In August 2025, as he had done for decades, beloved fisherman Joel Kawahara set out from his hometown of Quilcene for the fishing grounds. After a few weeks, Joel’’s commercial fishing troller Karolee was found adrift without Joel aboard. In his passing, Joel Kowahara has become the renewed catalyst for Bernie’s vision to come true. Thanks to the Port of Port Townsend, Kiwanis, the Port Townsend Foundry, and community donations from you, the memorial’s completion date will be around August of this year and ready for our 2026 Wooden Boat Festival. The sight of the memorial will be at the entrance to the Point Hudson jetty boardwalk. This month, we’ll reprise our 2025 radio special about Bernie Arthur’s dream, and in Joel’s honor, the April 2022 Boatyard interview we did with Kowahara along side his Karolee.
