Published bimonthly for The Center for Wooden Boats I0I0 Valley Street Seattle, WA 98I09
Volume XVIII Number 2 April, I997 ISSN 0734-0680 I992,CWB
IT'S WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL TIME AGAIN! It's time once again to get ready for The Center for Wooden Boats' biggest celebration of the year, the 2I st Annual Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival. The dates this year are July 4-6 (Friday - Sunday), the hours are I0 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day and the location is, as always, CWB and the Naval Reserve Readiness Center grounds and Armory. For the uninitiated, the Wooden Boat Festival brings together close to 150 wooden vessels of all sizes and vintages, from rowing dinghies to historic schooners, and makes them available for the entire community to explore, to discover, to experience. Our festival is unique in its ability to turn spectators - from the armchair sailors to high-chair sailors - into participants. This year's festival is no exception to the CWB philosophy that people learn best by doing. All the displays, boats and booths are participatory. There will be demonstrations of maritime skills, including sailing, knot tying, steambending and oarmaking, displays from how-to to historic who-dids, the always interesting Quick & Daring Boatbuilding Contest, water taxi boat rides, toy boat building, lectures and seminars, music, food and, best of all, lots of opportunities to see, touch, feel, experience and admire classic wooden boats. We only need one more thing to make it all work: YOU! It takes a lot of volunteers to put on the Festival. Volunteers to plan, to set up, to operate and to clean up. Volunteers to greet and inform, to transport and charm, to shake the donation cans and sell the ice cream bars. Volunteers to help kids build toy boats and adults buy souvenirs. Volunteers to direct cars to parking and people to bathrooms. Volunteers work in three-hour shifts, so every shift earns you an hour of free boat use. In addition, volunteers and exhibitors will have a front-row seat for the Lake Union fireworks following the potluck dinner July 4th. Volunteer sign-up forms are going out in the mail to all those who helped make last year's Festival such a success. But you don't have to
wait for the mail; just stop by the front desk at the Boathouse and we'll gladly hand over the form. Or if you're a new volunteer, call CWB, (206) 382-2628, and we'll get a form in the mail to you. If you're a wooden boat owner who has never brought his or her boat to the Festival, this might be the year to do so. Just call or write CWB to get a registration form. And we're also still looking for sponsors for various events. Sponsorship opportunities include the Quick & Daring Contest, Awards, Toy Boats and Water Taxis.
Contact Dick Wagner at CWB for details. If you need any more persuasion to get you in the mood for the Festival, stop by CWB and take a look at the 1997 Festival poster. The colorful illustration by Luke J. Tornatzky features the mast of a well-known wooden boat with flags flying. Again this year, K/P Corporation generously printed the poster, thanks to the efforts of Dan Warner. T h e paper was supplied by Zellerbach and the design is by Bill Stanton. The posters are available at CWB for $8 (unframed). - Dick Wagner
THE NEW DOCK CONFIGURATION After a three-week vacation, the sailboats in the livery at The Center for Wooden Boats are once again available for use by the public. Here's an update on what is going on. Why livery sailboats were grounded. A collision with one of the motoryachts at the Henry Pier (to the east of CWB) caused significant damage to the motoryacht. This is not the first time this has happened. Clearly, it is not a good thing to collide with other boats. To prevent further incidences and in consideration of our neighbors, we have shifted the north docks eastward and moved the livery boats to the west side of the docks. All livery boats must depart and land on the west side of the docks (the area between the docks and the Naval Reserve building). Considerations when leaving/landing on the west side of our docks. Leaving from the west side means you are leaving from a lee shore. Since the wind will be blowing your bow onto the dock, it requires that you get a significant push off the dock. When you are pushing off, mind the stern quarter of the boat, as it is easy for them to rotate into the dock and cause damage to the vessel. Winds are even more irregular in the west channel than they were in the east Channel. The winds come over and around the Naval Reserve building. You will be maneuvering in close quarters with other CWB vessels and the moored
schooner Martha. The channel looks narrower but, in reality, there is the same amount of room as there was before when we operated in half the east channel. However, if things go wrong, there is less bail-out area. Sail conservatively in the west channel. If in doubt, circle around, leave the channel and make another approach or sail in a little bit to check out the wind, and then sail out to make another approach. You must remain alert, expect strange wind patterns and be prepared to act quickly and decisively to ensure a safe landing. To the Olympic Racer and the Novice Sailor: Do not kid yourself When landing the boat, it will be different, if not difficult to sail on and off the west side of the dock. Be alert! Because of the changes outlined in this memo, an instructor will be available for those of you that want to give the west channel a try with another experienced sailor in the boat before flying solo. Going out with an instructor for a trial run, can only be a good thing. We highly recommend you take this opportunity. Thank you for your patience. This is a trial period with this new dock arrangement. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. Please direct them to a livery staff member or volunteer. - Meg Trzaskoma, Livery Manager