Cap’n Fatty
Northwest Maritime Center
2nd Annual Spring Boating Symposium
March 16-18, 2012
Over 25 top boating experts will gather with 200 sail and power boaters in Port Townsend for the second annual Spring Boating Symposium on March 16-18. Held at the Northwest Maritime Center campus and Point Hudson Marina, the symposium will once again be an innovative blend of interactive lectures, panel discussions, hands-on workshops, and opportunities to network with other boaters and experts. Presentations will be relevant to owners of both power and sailing vessels of all hull materials.
Specific topics will include rigging, docking procedures and strategies, practical safety onboard, celestial navigation, setting the pole for downwind sailing, sailing upwind, provisioning, maritime weather and many more. There will be at least two classes geared specifically toward women. Confirmed presenters include keynote speaker Cap’n Fatty Goodlander, Steve D’Antonio, Beth Leonard, Steve Callahan, Barbara Merrett, Brion Toss, Nancy Erley, Lisa Vizzini, Don Stabbert, Carol Hasse, Ace Spragg, Jeff Sanders and many more.
To start off the Symposium, Beth Leonard will be speaking on Glacier Island: The Beauty of South Georgia on Friday night. Beth Leonard and her partner, Evans Starzinger, have completed two circumnavigations and logged more than 110,000 nautical miles. They have recently completed a ten-year circumnavigation by way of all of the Great Capes that took them as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as Cape Horn. Beth is the author of three books: The Voyager’s Handbook, Following Seas and the award-winning Blue Horizons.
The Saturday-night speaker will be Steve Callahan, a sailor, boat designer, ocean survivor, and the best-selling author of Adrift, which chronicled his 76-day liferaft voyage in 1982. While Callahan will present his survival story at the Symposium, he has also logged over 80,000 trouble-free miles offshore during his 40-year career, and will be presenting a discussion on successful open voyaging during the weekend as well.
The Life and Times of a Modern Sea Gypsy
Capt’n Fatty Goodlander is an original sea gypsy. The 59-year-old sailor has lived aboard boats for 52 years sailing the world’s seas and circumnavigating the globe. Goodlander and his wife, Carolyn, have sailed more than 100,000 miles on their 38-foot cutter, Wild Card, raised a family and scraped together a modest living from their floating home. Goodlander, a journalist for 30 years, admits that living full-time aboard a small boat isn’t the most lucrative job in the world, but he finds joy in touching others through his articles in Cruising World and through books he’s written. The sailing life is something Goodlander says he’ll never get out of his system.
In addition to hands-on workshops, tales of adventure, informative lectures and evening social opportunities, there will be a variety of Northwest power and sail boats open for tours to symposium participants and the public throughout the weekend.
Online registration is open now, and is limited to 200 people. Lodging or marina berths are available. For lodging choices and general information about Port Townsend, visit . For information on the marina, visit . More information is available at http://www.nwmaritime.org or by calling 360-385-3628 ext. 106 or email symposium@nwmaritime.org.
