Obi shares her view of the 2024 Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival

In my opinion the experience of being on a boat correlates to some innate aspects of human need - as a metaphor it is like being held or cocooned within the hull whilst also being exposed as you motor or sail in the ever changing elements - which allows for learning and growth.

Being invited to talk at the Port Townsend Boat Festival 2024 and share my experiences of sustainable boat building with my two hats of BlueTree Boat Builders and as part of the Women in Boatbuilding delegation allowed me to develop within my career.

I felt “held” by the supportive and positive atmosphere that Barbara Trailer, Diana Talley and Kaci Cronkhite created - they are wonderful matriarchs championing a diverse workforce within the marine sector. The wider environment of the wildlife, the trees, the Salish Sea and the boats at the festival, amongst others, were breathtaking. It was also amazing to get to know my fellow Women in Boatbuilding panellists over a few days face-to-face, they are inspiring!

Conversely, speaking in public is not in my comfort zone so I felt “exposed” talking about BlueTree’s work and my experiences within boat building. Nevertheless the curiosity of the audiences was tangible which made me feel seen and heard - my discomfort was worth it and helped me grow.

As an individual I understood that my previous doctoral research of how we as humans construct comfort within the spaces we inhabit, directly relates to my new-ish and ongoing career within BlueTree and our sustainable boat building vision.

The Port Townsend Boat Festival was a wonderful opportunity to share this knowledge through talks and panels, a lovely KPTZ local radio conversation with Mark Stout and an international podcast with the gorgeous Boat Geeks Darren and Daeron.

Click on the image to listen the Boat Geeks podcast

It seems a minor thought but visitors to the show smiled with their eyes - it was a joy to be part of that energy!