Our mission is to engage and educate people of all generations in traditional and contemporary maritime life, in a spirit of adventure and discovery.
Hello Friends!
We are thrilled and grateful to offer you our latest impact overview. Your investment in our community is working! There’s a lot to celebrate, both here in our hometown of Port Townsend and around the Salish Sea. From the opening of our main campus’s new Welcome Center to celebrate and interpret our mission and Port Townsend’s maritime culture, and the rest of our continued expansion of educational and engagement programs for people of all ages. There’s also much to look forward to in the year ahead, like celebrating our very first class of graduating seniors from Maritime High School, and the return of the WA360 race, both coming up in 2025.
None of these achievements and milestones would be possible without the support of thousands of people like you – volunteers and donors, foundation funders, corporate and maritime industry partners, and government officials at every level. We’re incredibly grateful for your confidence in our effort to expand Northwest Maritime’s impact throughout the region.
Of course, expansion also requires continued investment in people, equipment, curriculum, facilities – the list goes on! So whether you’re connected to us through your appreciation of wooden boats, maritime history and culture, youth education, adventure races, or simply a love for our precious marine environment, we invite you to share your time and financial resources in a way that is meaningful for you.
And as stakeholders in Northwest Maritime’s mission, your feedback is very valuable. Reach out and share your thoughts about the information in this report, and tell us about Northwest Maritime’s impact on your life. We’d love to hear your story.
Thank you for being a part of this wonderful maritime adventure!
For almost 50 years, we’ve been building community and camaraderie around our shared maritime experiences.
From the craft and culture of the largest Wooden Boat Festival in North America, to the crucible of adventure that is Race to Alaska, to our work with young people around Puget Sound connecting them to a sense of place, boat handling, navigation, science, and each other, Northwest Maritime’s vibrant and inclusive activities bring people together.
In an increasingly divisive and disconnected world, we know the transformative impact of real life maritime experiences for people of all generations. We continue to gather face-to-face, creating things with our own hands, and building community.
But it’s not just about learning from the ocean; it’s also about taking care of it. We know that the future of our planet depends on how well we look after our lands and waters. By helping people connect with their environment, we’re not only creating stewards who care about keeping our ecosystems healthy and our communities strong, but we’re preparing young people (and not-so-young people!) for the opportunities of the green economy.
Our regional maritime workforce is in crisis: lots of jobs with not enough young people to fill them in careers ranging from ship captains to shoreline engineers to welders to marine biologists.
We’re addressing this shortage head-on with programs designed to introduce young people to maritime careers and equip them with skills to succeed in a range of workplaces on or near the water. Our work in Port Townsend and Seattle is seeding regional efforts from Tacoma to Port Angeles to Bellingham.
From
“ ”
here, I want to learn more about handson trades, but I’m also thinking about going on to higher education, and if I did, I would do it either for physics or law school - maybe maritime law?
- Maritime Career Immersion Student
LOOKING AHEAD
We’ve grown a lot in the last few years! From our merger with Salish Sea Expeditions, to expanding our community reach with 48º North magazine, to buying The Swan Hotel across the street, our staff size has doubled since the pandemic, and our scale of operations and impact has increased both in Port Townsend and regionally.
Our people and programs are stronger than ever, and we’re looking ahead to how we can keep on building community, having fun, and connecting people to the inspiration, impact, and opportunity of the maritime world.
BLUE SCHOOLS INITIATIVE: Building on 30-plus years of delivering maritime learning, and our innovative high school programs Port Townsend Maritime Academy, Maritime Career Immersion, and Seattle’s Maritime High School, we’re working to scale these successful experiential programs and curricula to connect more students to their communities, the sea, themselves, and maritime careers.
WASHINGTON 360: When the pandemic closed the Canadian border, we put on our thinking caps, and a new adventure race was born — the WA360, an engineless sprint from Port Townsend to Olympia to Point Roberts that riles up Puget Sound communities and tests the mettle of hundreds of sailors. WA360 returns in 2025 to stir things up for the first time since 2021!
WELCOME CENTER: In 2024, we opened our new Welcome Center on our Port Townsend campus, a pilot project of the Maritime Washington National Heritage Area. There, visitors will learn about the rich maritime heritage and culture that defines our area and about NWM’s activities and programs across the region.
Scan this QR code to make an impact through YOUR gift, or visit nwmaritime.org/donate/
“
In the vast expanse of the sea, we find solace in the rhythm of the waves, knowing that every journey, no matter how turbulent, is a testament to our capacity for growth and transformation.
”
- Jake Beattie
Johnson
HOW WE MEET OUR MISSION
WOODEN BOAT FESTIVAL
ADVENTURE
Race to Alaska
SEVENTY48
WA360
COMMUNITY
She Tells Sea Tales
48º North Cruising Rally
Salish 100
ADULT CLASSES
Boatshop Workshops
Sailing Classes
Navigation & Maritime Skills
Classes
YOUTH PROGRAMS
Summer Camps & Classes
After-school Activities
Experiential Programs for Schools & Groups
CAREER TRAINING
Maritime High School
Port Townsend Maritime Academy
Maritime Career Immersion
Ship Simulator Training
MEDIA
48° North Magazine
HOSPITALITY
The Swan Hotel
Welcome Center
Waterfront Tours
Event Rentals
NORTHWEST MARITIME is a regional nonprofit that engages people in the powerful experiences of the sea, with the intent of making them stronger people, connecting them and their communities to the blue parts of the map, and using maritime activity to authentically address the larger issues of our world.
Impact Statements
“I remember feeling inspired and excited; I realized I could do these new things, and I could do them in community. Being at Northwest Maritime felt like a breath of fresh air, away from school.”
-Emilia Ramsey, Youth Program Participant
“I learned that I like being a part of something, that even if I don’t always feel like doing something, it will be worth it afterwards, especially if it’s hard.” - Youth Program Participant
“My son has been a part of Northwest Maritime for 14 years and has participated in every program they offer from camper to sailing instructor and is a recent graduate of the Maritime Academy. I am not a mariner, but he is. What he knows, he didn’t learn from me but rather from his mentors and peers at the NWM. He has knowledge and skills that are solid, real, and empowering that will serve him for the rest of his life. He has also chosen maritime as his career path and will be attending the Wooden Boat School in the fall.”
- Celia Fulton Walden, Parent
“My experience on the boat was amazing! We learned how to navigate. We studied plankton and measured seawater. I loved being on the boat, and learning about marine life. The crew members were very nice, and they even let me drive the boat! It was so cool. 10/10, would definitely boat again.” - Aidan K.
