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Dinghy Delta Ditch Run

A small boat regatta beginning at Rio Vista, follows the Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel, and finishes at Lake Washington,West Sacramento, California. This is the only long distance, downwind small boat and dinghy race in the whole USA! lwsailing.org

The Lake Washington Sailing Club welcomes you to the 15th annual Dinghy Delta Ditch Race and Cruisers’ Rally from Rio Vista to Sacramento down the deep water shipping channel. This downwind drag race on a flood current pushes boats up-river to the LWSC clubhouse.

The course is approximately thirty miles long and will take an average dinghy about six hours to complete in light to normal conditions. After-race dinner, music, and awards will follow at the clubhouse.

The race is open to any centerboard sailboat or pre-approved keelboat. A limited number of large cruising boats are invited to anchor in the lake and a water taxi to shore is provided.

Our facilities include a clubhouse with large deck, restrooms, a launch ramp for up to 21-ft / 3500-lb boats, a two-acre boat storage yard, and a 2000-lb capacity hoist.

2024 Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous

The 2024 Sucia Small Boat Rendezvous will be held at Sucia Island State Park on July 12-14

This year marks the 21st anniversary of this annual Rendezvous,  established in 2003!

Known as the crown jewel of Washington State’s marine park system, Sucia is almost the most northerly island in the San Juan island archipelago. It offers several bays for anchoring, and several camping areas. Echo Bay on the east side offers docks and is popular with big boat sailors, but this rendezvous is planned for the narrow strip of land separating Fox Cove from Fossil Bay on the southwest.  We will be using Fossil Bay unless a strong south-easterly wind makes it uncomfortable – it has the better beach for landing on. There are mooring buoys and two docks as well, but these cannot be reserved and may be full, so be prepared to anchor if you don’t want to beach your boat.  Fox Cove is an excellent place to beach too, with a large shoreline almost entirely clear of rocks, but the cove is a bit shallower and has less room to anchor.

There are campsites close to the beach, and plenty of them all over the island.  The prettiest sites face Fox Cove and Fossil Bay.  We try to grab what we call “The Campsite” (campsite #15) at the back left corner of Fossil Bay to serve as our gathering place, especially for evening campfires. If the first person to arrive could please claim The Campsite, that would be great (campsites are not reservable).  Tent campers typically share the campsite.  We’ll have a fire in the evenings so bring along your sticks and marshmallows. You’re not camping if you don’t have burned sugar on your face!

Composting toilets are located close to the campsites – these are clean and virtually odor free. There’s good water on the island but no garbage disposal — be prepared to take it home with you.

We have informal potluck gatherings around dinner time at the campsite (or at the picnic shelter if it’s available) and, if the usual light winds and strong currents cooperate, we will attempt a Round-the-island “race” Saturday at noon.  This is a unique race in that A) it’s not really a race and B) we never seem to make it completely around the island.  Those are the only two things that may distract from the main attractions, which are mingling, relaxing and enjoying the breathtaking beauty of Sucia.  The hiking trails and views are spectacular.  Wildlife abounds.  Orcas, pelicans, sea otters, sea lions, blue herons, dolphins, harbor seals, deer, bald eagles, and gray whales have all been observed.  Explore the sandstone caves.  Look for fossils at Fossil Bay.  They’re easy to spot.  They date back 80 million years to the late Cretaceous era, when dinosaurs ruled the world.  We found an Ammonite fossil last year.  Take a little side trip to explore nearby Matia or Patos island.  Or just relax.

This is a Rendezvous, not an organized event. It is not sponsored or supported in any way by anyone.  Anyone with a “small boat” is invited to attend.  There are no signup sheets or dues.  Nobody is in charge of this rendezvous.  Your safety and well being, and that of your passengers and crew, is entirely your responsibility, just as it always is whenever and wherever you operate your vessel.  Seek advice if you’re unfamiliar with sailing in these open waters.

For more info or advice:

he SSSBS groups.io message board:  https://groups.io/g/sssbs

The Port Townsend Pocket Yachters Facebook page

More information about Sucia at the Washington State Parks website.

Read about Galen Piehl’s visit to Sucia.  Be sure to watch the video!

