Wooden Boat Festival, has allowed me to meet many dedicated wooden boat aficionados, perhaps none more so than fellow board member Captain Sarah Parry, so I was delighted to hear that she was going to be on the ABC’s “Conversations with Richard Fidler.”

Evening light will bring the water;
Day long sun will burst the bud,
Clemency the General’s daughter,
Will return upon the flood

Most Unique Boat was awarded to Roger Patterson’s PEGGY OF TWEED. An open canoe  stern launch, that was built by her owner Roger in 2022 in Pottsville, NSW.

Is Pamela Allen’s book WHO SANK THE BOAT the greatest who-done-it of all time OR a genius attempt to educate children on the Archimedes' principle?

Given the difficulties in travel and transport over the last few years, the festival organisers made a cleaver decision for 2023, to highlight Australian designers and builders and with the release of the full program on line, we can now see how they are intending to do this.

After custodianship by the Calverts, the history of VENTURA becomes a little more vague. We know that VENTURA made her way to Sydney when she was acquired Captain Kennedy of Phoenix House around the 1960’s.

Taking her for a cruise today has been described as being akin to accompanying a beautiful lady to a ball: Everyone stares at her, ignoring her rather motley partner(s) … except to wonder how he ever became associated with such a stunner.

By the last stanza, however, the language has drawn closer to its object, as the same headlong rhythm draws ancient and modern into a poetic continuum.

But the price of his adventures had ultimately to be paid by others, in the succession of families he created, then broke apart; and many of his actions brought him into conflict with the feelings of friends and contemporaries. We may legitimately ask ‘was it really all worth it?’

It was Martyr who suggested the present-day course to the Fastnet, of a similar distance to the Bermuda Race – 615 miles. This established a trend in offshore races of that length, spawning the Sydney-Hobart (1945), China Sea Race (1962) Middle Sea Race (1968) and more recently the RORC Caribbean 600 (2009).