All Aboard Southport!
Southport Wooden Boat Show sails into town
STORY BY: AMI BROWN
Stepping it up this year and preserving the heritage of Southport, the 7th annual Southport Wooden Boat show is a must for boat enthusiasts. You can view some amazing, handcrafted wooden boats on September 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m….but this show offers much, much more than that!
Located on Caswell Avenue between Bay and Moore – and on Moore from Lord Street down to the Waterfront at the Yacht Basin you will find boats, educational activities, talks, vendors, gifts, prizes, music and more. See www.southportwoodenboatshow.com for all the details.
Back in 2010, two wooden boat owners, Capt. Robert Potter & Capt. Bert Felton, had a conversation about wooden boats and the Southport Wooden Boat Show was born. Both their boats had just been placed on the NC Register of Historic Vessels and they planned to build on that recent publicity. With a small group of like-minded folks, the Southport Wooden Boat Show committee was formed and the first boat show was underway. Now seven years later…. the boat show grows each year as more and more vendors, boat exhibitors, artists, craftsmen, educators and sponsors come on board for this worthy cause.
The main purpose of the Southport Wooden Boat show is to preserve the heritage of wooden boats, the craft of building them and to celebrate the region’s maritime and boatbuilding history. The goals of the event are to offer fun activities for kids and adults that will help them understand our boat building history and admire and respect the traditional art of wooden boat building.
“Without the generous local sponsorship and in-kind support, the Southport Wooden Boat Show would not exist. This year we welcome Duke Energy as our primary sponsor and we continue to be appreciative of the strong support given by numerous local individuals and businesses.” stated Board member Becky Felton. The Duke sponsorship this year provides more opportunities for expanding the educational elements, larger publicity campaign and more money to put back into the community. The Southport Wooden Boat Show provides support for the NC Maritime Museum at Southport as well as the Wooden Boat Building program at CFCC.
The planning of the boat show is a year- round task; more than 20 committee members give their time and energy to make the event lively, entertaining and educational. More than 50 volunteers are needed on the day of the event, so if you want to help out, donate or provide sponsorship contact the boat show committee at info@southportwoodenboatshow.com or call 910 477-2787.
If you’ve got a wooden boat you’d like to display, it’s not too late (but you better hurry) just go to the website and enter your details there. Be prepared to talk about your boat, its history and heritage and what it means to you.
EVENTS
Educational Pavilion – offering numerous demonstrations and activities including:
• Model boat building demos with Robert Tuttle
• Ship-in-a-bottle demos by Jim Goodwin
• Marlinspike demos – how to tie a variety of Marine knots – for kids and adults
Wooden Boat building demos by CFCC-
If you want to learn how to build a wooden boat, here’s your chance. The Cape Fear Community College Wooden Boat Building program is a three semester degree program directed by Mark Bayne. Bayne along with a team of students will be building a wooden boat at the show this year.
Shrimp boat talks by Potter’s Seafood-
You can visit the last working shrimp boat in Southport and learn about how shrimp boats have operated in the Cape Fear River for many years.
Nauti-kids – activities just for children!
Staff and Volunteers will be onsite to assist little sailors as they build their own wooden boats, and test their sea-worthiness in a safe, adjacent pond. Ted Dingley and Jim Hummer have created wooden hulls to be completed by the Nauti-kids with masts, sails, decals and paint. To celebrate our fishing heritage and support of Brunswick Catch, kids will also be able to make “Squishy Fish” prints to take home.
NC Aquarium exhibits – free and fun for all
Do your kids like to get their hands dirty? Or at least wet? Well this will be a fun opportunity to explore invertebrates found along North Carolina’s coast. The booth will showcase live animals such as hermit crabs, sea stars, anemones, snails, and other sea life that can be found locally.
Vendors – arts & crafts and more – all with a maritime theme!
Located this year on Moore Street, the vendor tents will offer a variety of items including handmade crafts, jewelry, original art work, boat restoration and wood craftsmen and plenty of quality maritime merchandise.
The Taste of Cape Fear – Seafood Chowder lunch fundraiser! New this year!
Instead of a cook-off, for $5 you can get an award winning bowl of seafood chowder, prepared by Frying Pan Restaurant. This recipe WON first prize at the 2012 chowder cook-off, and it’s a real tummy pleaser. Made with locally sourced seafood provided by Brunswick Catch vendors, just another way this event supports the local heritage and fishing industry. Ticket sales begin at 11am and chowder will be served between 12 and 2pm. Boy Scout Troop 238 will also be serving delicious hot dogs and drinks.
Art Competition and Exhibition – Franklin Square Gallery.
For the past two years the Franklin Square Gallery has held an art competition to select the winning artwork, which is used on the marketing poster and t-shirts. The winner this year is a lovely watercolor painting of a wooden boat with ripple reflections in the water by local artist Christie Jacks. You can see all of the submissions; visit with the artist and purchase posters and t-shirts at the First Friday Gallery Walk on September 2 at Franklin Square Gallery.
Other fun family activities on the day include:
• Harbor Tours – Running throughout the day (fee applies)
• Live Music by Herb Harton – Folk, Country, Rock, Ballads & Blues!
• Owner Boat Talks – chat with boat owners throughout the day
• NC Underwater Archaeology Lab exhibit – learn about the latest explorations from the staff at Fort Fisher
AWARDS CEREMONY & RAFFLE DRAWING AT 3PM
Make sure to purchase your raffle tickets and make your way to the Information tent around 3pm. All the Boat Show winners will be announced and the raffle winners will be drawn. This year the raffle prizes include some amazing items.
Grand Raffle Prize – An elegant Asa Thomson design, 11-foot flat bottom, harbor skiff built by John Bradford in 1981. Handcrafted from white pine planking, apple knees with mahogany seats.
A beautiful art print by acclaimed NC artist Belvin Evans of a gorgeous Brunswick county water’s edge landscape with several old wooden fishing boats. Framed by Ricky Evans Gallery, this is a real treasure for any art collector, sea lover or boat enthusiast.
A classic Boat-in-Bottle by Jim Godwin features the Revenue Cutter Diligence II off Bald Head Island
Other raffle prizes include a kayak trip from The Adventure Kayak Company and a Yeti thermos and hat from Stewart’s Hardware.
Categories and prizes – 3 Expert Judges
This year the show is expecting over 35 entries! Three expert judges will bring their vast knowledge and experience to judge the boats in a number of categories. To recognize the participation of numerous Simmons boats, NEW this year, Simmons has it’s own category.
Categories include:
• Best of Simmons
• Best of Sail
• Best of row/paddle
• Best of inboard/outboard powered 20ft length and under
• Best of inboard/outboard powered over 20 ft length
• People’s Choice
Winners will be given an engraved wooden plaque, so make sure to vote for your favorite in the People’s Choice Award
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By: Ami Brown
Ami is an artist, writer and all around creative person. She recently moved back to NC from a ten year stint in New Zealand, where she owned her own art gallery. She began her journalism career back in high school, but reconnected with her writing roots over the past few years. She is now a professional screenwriter and editor and loves watching great movies. She lives in Oak Island with her husband Norm, a boating enthusiast. Her two grown children stayed in New Zealand – her daughter Ashley is an artist and graphic designer and her son Trey makes movie magic at Weta Digital.
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