Sandy Point Marina – a nearby boat launch.  Caution: entrance to the marina is shallow and narrow with swift currents.  Best used at high slack tide.  Don’t even think about it at low tide.

Bellingham boat launches

If this Rendezvous  excites you, check out our sister rendezvous – the Montague Harbour Rendezvous

SCALLYWAG CAMP 2024

SCALLYWAG, John Welsford’s newest creation, will be the second group build and again perhaps the fastest way to get on the water regardless of your boat building skill level. Be one of the first to build SCALLYWAG with the assistance of the designer and Howard Rice. Both gents are highly skilled and you will not only have their undivided attention as you build together but you will also have the chance to drive away with a highly accurate hull to finish. Then help from these two doesn’t stop there, online support, phone video discussions are part of our commitment to help you get on the water! The build will take place in the Great Lakes at a boat shop on an 80 acre estate with housing for builders just a stones throw away. Contact Howard at [email protected], thepocketyacht.com

 

Lodging
The build site is on an 80 acre private home estate and our hosts offer their home for builders. There are three bedrooms available so please let us know if you would like one. There is also superb camping on site and both instructors plan to camp. If you wish to pitch a tent let us know. The bathroom, kitchen and shower facilities in the house are shared by everyone.

When
SCALLYWAG Camp is scheduled to begin at 8am on Monday morning June 24th, and concludes mid day on July 5th. Builders are welcome to move their tools into the shop on June 23rd between 12 noon and 5pm. Lodging will be available starting June 23rd.

Work Days
The build begins on day one with a short orientation session to help familiarize each builder with the build process and management of the shop space. Each work day will begin at 8am and end at 5pm unless we are having too much fun and decide push on into the evening. Lunch is an hour at noon. Each lunch break will be an opportunity for the group to engage in a small boat chalk talk by the build instructor pertaining to the boats being built, small boat use or other related topics, which builders request. 

** Birds Mouth Mast Option **
One of the elements of the SCALLYWAG build that seems a bit daunting to builders is the construction of a hollow, tapered birds mouth mast. Last year before the 2023 SCAMP Camp the option was offered to produce masts during the Camp by working some evenings. As it turned out everyone enrolled selected the option and masts were built during the build. This option is being offered again in 2024 at a cost of $950. This cost covers the cost of materials including Sitka Spruce, epoxy, fillers and the instructors time. By any measure it is a bargain. Please select this option if interested as materials need to be sourced prior to the build.

Boat Trailer
You will need to bring a trailer for your new boat. It is suggested that a galvanized steel boat trailer is the most economical and actually perfectly suited for carrying your new boat. Any trailer with adjustable fore and aft bunks will work. A trailer with a long tongue makes it easy to back up while launching and retrieving.

Small Boat Festival – pacific northwest

This event will showcase 75 outstanding small boats in the water and an additional 25-30 on dry land. The dates are July 26-27 at Port Ludlow Marina on beautiful Port Ludlow Bay just 13 nautical miles south of Port Townsend. With terrific views of the Olympic Mountain range, and protected waters, the bay is perfect for a small-boat gathering—and as a bonus, we have secured virtually all guest-moorage slips in the marina, assuring that we’ll be able to display a wide range of small-boat designs along one contiguous dock, and in one upland area close to the boats that are in the water.

During the SBF, participants with in-the-water boats will be free to row, sail, paddle, pedal or motor their boats around the bay…offering rides if they wish, or having their boats photographed for a video documentary by Off Center Harbor, the Maine-based production company.

We’re already planning for a few areas of special focus: Electric small craft and human-powered small boats, so there will be areas set aside for those boats and some presentations made on subjects like the increasing practicality of electric power; comparisons between rowing, paddling and pedal-powered small craft; and tips on how to get beyond day use and start camp-cruising your smaller boat.

Show off your boat

Even though nearby Port Townsend hosts its big annual Wooden Boat Festival, the SMALL BOAT FESTIVAL will absolutely not be limited to wooden boats. (Focus of the event will be on attractive and functional designs, so we expect a lot of older fiberglass production sailboats, along with homebuilt wooden watercraft. Everything from SCAMPs to slippery full-keel classics; and from rowing, paddling, pedaling and engine-powered boats to SUP’s, canoes, custom kayaks and other small watercraft.)

