This list was last updated in April 2015. (Sorry - it's not just natural laziness, I've been too busy getting a new business launched!)
Is your event not in our list? Get in touch!
Sailing boats, rowing boats, kayaks, nautical craftsmen and artists, flags and bunting, varnished wood, polished brass, sea shanties, jazz bands, food and drink. We love friendly, welcoming events with a wide range of interesting boats and activities, for different budgets and ages.
Some of these are village events, some are international, but they're mostly put on by friendly people who like wooden boats and maritime crafts. We have also listed a few big-money races where the skippers aren't kidding around but there's plenty of spectacle (the start and finish lines, the diamond necklaces, the supermodels, and the Ferraris in the car park).
2015 listings (last updated April 2015) in date order: | |||
January | |||
Kayaks and raid boats | Round Florida | Ultimate Florida |
2015 dates? |
February | |||
Wooden boats | Hobart, Tasmania | Australian Wooden Boat Festival, www.australianwoodenboatfestival.com.au | 06-09 February 2015 |
Wooden boats | Launceston, Tasmania | Wooden Boat Rally |
2015 dates? |
Wooden boats | Goolwa | South Australian Wooden Boat Festival www.woodenboatfestival.com.au |
21-22 February 2015 |
March | |||
Kayaks, boats, yachts | Nelson Lakes National Park, New Zealand | NZ Antique & Classic Boat Show www.nzclassicboats.com |
05-06 March 2016 |
Small boats | Florida, USA | Everglades Challenge marathon www.watertribe.com | From 07 March 2015 |
Wooden boats | Geelong, Australia | WJM Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong |
2015 dates? |
Yachts and stories | Queenscliff, Victoria, Australia | Queenscliffe Museum Maritime Weekend www.maritimequeenscliffe.org.au |
2015 dates? |
Tall ships | Netherlands | Race of the Classics, www.rotc.nl | 29 March-05 April 2015 |
April | |||
Classic yachts | French West Indies | Les Voiles de St Barth, www.lesvoilesdesaintbarth.com | 13-18 April 2015 |
Classic yachts | Antigua | Antigua Classics Week, www.antiguaclassics.com | 2015 dates? |
Wooden boats | Oregon, USA | Depoe Bay Wooden Boat Festival, www.depoebaychamber.org | 18-19 April 2015 |
Classic boats | Florida, USA | Appalachicola Antique & Classic Boat Show, www.antiqueboatshow.org | 18 April 2015 |
May | |||
Classic yachts | Marseille, France | Calanque Classic, www.yachting-club-calanques-cassis.com | Next date? |
Classic boats and ships | Brittany, France | Semaine de la Golfe du Morbihan, www.semainedugolfe.asso.fr | 11-17 May 2015 |
Sail and oar raid boats | Goes across Scotland | The Scottish Raid / Great Glen Raid, www.sailcaledonia.org | 23 -30 May 2015 |
Classic yachts | Ajaccio, Corsica | Régates Impériales, www.regates-imperiales.com | 25-30 May 2015 |
Classic yachts | Neustadt, Germany | Max Oertz Regatta, www.max-oertz-regatta.de | 29-31 May 2015 |
Tall ships | Ostend, Belgium | Oostende voor Anker, www.oostendevooranker.be | 28-31 May 2015 |
June | |||
Yacht race | Stockholm | Sjögårdsregattan Classic Yacht Race www.sailtrust.org |
Various dates |
Classic boats | Various, Italian lakes and coast |
ASDEC (Italian classic boat society), www.asdec.it | Next dates? |
Classic yachts | Cremyll, SW England | Classic Keelboat Regatta www.rwyc.org |
Next dates? |
Tall ships | River Seine at Rouen, France | Armada de Rouen www.armada.org |
06-16 June 2019 |
Small boats | Reading, England | Beale Park Boat Show www.bealeparkboatshow.co.uk |
05-07 June 2015 |
Classic boats and ships | Milford Haven, Wales | Seafair Haven www.seafairhaven.org.uk |
2015 dates? |
Sail and oar raid boats | Venice / Venezia | Velaraid |
2015 dates? |
Classic boats | Porquerolles, France | Porquerolles Classique, www.porquerolles.com | 2015 dates? |
Classic yachts | Flensburg, Germany | Robbe & Berking Classic Week, www.classic-week.de | 2015 dates? |
Classic yachts | Marseille, France | Les Voiles du Vieux Port, www.lesvoilesduvieuxport.com | 18-21 June 2015 |
Small boats | Baltimore, USA | Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Antique & Classic Boat Festival, www.cbmm.org or www.chesapeakebayacbs.org |
19-21 June 2015 |
Classic and other boats | South Haven, USA | Michigan Maritime Museum / TSCA Classic Boat Show & Small Craft Festival, www.michiganmaritimemuseum.org or www.tsca.net | 20 June 2015 |
Wooden boats | Mystic Seaport, USA | WoodenBoat Show, www.thewoodenboatshow.com | 26-28 June 2015 |
July | |||
