Wooden Boat Festival COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN

Fans of wooden boats will be able to get their fill at the Melbourne Wooden Boat Festival which will come to the Docklands precinct on Victoria Harbour in Melbourne, Victoria, in February 2010.

The event, which is designed to promote wooden boat heritage and connect the broader public with the spirit of timber boating, will combine all of the major wooden boat and classic yacht groups in and around Melbourne.

Wooden boat enthusiasts will not only be able to enjoy the luxury of 100s of beautiful timber vessels, from the very old to the newer, but can enter competitions and take in the entertainment planned for the Festival.

The Festival will feature both on water and on hard stand displays, model boats, sailing and racing boats, marine trade displays, strolling shanty musicians, in harbour sailing and working boats displays.

In addition to the boat displays we also have two Tall Ships – Enterprize and One & All – providing onboard  tours, 1 hour Docklands sailing trips and twilight dinner cruises. Why not step onboard and relive some of the magic from the tall ship trading days.

The Maritime Heritage Association of Victoria are providing $15 cruises from Docklands to Polly Woodside and return via the Steam Tug Wattle.

Pirates Garden and Picnic – join in to Melbourne’s first Pirate Garden and Picnic in Docklands, as a treat Pirate Children will be admitted at half price, because we all know pirates only have one leg.

The event is a combination of over 15 community groups coming together to show that Docklands is the perfect water playground.
“Melbourne has such a rich heritage with wooden boats; it’s the founding city for Classic Yacht Association, Wooden Boat Association and the revival of the Couta Boat fleet – so it was natural that it should also have a Wooden Boat Festival,” says Mark Bergin, the  Wooden Boat Festival director.

“We expect between 70 and 120 boats for the inaugural event. To-date, we’ve got about 50% of those spots spoken for, so that’s a great start,” Bergin enthuses.

Other activities to keep all satisfied include boat maintenance master classes and ‘How to Maintain your Hull’, engine, rig, sail and paint demonstrations, along with what is required for an annual safety inspection and information on the suitability of marine timbers.

Shipwright Conference Gathering will bring together Victorian shipwrights in one space who will share their extraordinary skills, knowledge and history.
                                                        
To run an event of this magnitude, volunteers are need both on and off the water. No experience is needed, but a fun few days are guaranteed.

“Volunteers are a key factor,” Bergin says.  “Not everyone is a sea going person; for many it’s the land activities that get them in – and we require help in both these areas. 

“We’re very focussed on helping to build an active community in the Docklands area. Over the next five to 10 years, over 20,000 people will move into this area and wooden boats are a natural pastime activity for the local community.”

This Wooden Boat Festival adds to a growing calendar of events on Port Phillip and compliments the existing events at Sorrento, Queenscliff and Geelong.  Now is the time to build up an activity centre closer to the largest population in the state, while supporting regional events and activities.

Event supporters include:
Blunts Boatyard
City of Melbourne
Classic Australian Wooden Power Boat Assoc
Classic Yacht Association
Couta Boat Association
Docklands Yacht Club
H28 Association
Maritime Heritage Association of Victoria
Mordialloc Boating and Angling Club
Mordialloc Motor Yacht Club
Sail and Adventure Ltd - Alma Doepel
Sandringham Yacht Club
Sorrento Sailing Couta Boat Club
Tall Ships Victoria
Tumlaren Association
Wooden Boat Association
Wooden Boat Centre

For sponsorship opportunities and event information contact Mark Bergin, Festival Director at: email: mark@woodenboat.com.au or phone: 0418 565 848

For all information including wooden boat and volunteer registration go to: www.woodenboat.com.au/mwbf2010/ 

Di Pearson, media manager
Phone: 0410 792 131