Watch inspiring live presentations…
and take advantage of the rare opportunity to get your questions
answered by these remarkable boaters from around the world.
All presentations are recorded and available to watch later.
Friday, Feb. 14th – Replay Now Available
Opening Night
with the Worldwide Classic Boat Show Crew
Get the inside scoop of what’s happening at this year’s Worldwide Classic Boat Show from the full crew who’s put the Show together.
Saturday, Feb. 15th – Replay Now Available
Solo Sailing in Arctic Norway
with Veronica Skotnes | Sailor, Author
Veronica Skotnes took to the sea at the age of seventeen as crew on a schooner in the North Sea. Since then, the wind and ocean currents have taken her north of the Arctic Circle, where she now steers her own ship. For the past three years, she has been sailing and living aboard a boat along the coast of Finnmark, in the very north of Norway. Skotnes has a bachelor’s degree in Arctic Outdoor Activities and has published a book (currently only in Norwegian) called What I Read in the Waves – Stories from the Sea People.
Veronica will share stories, images, and video from her unique, high-latitude solo cruising life.
Live Q&A follows.
Sunday, Feb. 16th – Replay Now Available
Restoring Herreshoff’s DORIS
with Dave Snediker | Owner, Snediker Yacht Restoration
Languishing in a boat yard in New London CT for 30 years, DORIS, the largest all-wood sailing vessel built by Herreshoff Manufacturing Co., was scheduled to be scrapped at the end of August 2013. Given a one-year lease on life by the generous collaboration of a good friend and Snediker Yacht Restoration of Pawcatuck, a search for a new owner was spearheaded. Now, thanks to an enthusiastic client, DORIS has been saved.
Dave will share his experience leading this massive restoration of this 1905 Herreshoff classic. Live Q&A to follow.
Monday, Feb. 17th – Replay Now Available
Muhshoon/Aklo: Dawnland Indigenous and African Canoes and Maritime Legacies
with Akeia de Barros Gomes | Director of the Center for Black History Newport Historical Society
In 2023, a team of 4 boat-makers (Mashantucket Pequot, Mashpee Wampanoag, Togolese, and Ghanaian) collaborated at Mystic Seaport Museum to create a dugout canoe using both traditional and contemporary methods.
The ten-day collaboration explored similarities in Dawnland and African maritime histories and cultures, imagined how these maritime traditions may have continued if not interrupted, and allowed us to imagine conversations on boat construction as free and enslaved African descended people joined Dawnland Indigenous communities. Live Q&A to follow.
Tuesday, Feb 18th – Replay Now Available
The Magic of Great Boat Festivals
with Organizers from the Port Townsend, Australia, and Douarnenez Festivals
Festivals are the lifeblood of the classic boat world. They incentivize boat owners far and wide to give their craft a little extra love and care so they can proudly share the fruits of their labor with friends old and new.
Some boat festivals seem to possess a special recipe. These gatherings of maritime culture go far beyond just displaying nice boats – they foster a celebratory atmosphere with music, vendors, events, and most of all community.
We’re gathering the folks in charge of three festivals which exemplify this magical confluence of good boats, people, and experiences to gain some insight into their “special recipes.” Live Q&A to follow.
Wednesday Feb. 19th – Replay Now Available
Off Center Harbor Movie Night
Off Center Harbor has released over 750 videos on great boats, boatbuilding, and more over the last 13+ years. Join us to watch (or rewatch) some highlights.
Thursday, Feb. 20th – Replay Now Available
Finding Brave in the Race to Alaska
with Jeanne Goussev | 2x Race to Alaska Winner
In 2018, Jeanne Goussev’s Team Sail Like A Girl showed up to R2AK with a buoy-racing monohull and seven adventure-seekers who flipped the race’s early conventional wisdom on its head. 3 years of multihull victories indicated the winning formula was clear. But after 6 days of smashing logs up the Inside Passage and dipping their spreaders during knockdowns in Hecate Strait, Sail Like A Girl was first across the line in Ketchikan, becoming the first monohull and first all-women’s team to take home the $10,000 nailed to a tree.
Sail Like A Girl returned for a hard-fought 4th Place in 2019 and in 2023, Jeanne led a new team, We Brake For Whales. Now aboard her family boat, the beautiful and fast Martin Custom 40 GRAY WOLF, Jeanne again denied the myriad multihulls to become one just a few 2-time R2AK champions.
Jeanne will share inspiring stories from her life on the water. Live Q&A to follow.
Friday, Feb. 21st – Replay Now Available
What You Need To Know About Marine Electrical Systems
with Kevin Ritz | Systems Lead at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding
For Kevin Ritz, helping create safe marine systems is more than a job – it’s a dedicated personal mission.
In the face of a marine-based tragedy, Kevin Ritz went from cruising with his family to an intense focus on learning all he could about marine electrical and electric shock drowning. He founded a national organization, the Electric Shock Drowning Prevention Association, and has earned certification as an ABYC Master Technician after successfully completing six certifications, including: Marine Electrical, Marine Corrosion, Marine Standards, Marine Master Technician, Marine Gasoline Engine, Marine Systems Certification. In time Kevin became the ABYC’s Lead Instructor and received their Life Service Award in 2015.
Kevin will help demystify the wires throughout our boats and the place individual systems make up in one large system – the boat itself! Through education, awareness, and planning, Kevin will share his knowledge and passion to help us improve the safety and functionality of our boats. Live Q&A to follow.
Saturday, Feb. 22nd – Replay Now Available
Big Discussion on Small Boats
with Small Boat Designers/Builders Clint Chase, Ross Lillistone, and John Welsford
What makes a good small boat? What are the key considerations when designing a small boat? And what are some good examples of small boat design?
Whether you’re rowing, sailing, paddling, or just floating, small craft can distill the dynamics of being on the water and provide poignant experiences often lost in the complication of larger vessels.
John, Clint, and Ross will use examples from their own drawing boards as well as others’ to illustrate the many different facets of small boat design. Live Q&A to follow.
You can click here to add this event to your calendar: Google | Apple
Sunday, Feb. 23rd – Replay Now Available
Highlights of the Show
with the Worldwide Classic Boat Show Crew
Join us as we recap the boat show highlights, share what’s in store for the year ahead.
What excellent story telling by Veronica Skotnes! Her descriptive language of place and experience was deep and captivating. The amazing photography of her boat in northern Norway was a wonderful bonus. I think an audio-book version of her upcoming publication would be a great hit.
Maybe one year you can feature the Thames Traditional Boat Festival, held in July every year on the River Thames at Fawley Meadows, just downstream of Henley? Check out tradboatfestival.com
Ian
Hi Ian – That would be cool! It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Henley, and we’d love to learn more about the Thames boating scene. You can also click here to see the Thames Traditional Boat Festival page on this site. If you know (or are) the organizer, they can take over that page and update it.
Kevin Ritz’s tragic loss. So very sad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sM1GF7Bli4k
Where, when Tom Robbinson?
Keep an eye on Off Center Harbor Movie Night!