Daryl Wakefield, who built the 164-foot “Evviva” yacht in Port Townsend, grills a house mover contracted to help launch the yacht down the beach at the Port of Port Townsend in 1993
The last scheduled slide show presentation on the history of the marine trades and the Port of Port Townsend by journalist and author Scott Wilson comes Thursday, Feb. 6 at the Peninsula College building at Fort Worden State Park (202 Eisenhower Ave.).
The presentation, at 6 p.m., is free to the public as part of Peninsula College’s Studium Generale program.
Wilson’s visual presentation is a quick walk through 100 years of local history based on his 2024 book, “Working Port: 100 Years of the Port of Port Townsend.” That history describes the conditions that led to the voters’ creation of the Port of Port Townsend in 1924, which in turn led to the creation of the marine trades in the 1960s and 1970s, and their evolution to the current day.
It covers early ventures such as the ferry that served Marrowstone Island, how Ed Sims influenced the location of Port Townsend’s first marina, the gigantic project of the early 1960s that filled in half of Kah Tai Lagoon and built the modern boatyard, acquisition of what is now the Point Hudson Marina and the airport, and the threats that almost throttled the marine trades in their infancy.
It also includes more recent history, such as the creation of the Wooden Boat Festival and the construction and “ridiculous” launch of the largest vessel ever built in Port Townsend, the 164-foot “Evviva” in 1993. The presentation broadens to include crucial political events that shaped not just the Port but also Port Townsend and Jefferson County as a whole.
“Working Port” has been well-received. Its first edition is sold out. The second edition is available in local bookstores, Aldrich’s Market and Port moorage offices.
Peninsula College’s Port Townsend building is located at 202 Eisenhower Ave., alongside the Fort Worden parade grounds. The Studium Generale series occurs every month on the first Thursday of each month. For more information on the series, see https://pencol.edu/events.