Pender Harbour Wharf

History of the Sunshine Coast Wooden Boat Festival

Bill Higgs on the Kloshie Bay.

The idea of having a wooden boat festival started over a casual conversation, sipping coffee on my boat, the "Kloshie Bay" with my friend and wooden boat owner, Brian Fawkes. Brian's boat is named "Marquita".

We were discussing boats in general and agreed that the current types of boats and their fiberglass construction didn't really impress most people, especially us. As wooden boat owners and long time boating enthusiasts we believed that wooden boats and most things associated with them, were things that were worth preserving and enhancing if possible. It seemed that every year society was moving further and further away from not only traditional values but from traditional products as well.

Noting the recent Classic Car revival on the coast, the talk slowly came around to holding a Wooden Boat Show as a way of expressing our passion for wood boats and appreciation for these fine vessels, the people and materials that built them and the importance of our marine heritage.

That sentiment is captured in the first mission statement from the 2004 1st Annual Wooden Boat Festival.

To highlight the unique wooden boats of the Sunshine Coast and to share the history and heritage of these vessels as they relate to the establishment and maintenance of our community.
To bring attention to our waterways and facilities and their potential for economic opportunity and the value of protecting and enhancing them.
To attract people to our community to enjoy our wharves and waterfronts and to benefit the business interests in the community.
To present the aesthetic worth and value of wood as a building material for boats and the market potential for wood produced on the Sunshine Coast.
To bring attention to, and confirm the continuing value of wooden boats to our society.

Brian Fawkes

With only fear and good judgment holding us back, we proceeded with absolutely no money and a few ideas out to the community to find some like minded people. Luckily we found some and the first people that really stepped up to the plate was the District of Sechelt. They agreed to provide the venue at Porpoise Bay government wharf, liability insurance and a small grant in aid to finance the first show in July of 2004. Various community and business associations also saw the benefit of the show and pitched in.

We called ourselves SCOWS; Sunshine Coast Old Woodies Society and we created a logo that reflected our love of wooden boats.

To say we were a rag tag group would be an understatement, but everything came off without a hitch. The first year there were a total of 19 entries and close to two thousand people attending the event.

Buoyed by this success and the fact that Brian is a member of the Halfmoon Bay Coast Guard Auxiliary as an owner/operator with his boat the Marquita (he covers the Sechelt Inlet area) we decided to link up with Auxiliary Unit 12 and create a fundraising opportunity for their society; the Sunshine Coast Marine Rescue Society.

Since then, there have been two successful wooden boat festivals in 2005 and 2006. This year, Unit 12 in Halfmoon Bay is working with Unit 61 in Pender Harbour to host the festival in Madeira Park and it's expected to be a doozy.

We're just happy that our mission sails on! Bill Higgs and Brian Fawkes.