David Cliff, Denmark Bulletin
Denmark Classic Boat Show on Sunday was a big community success with locals and visitors enjoying the boat displays and the on-water activities despite the showers.
Denmark Rowers volunteers pulled off their third biennial Classic Boat Show with a laid-back atmosphere that offered something for boating enthusiasts and the community.
The popular Cordless Drill Challenge race had the crowd cheering and laughing on the river bank.
The eight entrants had come up with a variety of propulsion systems based on 18-volt power tools including a boat driven by twin leaf blowers.
The fastest boat was driven by Steve Ward who used his engineering skills to come up with the optimum combination of drill and propeller size.
But being Australia II’s boat builder this should not have been a surprise.
It was great to see, young and not so young, women have a go this year and a young lad, Logan Mitchell, from Perth who had 3D printed his propellers and came a close second.
The rowing pursuit races were also a crowd pleaser with teams from Albany, Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club, East Fremantle and Nannup taking part.
The action built to a close final race where East Fremantle beat the local Denmark Rowers by one second.
There were more than 30 boats on display and toy boat building for the young at heart.
Denmark Senior High School risked getting their boat building project wet by putting it on display while the Woodturners turned out spinning tops and belaying pins.
Photo: Andrew Gill.
The show also had stands from local organisations including Denmark Marine Rescue, Denmark Surf Lifesaving Club, Equip and Bushfire Ready and Denmark Sailing Club.
Sponsors were Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park, Denmark Hotel, Regional Development Australia, Albany Maritime Foundation, Trimtronics, Emu Point Slipway, Boatcraft Pacific and Straydog Boatworks.
They helped make the show a success in raising money for a new boat shed for Denmark Rowers.
Photo: Andrew Gill.
See all the pictures in the issue.
This article appeared in Denmark Bulletin, 2 October 2025.
