Volunteer Bulletin – June 2025

By Tracy Thompson, NWM Volunteer Coordinator

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Volunteer at the 48th Wooden Boat Festival!

Join us in celebrating the 48th Wooden Boat Festival by volunteering during the first week of September! Shifts are available Thursday–Sunday, September 4–7, 2025.

Festival highlights include a special screening of Women & the Wind—a documentary about three Australian women sailing the North Atlantic in a 50-year-old Polynesian canoe—plus presentations from renowned shipwrights and beloved annual traditions.

With over 500 volunteer opportunities, there’s something for everyone: help out in Kids’ Cove, greet guests at the Main Gate, or pour drinks at one of our three bars. Volunteer for three shifts and get a t-shirt plus a three-day Festival pass! Can’t do three? No problem—work any shift and enjoy free entry that day.

Browse volunteer roles here, and take note of your favorites—shifts “go live” on our website on July 14.

Returning volunteers: Watch for early sign-up access via email from your area captain the week of July 7.

Questions? Contact Tracy Thompson at volunteer@nwmaritime.org or call (360) 316-1570.

Want To Learn More About Volunteering at the Wooden Boat Festival or Northwest Maritime?

Attend a New Volunteer Information Meeting the first and third Tuesdays of the month at noon at the Northwest Maritime Center. Next meeting: July 1, 2025.

Support Youth Maritime Education on the Water

Attend an Information meeting on Monday, July 21, at 11:00 AM – Coffee & pastries provided!

We are seeking Safety Vessel Operators to assist students in our Port Townsend Maritime Academy (PTMA) program. 

We will provide robust training on August 18–20, where you can get First Aid certified and qualify for a Washington State Boaters Card.

The role would start in mid-September, with a time commitment of 1-5 mornings a week from 7:45 –11:15 AM. PTMA’s program is expanding, and we need volunteer help to meet the on-the-water needs of our students. Qualifications:

• Skilled vessel operator: rowing, small keelboat sailing, outboard, and small motorboats
• Experience teaching in hands-on alternative learning environments or in a classroom setting
• Thrive within a team setting (you will be part of a small instructional team)
• Enthusiasm for working outdoors in all types of weather

Interested? Contact Program Coordinator Ellie Meopham at ellie@nwmaritime.org or call (541) 505-0623 with questions or to learn more..

Welcome Center Volunteers Needed

Volunteer at the heart of Northwest Maritime—regular and on-call Welcome Center volunteers needed!

Do you enjoy engaging with people in a fun environment? Want to share your knowledge of our historic region, the sea, or boating in general? We are seeking volunteers to not only provide great visitor service to visitors looking for quality maritime gear, but also to serve as interpreters for the exhibits in our Welcome Center.

As a Welcome Center volunteer, you will also be an ambassador for Northwest Maritime’s many exciting programs, including adventure races such as the Race to Alaska, SEVENTY48, Wooden Boat Festival, Maritime High School, boatbuilding and navigation workshops, and more.

Currently, we are seeking folks willing to take on a 4-hour morning or afternoon shift one or twice a week, OR folks willing to be trained up and then hang out on our on-call list for busier summer days, or to cover other volunteers taking a well-earned vacation!

If this dynamic opportunity sounds like a good fit for your time and talents, reach out to Tracy Thompson, Volunteer Coordinator, at volunteer@nwmaritime.org

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VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION

Hurrah for Volunteer Mari Friend: SEVENTY48 Race Finisher!

Not only has Mari Friend donated 2,141.65 hours of service to Northwest Maritime as a volunteer, but she is also a five-time finisher of SEVENTY48! She competed as a solo racer this month as Team Friendship in a Chesapeake Light Craft Expedition Wherry. She finished 38th out of 77 finishers with a time of 20:45. Way to go, Mari!

Front Desk Gains a Welcoming Volunteer

Our gratitude to Sharon Dale for joining Anne Cameron and Pat Keaty as regular Front Desk Volunteers in our administration office. We are entering our busiest season here, so it’s great to have their help!

Welcome Center Volunteers

Our Welcome Center volunteers continue to be amazing ambassadors for all things Northwest Maritime while providing excellent customer service. Thank you to Dick Benesch, Susan Camp, Mari Friend, Myron Gauger, Alice King, and Anna Shaffer.

Youth Support

Thank you to volunteer Darryl Hrenko for leading students in a herring dissection activity for the Port Townsend Maritime Discovery Program, which welcomed 75 seventh-grade students from Blue Heron Middle School!

SEVENTY48: Powered by Volunteers!

Outstanding! Many thanks to the wonderful volunteers who supported the SEVENTY48 adventure race at the beginning of the month! We continue to be in awe of the over 100 volunteers who folded t-shirts, registered racers, traveled to Tacoma to guide racers and direct traffic, and handed out trackers. We are also grateful to our amazing Finish Line volunteers, who took photographs, provided snacks, recorded finish times, and even spent the night as Captains of that crew.

Outstanding appreciation goes out to Carl Berger and Sarah Heiner for organizing the after-race party, the Necktie Affair. You went above and beyond!

Appreciation also goes out to the media and safety volunteers, who assessed teams, dashed about in boats taking photos, and contributed to the overall safety of the event.

Boatshop Assistance Appreciated

More appreciation for volunteer David Oddo is due! He has continued to show up at least two days a week, putting in full days of volunteer work. And the quality of work he provides, and the camaraderie, is top notch! 

He performed a large percentage of the work of refurbishing one of the high school FJ sailboats, stripping off all the hardware, fixing cracks and dings, and then painting the boat, and then also replacing hardware.

Currently, he is building us a new dock box for storing the sails of our Opti Prams this summer, which was much needed. It is made of marine-grade plywood, with hardwood edges, and a large drain in the middle for any water that happens to come in on the sails, along with ventilation. 

Big thanks also to Walt Crinean, Tim Rohrer, John Quinn, and Tim Sullivan for volunteering in the Boatshop!