Boats will arrive at Port Ludlow on Friday, July 26, and the SBF will take place all day on Saturday the 27th, with the public invited to attend between the hours of 10 and 6. Registered skippers and their crews will enjoy dinner in the marina’s huge Pavilion tent Saturday evening, along with terrific raffle prizes and visits from some luminaries in the world of small boats.

Ready to register?

Registration fee for the two-day festival will be $75 which includes

  • in-the-water moorage or dry-land display
  • the Saturday evening dinner

If you have a small boat we’d love to have you show it at the festival. Fill out the registration form and the organizing committee will get in touch with you to work out final details.

Please note that you’ll need to be signed into a Google account (gmail, youtube, etc) in order to fill out the form – that helps us keep down the internet riffraff. If this poses a problem for you, send us an email at [email protected].

Further details

Trailer launching options

Launching trailer boats isn’t possible inside Port Ludlow Bay, but there are a number of ramps in the area—the best being the paved all-tides ramp at Port Townsend’s Boat Haven Marina.

Boats can also be launched at:

Overnight parking of tow rigs is very limited at Port Hadlock and Mats Mats Bay, and no empty boat trailers can be parked at Port Ludlow Marina, so the best bet might be launching in Port Townsend and cruising south to Port Ludlow on Friday…or even turning the transit into a slightly longer mini-cruise by—(just for instance)—launching in Port Townsend on July 24, overnighting in Mystery Bay on nearby Marrowstone Island that night, then Mats Mats Bay the second night (Thursday the 25th), before arriving at the SMALL BOAT FESTIVAL venue by Friday afternoon, July 26.

Check out time from Port Ludlow

Check-out from SBF moorage slips will be noon on Sunday, unless individual boat owners wish to stay longer, paying regular guest-slip rates to extend their stay. If skippers wish to display an additional boat, either in the water or on land, a reduced $50 fee will apply for the second small boat registered.

Dutch Wooden Boat Festival

In 2024 we will do it again and again at the same time as the Jutterhaven Days. Those who ‘didn’t know anything’ about the previous festival and were a bit surprised: put on your brave shoes and COME! Above all, feel welcome!

Our new Festival will also take place at Willemsoord in Den Helder.

 

What is the Dutch WoodenBoat Festival?

The Dutch WoodenBoat Festival was first held in July 2019 as a Dutch festival for wooden boats.

This festival is not only an ode to the centuries-long wooden boat building tradition that boosted our economic development, but also to the warm feelings that many enthusiasts get when they see…

What is there to do?

Seeing and ‘experiencing’ wooden boats and everything related to them; meeting like-minded builders and paddlers, admiring all the beauty on and out of the water; exhibitors with various products related to wooden ships; presentations, speakers while enjoying food and music.
There is an ABBA, the Amateur Boat Construction Award. A boat is even being worked on. The boat building schools do demonstrations.
We want a second hand market on Saturday, model builders at the weekend, youth activities?

In addition to this festival, there are also the Jutterhaven Days on Saturday and Sunday: a nice market with old crafts, street theater, music, catering, a nice initiative by Willemsoord BV.

Friday starts with the annual Botterrace, for the 15th time in 2024. Check out the Heldersebotters.nl website

How can I register?

It is a low budget event, but participants with a boat or companies that want a stand must register by sending an email to [email protected].

Visitors have free access everywhere, along the quays in the halls, the workshops and they can possibly visit the ships after approval by the owner.

John Gardner Small Craft Workshop

The John Gardner Small Craft Workshop will again be held during The WoodenBoat Show at Mystic Seaport Museum, on Friday to Sunday June 28 – 30, 2024 from 9am to 5pm, hosted by the Traditional Small Craft Association’s John Gardner Chapter.

In addition to having a booth to acquaint show attendees with the TSCA, there will also be demonstrations of skills that enhance the traditional small boat experience. Mystic Seaport Boathouse craft will also be available at no charge for participants to use. We are hoping for a continuous back drop to the Show of traditional small craft in action on the river.

