The best way to get the most out of TrawlerFest-Anacortes is to purchase a VIP pass. Being a VIP gives you access to every seminar except the Diesel Engine course. The cost is $375, but the seminar buying power is far greater than that, as anyone willing to go to the ticketing site and do the math will see.

For example, on Wednesday, May 13, VIPs have a choice of taking the all-day “The Great Loop for West Coast Cruisers” seminar or the half-day “Practical Weather,” both excellent team-taught courses. Come back Thursday and you have multiple choices. You can commit to the team-taught “The Boat Buyer’s Survival Guide, which continues on Friday morning” or you can go another route altogether.

You can pick two out of four two-hour seminars on topics such night running, cruising to Alaska, anchors and anchoring or apps for cruisers. All of them are well illustrated.

On Friday, Jan. 23, those who did not commit to “The Boat Buyer’s Survival Guide” have a choice of two tracks–either an all-morning seminar “Emergencies at Sea” or two two-hour sessions from a choice of four– “Navigation–Quick and Easy,” “Pride of Ownership,” “How Not To Sink” or “The Nortwest Passage” with author and documentary filmmaker Sprague Theobald.

The weekend offers two tracks as well. Either you can sign up for the on-the-water Boat Handling seminar conducted over both Saturday and Sunday mornings, or you have a choice of two-out out of four two-hour seminars both days.

(Normally VIPs can just show up at the seminars they like, but if you intend to go for Boat Handling, we ask that you let us know in advance because that seminar is limited to just 15 attendees.)

TrawlerFest-Anacortes is happening Tuesday through Sunday, May 12-17 at Cap Sante Marina. The Great Loop seminar happens all day Wednesday, May 13. The in-water portion of the event runs Thursday through Sunday, May 14-17, so please don’t come any sooner expecting to get aboard a trawler.

That’s reason that seminars are only conducted in the morning beginning on Thursday. We’d like to encourage attendees to go down on the docks and go aboard those vessels, but there is one exception that every VIP is welcome to attend at 3:30 p.m. Friday, May 15–our “Cruisers Perspectives” panel discussion featuring some of the most experienced voyagers we know.

This, the only afternoon session of the day, is an opportunity to ask a host of questions and see hear a variety of answers. Taking questions will be circumnavigators Bruce Kessler, Sprague Theobald, Brian Krantz, Steve Zimmerman and Jeff Merrill, Denny Emory, Mark Bunzel and PassageMaker editor Peter Swanson.

For information about TrawlerFest call our dedicated number 954.703.4789 or email us at [email protected]