Traditional boats | Portsoy, Scotland | Scottish Traditional Boat Festival |
04-05 July 2015 |
Classic boats, tall ships | Eight festivals around the Baltic | Baltic Classic Circuit www.sailtrust.org |
Many dates |
Classic boats | Various, Italian lakes and coast |
ASDEC (Italian classic boat society), www.asdec.it | Many dates |
Wooden boats | Seattle | Lake Union Wooden Boat Festival, www.cwb.org | 03-05 July 2015 |
Classic Yachts | Hanko, Finland | Hanko Regatta www.hangoregattan.fi |
03-05 July 2015 |
Classic yachts | Barcelona | Vela Clasica PUIG, www.barcelonavelaclasica.com | 15-18 July 2015 |
Classic boats & ships | Brest, France | Brest Maritime Festival (every 4 years) www.brest2016.fr |
13-19 July 2016 |
Classic and other boats | Loviisa, Finland | Loviisa Small Ships Race www.laivasilta.net |
2015 dates? |
Traditional river boats | Henley-on-Thames, England | Thames Traditional Boat Rally www.tradboatfestival.com |
18-19 July 2015 |
Classic and other boats | Douarnenez, France | Temps Fête Douarnenez on Facebook |
Next in 2016? |
Classic boats | Brest, France | Brest Classic Week, www.brestclassicweek.com | Next in 2016? |
Sail and oar raid boats | Silva Bay, British Columbia | Shipyard Raid, www.shipyardraid.ca | Defunct? |
Wooden boats | Philadelphia, USA | Classic and Antique Boat Show, Independence Seaport Museum www.phillyseaport.org |
Next dates? |
Small boats | Brooklin, Maine | Small Reach Regatta | 22-26 July 2015 |
Classic yachts and boats | Plymouth, England | Sutton Harbour Plymouth Classic Boat Rally www.plymouthclassics.org.uk |
24-27 July 2015 |
Classic yachts and boats | Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, USA | Antique & Classic Boat Rendezvous www.mysticseaport.org |
25-26 July ...2015? |
Small boats | Vancouver Island | Cowichan Bay Boat Festival |
31 July- 02 August 2015? |
August | |||
Classic boats, tall ships | Eight festivals around the Baltic | Baltic Sail, www.balticsail.info | Please check their website |
Classic boats | Various, Italian lakes and coast |
ASDEC (Italian classic boat society), www.asdec.it | Many dates |
Raid boats | Hanko Archipelago | Raid Finland | Next dates? |
Classic and other boats | Nova Scotia | Mahone Bay Regatta | 2015 dates? |
Classic yachts | Brooklin, Maine | Eggemoggin Reach Regatta, www.erregatta.com | 1 August 2015 |
Wooden boats | Risor, Norway | Risør Trebåtfestival, www.trebatfestivalen.no | 06-08 Aug 2015 |
Classic yachts | Svendborg, Denmark | Svendborg Classic Regatta, www.classicregatta.dk | 06-08 Aug 2015 |
Classic boats | Paimpol, France | Paimpol Festival du Chant de Marin | 14-16 Aug 2015 |
Yachts, boats | Falmouth, England | Falmouth Week, www.pofsa.co.uk or www.falmouthweek.co.uk |
07-16 Aug 2015 |
Sail and oar raid boats | Sweden& Finland | Archipelago Raid, www.archipelagoraid.com | Defunct? |
Classic boats | Montreal | Festival du Bateau Classique / Classic Boat Festival, www.fbcmontreal.com | Defunct? |
Wooden boats | Vancouver, Canada | Vancouver Wooden Boat Festival, |
27-30 August 2015 |
Wooden boats | Salem, Massachusetts | Antique & Classic Boat Festival |
22-23 Aug 2015 |
Classic and other boats | Dartmouth, England | Dartmouth Regatta, www.dartmouthregatta.co.uk | 27-29 Aug 2015 |
Classic and other boats, jazz | Nantes, France | Erdre Regatta, www.rendezvouserdre.com | 27-30 August 2015 |
September | |||
Classic yachts | Schwering, Germany | Holzbootregatta Schwerin, www.segeln-in-schwerin.de |
2015 dates? |
Fishing schooners | Gloucester, Massachusetts | Gloucester Schooner Festival | 04 Sept 2015? |
Sail and oar raid boats | Plymouth Sound | Raid England www.raidengland.org |
07-11 Sept 2015 |
Classic and other boats | Port Townsend, Washington, USA | Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival, Northwest Maritime Center | 11-13 September 2015 |
Wooden boat area of major show | La Rochelle, France | Village bois du Grand Pavois, www.villagebois.fr | 16-21 September 2015 |
River boats, large and small | River Loire at Orléans, France | Festival de Loire www.festivaldeloire.com |
23-27 Sept 2015 |
October | |||
Small boats | Baltimore, USA | Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum's Mid-Atlantic Small Craft Festival, www.cbmm.org/mascf/ | 03-04 October 2015 |
Wooden boats | Philadelphia, USA | Old City Seaport Festival, www.phillyseaport.org |
2015 dates? |
November | |||
Wooden boats | Melbourne | Melbourne Woodenboat Festival www.woodenboat.com.au |
2015 dates? |
December | |||