Boat festival hope sunk

‘Incredibly disappointed’ team says risk just too high

ALL hopes have sunk for Tasmania’s largest free event after plans to run an expensive reimagined festival were tossed overboard.

The Australian Wooden Boat Festival is one of the world’s most popular maritime events.

But organisers have given the February 2021 festival the chop after COVID-19 and cost concerns cast doubts over the event.

AWBF general manager Paul Stephanus said in an online statement the team has “decided to wait out the weather so we can all sail again in fairer winds”.

“Over the past month we have been exploring options to keep our 2021 festival afloat,” he said.

“We’ve modelled an event heavy with fencing, security, and strict crowd controls. We’ve looked at options for a gathering for boat owners only and not open to the public.

“We even toyed with the possibility of moving the whole festival online.

“But time after time we ran into the same problems.

“The risk was always too high, the expenses were unmanageable and the end result was not a festival that we could be proud of producing.

“In the worst case scenario if things went truly pearshaped in the weeks leading up to the event, the whole exercise may have crushed the AWBF entirely.”

Mr Stephanus said he was “incredibly disappointed” but said planning was already under way for the biennial festival’s return on February 10-13, 2023, at Sullivans Cove.

AWBF joins the latest wave of cancellations including Falls Festival, M8fest and Bicheno Food and Wine Festival.

Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania CEO Luke Martin said the announcement was “another blow” for Tasmania.

“With the uncertainty of the Victorian market, I understand [their decision],” he said.

“We need to double down on the summer events we have and give them every opportunity to get Tasmanians moving around the state and hopefully some interstate traffic.”

Mr Martin said he hoped the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and a re-imagined Taste of Tasmania would stir up excitement, adding “Hobart will need a bit of a party”.