GM’s Log – October 2017

The Aussie invasion at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival is very well documented in the Chairman’s Message this month. We experienced a genuine welcome, old-fashioned hospitality and a great weekend of lively chat and boat stories. The visit was the result of a lot of planning and a commitment to get the ball rolling for a good show, when our North American friends allow us to return the favour as special guests in 2019.

But August and September saw other developments, too. AWBF Inc. has once more invited been by the Mawson’s Huts Foundation to manage and deliver the Australian Antarctic Festival. This event will take place in August 2018, with the two Antarctic research vessels Aurora Australis and Investigator open to the public and for school tours at Princes Wharf, Hobart. We are already busy working on a bigger and better program, following the success of the inaugural Antarctic Festival in 2016.

We were very sorry to hear from long-time festival supporter, outstanding volunteers organiser and well-known food and beverage manager Kelvin Aldred has decided to hang up his clipboard after more than 16 years’ service to the AWBF. Kel and his wonderful wife Sandra have been indulging their love of travel and they are just having too much fun to fit it all in. We will all miss you, Kel, especially your leadership of the fabulous ‘A-Team’ who took on so many festival jobs with enthusiasm, good humour and endless patience.

AWBF has thrown its hat into the ring again for the Tasmanian Tourism Awards, submitting an entry in the Major Events category. With Hobart emerging as the boutique events capital of Australia, there’s some tough competition out there, but we’re hopeful of recording a few runs on the board. Finalist in these prestigious awards will be announced on Thursday 12 October, so stayed tuned for more news.

As always, we welcome stories from our membership and readers. Submissions should be in an unformatted word document or email and good pictures help bring your story alive. Send them as JPEG attachments by email. Please note, you must have the permission of the person who took the photo before we can publish it. Deadline is the first week of each calendar month.

Paul Cullen

General Manager