SALEM — Vintage sailboats and motor yachts return to the Hawthorne Cove Marina this weekend for the 26th annual Antique & Classic Boat Festival.
A 1900 courting canoe will be on display along with mahogany runabouts and cabin cruisers from the early to mid-1900s and sloops, sharpies, yawls and schooners.
The public can visit and even tour some of the vessels Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hawthorne Cove Marina on White Street.
The cost is a $5 donation to the festival. Children under 12 are free.
At 3 p.m. on Sunday, the boats will parade from the marina down to Derby Wharf before departing Salem Harbor.
Each year, the event draws hundreds of visitors, marina general manager Keith McClearn said.
"People look for stuff like this to do with the way the economy is," McClearn said. "People can come down with their family and walk around the docks, talk to the boat owners and find out the history of the boat and all the work that went into restoring it. ... It's all about people and boats coming together."
The "Teaser," a 1935 sailboat owned by Dana Marcorelle of South Hamilton, will be there. So will "Ghost," a 1934 custom power boat that was built as the ferry for Islesboro, Maine.
"They're beautiful, elegant and they're rare," festival coordinator Pat Wells said. "Because as you look around at most of the harbors and most of the marinas, you look over a sea of fiberglass boats, and it's very hard to spot any wooden masts or any of the wooden boats.
"You also get a chance to chat with the owners," Wells said.
Besides boats, the festival will also feature live music from three bands: The New Orleans Jazz Band, the New Liberty Jazz Band and Three Sheets to the Wind.
Artists, printmakers, ship modelers, woodcarvers and booksellers will also be under a crafts tent at the marina.
For more information, visit www.boatfestival.org.
"We've got a great variety of boats coming," McClearn said.
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