PORT TOWNSEND — The local pocket yacht club is taking over the First Federal Commons at the Northwest Maritime Center this weekend for the sixth annual Pocket Yacht Palooza.
The event is the largest festival of small boats on the West Coast and celebrates small boats and small-boat design.
Up to 75 small powerboats, sailboats, rowboats and kayaks will be on display at the First Federal Commons located next to the Northwest Maritime Center boat shop at 431 Water St.
Most of the boats will be on display in the commons, while others will pull up on the adjacent beach or anchor just offshore, according to the Port Townsend Pocket Yachters’ news release.
All small boats, wood, fiberglass or skin-on-frame, in the 6-foot to 22-foot range are welcome to attend the event, which kicks off Saturday at 10 a.m.
Boats will be on display until about 5 p.m.
A potluck on the beach and a skippers’ meeting for the annual Palooza Crooza will follow.
Afterward, at 7 p.m. upstairs in the Northwest Maritime Center meeting room, Race to Alaska finishers Ian Graeme and Janice Mason will share photos and tell stories about their 2017 race experience.
Mason and Graeme rowed the 750-mile race from Port Townsend to Ketchikan, Alaska, in a 22-foot boat and were the final team to cross the finish line this year, finishing in 23 days, five hours and 25 minutes.
They were one of only a handful of human-powered teams to complete this year’s race.
On Sunday, small boat owners will get out on the water for the annual Palooza Crooza.
This year, they will head to Mats Mats Bay for a campout Sunday night.
On Monday, the group will convoy to Mystery Bay State Park for another night on the water. The group plans to sail back to Port Townsend on Tuesday.
The leave time and route will be discussed at the skippers’ meeting Saturday night. However, boaters do not have to participate in the three-day excursion.
There is an easy option to head back to Port Townsend on Sunday night or Monday morning. A volunteer shuttle will bring trailers down to the campsite at Mats Mats Bay on Sunday.
The Pocket Yacht Palooza is a free event, for both the public and boat owners. However, those with boats are asked to register with event coordinator Marty Loken by emailing Norseboater22@gmail.com.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@ peninsuladailynews.com.
