Something about me, I dislike crowds and distrust people who "are energized" by them. Having made it this far into my life without accruing the hobbies or passions that would inspire me to willingly attend any kind of fest or con, every year my tolerance for port-a-potty lines gets shorter and the hypothetical amount you would have to pay me to attend Burning Man gets larger.
But earlier in September, I had the pleasure and privilege of bringing Bobbie's Boat Sauce to the 45th Annual Wooden Boat Festival, in Port Townsend, Washington, and as a result I may need to rethink my position on fests.
Though I was behind a table sampling Boat Sauce for most of the three days, the spirit of the WBF found real estate in my heart. Boat people are a certain way, and wooden boat people even more so. There is not a lot of bullshit in a wooden boat crowd, which I appreciate. I met more than one salty sailor who eschews spices beyond black pepper and has no time for new experiences. Respect.
I also met a lot of people who were utterly confused by a Boat Sauce for food. You see, “Boat Sauce” is actually a thing in wooden boating. Usually it’s linseed oil (with the addition of pine tar or turpentine or something otherwise deadly if ingested) and it’s used to treat your boat’s hull and other wooden parts that get exposure to sun and water. As I understand it. I was somewhat aware of the generic term “Boat Sauce” while developing Bobbie’s Boat Sauce, but I wasn’t prepared for the weekend that I was going to use the majority of my time explaining that it’s a sauce that actually goes in your mouth.
And thus, another anecdote for the books, and another reason to keep coming back to Port Townsend every September - maybe one year in a wooden boat of my own, smothered in Boat Sauce.