Classic & Wooden Boat Festival

Celebrating the beauty and diversity of Australia's heritage vessels and their craftspeople, the Australian National Maritime Museum will present the Classic and Wooden Boat Festival from 13-15 April 2018 in Sydney's iconic Darling Harbour.

A huge range of boats will be on display over the course of the festival including Halvorsen crusiers, yachts and skiffs, classic speedboats, steam launches and workboats from all around Australia. Also featured will be the stunning 1924 luxury ketch Hurrica V, featured in Baz Luhrmann's film The Great Gatsby, and SY Ena, a magnificent steam yacht now in the museum's collection, both originally built in Sydney.

In addition to the 100 plus boats moored around the museum and Cockle Bay, visitors will enjoy a vast number of exciting activities. From cruising on Sydney Heritage Fleet vessels including the magnificent James Craig, perusing a maritime marketplace and artworks to witnessing a swimwear parade showcasing a colourful selection of cossies through the ages from the museum's collection.

Visitors will also discover traditional maritime skills with line throwing, sculling and caulking demonstrations throughout the festival weekend. There's also the spectacle of the Quick and Dirty boat building competition, where the race is on to create makeshift boats and sail them on the harbour in record time.

Each day a host of arts and crafts activities for kids will take place in the kid's boatshed. Crafty kids can engage in a smaller boat building competition and make, float and race their very own foam boats to win a trophy.

Lively entertainment throughout the weekend will include live music, a magician, a jumping castle and food trucks. Festival goers can also relax with drinks and music while enjoying the sun setting over Sydney's iconic harbour at the museum's waterside café Yots.

The Classic and Wooden Boat Festival runs the weekend of Friday 13 April - Sunday 15 April 2018 at the Australian National Maritime Museum and Cockle Bay. Festival entry is free.

For more information visit www.anmm.gov.au/cwbf