Celebrating the craftmanship of wooden boats and the stories they hold. Join us for the first-ever Auckland Wooden Boat Festival, with activities taking place all weekend long at the New Zealand Maritime Museum.
Dive into an exciting line up of guest speakers and films showcasing real life experiences of wooden boat building, ocean voyaging, navigation and vessel restoration. Six engaging speaker sessions will take place each day at the museum, with films playing on rotation all weekend long. All are invited to join the celebration!
Click here for more details about the Wooden Boat Festival.
Inspirational sister and brother, Penny and Tony Whiting will share stories spanning 55 years, most continents and well-over 200,000 nautical miles between them. Featuring Tony Whiting and Penny Whiting
Te Toki Waka Hourua is a team dedicated to the perpetuation of traditional navigation and Pacific voyaging skills. | SESSION NOW FULL
Nalayini Davies shares stories as a sailor, stargazer and advocate of dark skies. | Click here to register for any of the speaker sessions.
Featured in the book South Sea Vagabonds by Johnny Wray, Ngataki was relaunched after a four-year restoration project. Featuring Tony Stevenson, Tino Rawa Trust and Harold Kidd, Historian and Writer
Gerry Clark was an amateur ornithologist, explorer, ship’s captain and boat builder. For over three years he explored some of the most forbidding coastlines in his beloved home-built yacht Totorore. | Click here to register for any of the speaker sessions.
Hear from three people who have undertaken substantial rebuilds, restorations and maintenance on their own classic boats. With Nathan Herbert, Sam Harkin and James Dreyer
Lin Pardey and her husband Larry (1939-2020) coined the phrase “Go small, go simple, but go now” encouraging many others to set sail despite limited finances. | Click here to register for any of the speaker sessions.
A panel discussion with Mike Birdsall and three apprentices who recently built a classic boat which is on display during the festival. | Click here to register for any of the speaker sessions.
A panel discussion hosted by Classic Yacht Association deputy chair, Russell Brooke. | Click here to register for any of the speaker sessions.
Guest speakers include: Russell Brooke (Classic Yacht Association), Larry Paul (Classic Yacht Charitable Trust), Tony Stevenson (Tino Rawa Trust), Peter Stone (William C Daldy Preservation Trust), Mark Chew (Australia Classic Yacht Association).
The recovery of the Daring and the ongoing preservation work to make her available for public display. | Click here to register for any of the speaker sessions.
The scow was once the workhorse on the New Zealand Coast. Bob shares the experience of his father, Cliff Hawkins, aboard Rangi in 1934. | Click here to register for any of the speaker sessions.
180-minute showcase of short films that celebrate Aotearoa New Zealand’s fascinating maritime history. Films include:
Films will be shown on rotation in the museum’s Studio theatre. No bookings required. Free to attend.