World’s Largest Annual Vintage Tugboat Show & races always happen Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day Weekend
Registration open for 2024 Participating Tugboats and Vessels!
CLICK HERE to register your tugboat, or CLICK HERE to register your non-tugboat vessel.
NOTE: All participating tugboat and vessels must carry liability insurance and submit a Certificate of Insurance with the following to be named as additional insured:
South Sound Maritime Heritage Association, PO Box 2351, Olympia WA 98501
The Event Company, LLC, 2145 57th Way NW, Olympia WA, 98502
Logo History
The festival started in 1974, however the logo did not appear right away. The design was developed in 1983 with Tug Sand Man being the first logo boat. Each consecutive year features the tugboat from the year prior who was the oldest boat that raced and had never been a logo boat. It is a high honor for the skippers that navigate the Puget Sound to show and race their tugs annually. Each year every participating tugboat and vessel gets a plaque that they proudly display in the wheel house (or somewhere) in their boat.
History of Harbor Days and the Tugboats
It has always been all about the tugboats. Back in the day, before there were cell phones and radio communication how did skippers and captains of the ships communicate and how did a sailing vessel or cargo vessel navigate into harbor? Here is where the story of Tugboat Racing comes in…
Back in the 1800’s the tall ships would move cargo (and people) from one port to another. When the ships were within site of the port, the captain knew the tugs would soon arrive. On land, a spotter would catch site of the tall ship and let the skippers of the steam driven tugboats know that a ship needed to be brought in to port. Skippers would load in logs and steam up their engines. A smart skipper may have already been set to go. The tugboats would toss their lines and leave the docks and race out to the tall ship – sometime traveling 5 to 7 miles based on visibility. The first tug to reach the tall ship usually got the job to bring her to port. Thus the start of famous tugboat racing.
Tug of the Month Stories
A decade of OHD festival and tugboat Videos
Olympia Harbor Days – Videos of tugboats, races and festival fun over the years!
2020
Doug Eklund - Sand Man Tug (33 minutes 48 seconds)
Chuck Fowler - Parthia Tug (23 minutes 23 seconds)
OHD Homepage Video (51 seconds)
2019
OHD 2018 – A Glimpse of Summer (28 seconds)
Getting Excited for Olympia Harbor Days 2019 (1 minute 25 seconds) on Facebook
The Countdown to Olympia Harbor Days (42 seconds) on Facebook
The Tugboat Races 2019
Race 1 of 3 (3 minutes 4 seconds) on Facebook
Race 2 of 3 (4 minutes 30 seconds) on Facebook
Race 3 of 3 (1 minute 57 seconds) on Facebook
Tugboat Races Cap the 46th Annual Olympia Harbor Days Festival (1minute 13 seconds)
2018
Join Us for Olympia Harbor Days 2019 (1 minute 22 seconds) on Facebook
World’s Largest Vintage Tugboat Race at Olympia Harbor Days (1 minute 30 seconds) on Facebook
Patricia Ann Tugboat Races (9 minutes 49 seconds)
Anchors Away for the 45th Harbor Days Tug Races (1 minute 5 seconds)
2017
Olympia Harbor Days 2017 – Teaser Countdown to the tugboat races (40 seconds)
Olympia Harbor Days 2017 (52 seconds) on Facebook
Full Speed Ahead Olympia Harbor Days Races (1 minute 15 seconds)
Cedar King Skipper Makes for port after 30 years at the helm (2 minutes 9 seconds)
2016
43rd Annual Harbor Days Tugboat Races & Festival (1 minute 52 seconds)
2015
Olympia Harbor Days Races (13 seconds)
Olympia Harbor Days Tugboat Races (48 seconds)
2014
Olympia Harbor Days Races (2 minutes 37 seconds)
2013
Tug Races (3 minutes 25 seconds)
Olympia Harbor Days – Race Video (37 seconds) on Facebook
2012
Harbor Days Tugboat Races (6 minutes 42 seconds)
2010
Tugboat Race RW Confer / Galene (11 minutes 7 seconds)
Sponsor Thanks Videos
2019 (2 minutes 18 seconds)
version without the WASL piece (1 minute 49 seconds)
2018 (2 minutes 38 seconds)
2017 (1 minute 55 seconds)
2016 (1 minute 20 seconds) on Facebook
2019 Virginia V Cruise
Cruise to Olympia (2 minutes, 33 seconds)
Cruise to Olympia short version (47 seconds)
Cruise to Olympia no voiceover (24 seconds)
Cruise to Olympia no voiceover (37 seconds)
Lady Washington
Ralph Munro - My Favorite Places (3 minutes)
Virginia V
Tugboats Reliance and the Teal paid a visit to Olympia on Saturday the 5th to continue the tradition of "showing up", so we can count 2020 as a year in our history. We stayed for about an hour, got fish & chips and had some visitors walk by the dock. John D.