All TSCA members are encouraged to attend with or without your own boat! There is plenty to do if you don’t bring your own vessel. Launching and parking details will be posted with registration materials. At 8 am on Saturday and Sunday morning before Museum hours, there will be a cruise in-company open to all workshop attendees. We will gather at the Australia Beach and cruise either up river past the highway bridge to the beautiful salt marshes or down river past the Village and classic yachts on their moorings.

Workshop participants can register to stay onboard the Joseph Conrad Friday and Saturday nights. .
Attendees will be encouraged to help with the workshop, either by manning the booth at
Australia Beach for a 2 hour period and/or giving a demonstration of some skill such as sail rigging, sculling, boat building, hardware making etc. If you have a skill that you would like to demonstrate at the show please volunteer. Demonstration should last about 30 minutes and will be held approx. 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm each day.

Registration for the Small Craft Workshop also allows you admission to the WoodenBoat Show for all three days at no additional cost.

Indicate your interest in staffing the booth or demonstrating a skill on the registration form or contact Bill Rutherford at [email protected] or 860-222-5249.

Registration information will be posted on the Mystic Seaport Museum website Calendar under the date June 28, 2024.

45th Annual Wooden Canoe Assembly 2024

Join us for the premier event celebrating wooden canoe enthusiasts from around the globe, showcasing hundreds of stunningly beautiful yet highly functional canoes, from historic to modern, alongside related small boats such as Adirondack guideboats and sailboats. Located on the picturesque Lower St. Regis Lake in the heart of the Adirondacks, it’s a fun-filled experience for the whole family. Enjoy engaging lectures and demonstrations, thrilling excursions, on-water events, peruse vendors, explore canoes for sale, find tools and supplies, participate in auctions and raffles, and don’t miss out on the exciting kids’ programs.

Registration Fee (17 and under, free registration)

$20/day or $80 for the whole event

2019 Small Reach Regatta

The idea of the SRR is to gather together small sail-and-oars boats for sailing, with the same kind of camaraderie and appreciation that the ERR has established. We will sail on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. This year, we plan a one-way sail from Herrick Bay to the waters off the campground, where we’ll anchor, so secure anchoring ability is especially important. The next day will be a return to Herrick Bay. Final haulouts, trailering, and departure will take place on Sunday, July 28, vacating the campground before noon and the boatyard as soon as possible.

Click here for full details about the event and how to sign up.

Boating safety is always a priority at the SRR, and the fleet is accompanied at all times by a chase fleet, usually six fast powerboats. Participating boats are required to meet a checklist of safety equipment. Our safety demonstrations in years past have included a firing of emergency flares and a deliberate capsize and self-recovery. We take safe seamanship seriously.

E-mail is our preferred method of communication. We’ll get back to you as soon as we can. We hope to see you this summer on the coast of Maine!

For more information, contact

Tom Jackson <[email protected]>; or
David Wyman, <[email protected]>.

Sights from the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival XXXIV

Posted on by Anne Bryant

by Anne Bryant

After a full, nutty day at the Annapolis Sailboat Show, I headed over to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michael’s, Maryland, for the Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival. I pulled into the entrance, lined with a tent city full of small boat enthusiasts; I felt right away that compared with the bustle of Annapolis, the change of energy suited my needs.

Here are some photos from my visit there. It was Sunday, the day after the big race and regatta, and so things were packing up, slowing down, and moving on due to a lightly threatening forecast.

Our Fearless Editor, Chris Cunningham, has traveled to this gathering in the past, and we plan to re-establish our connection with this fantastic gathering in 2018. A workshop? A beer social? We’re not sure yet, but get excited.

 

 

I also happened by the relaunching and re-christening of BELLE, a Herreshoff 12 1/2-inspired small sailing boat designed and built by Daniel Gonneau. With her more open layout inboard and with no internal ballast, she’s quite different from the design of her keelboat cousin, but no less gorgeous. Her new owner first saw her in the Calendar of Wooden Boats and thought she’d be just the boat for him. When she came up for sale, it was a dream come true for him.