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PassageMaker magazine’s lifestyle event,
TrawlerFest returns to Anacortes, Washington
TrawlerFest-Anacortes is expected to have more than 60
recreational trawler yachts participate in its in-water boat
show at Cap Sante Marina.
The show, May 17-21 at Cap Sante Marina, is aimed at recreational
boaters who cruise or want to cruise for long periods or live aboard
their vessels. For many people engrossed in work and raising
families, this notion may seem impossibly romantic, but the fact is
that an increasing number of Baby Boomers are taking to America’s
waterways for what they see as the adventure of a lifetime.
“I used to joke, half seriously, that TrawlerFest was like Woodstock for the nautically inclined,” says Peter Swanson, who organizes the seminar program. “It not that farfetched. We’re bringing together a bunch of Boomers whose goal in life is to escape and live like gypsies on the water.”
That’s where PassageMaker magazine and TrawlerFest come in. Magazine and show are dedicated to preparing people for the “trawler lifestyle.” A trawler is a broad term for a powerboat designed for live-aboard comfort and long-range cruising. Makes include Grand Banks, Nordhavn, Kadey-Krogen as well as well known Pacific Northwest brands such as Ranger Tugs, American Tugs and Nordic Tugs.
“But that doesn’t mean the appeal is solely to powerboaters,” Swanson says. “Most of our seminars are equally applicable to sailors. You might say the program is ‘propulsion-agnostic’.” Most of PassageMaker readers and TrawlerFest aficionados are 55 or older, and many of them are former sailors looking to make the switch to a powerboat or already have.
More than 60 new and used boats are expected to line the docks, beginning Thursday, May 19, and running through Sunday. Anacortes is a salty little city on Fidalgo Island with a fishing and workboat heritage. It is walkable and boasts a lively restaurant sector.
RUST REMOVER
Charles Truthan of Ocala, Florida, had just bought a boat to go cruising when he attended TrawlerFest-Riviera Beach in Florida.
“I started with the two-day diesel mechanic course and before the end of the first day, I’d already learned three items that I have put into action,” Truthan says. “Every course I went to, I picked up at least one or more new bits of information I could use in the next 60 days. Many other items ‘knocked the rust’ off some brain cells that had not been exercised in a few decades.”
“Everything You Need To Know About Diesel Engines” kicks off TrawlerFest-Anacortes, beginning on Tuesday, May 17, led by PassageMaker Technical Editor Nigel Calder and the magazine’s Troubleshooter columnist Steve Zimmerman. Zimmerman with decades of boat repair experience operates four boatyards in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Calder is an acclaimed author and researcher. His books include Marine Diesel Engines and the Boat Owner’s Mechanical and Electrical Handbook.
Other team topics for Anacortes are “Boat Buyer’s Survival Guide,” “Cruising Alaska,” “Cruising Baja & the Sea of Cortez” and “Hands on Boat Handling.” Add to those other extended sessions on “Emergencies at Sea,” “Care & Maintenance of the Cruising Powerboat,” “Basic Navigation for Husbands & Wives” and 18 shorter seminars.
John Park of Seattle, Washington, came out of the “Boat Boat Buyer’s Survival Guide” at last year’s TrawlerFest-Anacortes with a sense of regret. “If I had taken this course 10 years ago, I would have saved $100,000 and a whole lot of aggravation,” Park said.
Park had made some mistakes and paid the price, but even when it goes well, buying a boat can be a stressful experience. Anyone planning to purchase over the next five years should attend our Boat Buyer’s Survival Guide at this year’s Anacortes event. A team of experts will help buyers make sound decisions and save money, and as Park has learned, much more money than the price of admission.
AUTHOR-ITIES
Like Calder, some of the star presenters happen to be authors. Mark Bunzel is editor and publisher of the annual Waggoner Cruising Guide, known as “The Bible of Pacific Northwest Cruising.” Bunzel is partnering with legendary boat designer Tony Fleming to present the Alaska seminar. The even concludes with Fleming’s aspirational video of a recent Alaska cruiser.
Besides Anacortes, TrawlerFest happens in Chesapeake Bay
area in the fall and Riviera Beach, Florida, in the winter. This
year marks the 10th season for TrawlerFest-Anacortes.
For information about TrawlerFest call (410) 990-9086 ex 22 ,
email Trawlerfest@passagemaker.com or visit
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