From November 2025 to April 30, 2026 there will be 1,000 authentic Japanese glass fishing floats released along Westport beaches with the goal of tidal landings and beach finds during the beachcombing season.

The event is funded by the city of Westport lodging tax funds as an incentive to market the town in winter months.

Because this is a wild release, locals are encouraged to help visitors enjoy this tradition and help keep them safe and pointed in the right direction. Many visitors and families engage in beachcombing and the hope of finding a real float and the nostalgia of classic beachcombing memories. Organizers have worked with expert “float Fairies” and “wranglers” on strategies to get the bulk of the floats to land across a short window of the South Beaches. Westport, as Washington’s “Original Beach Town” has the first “real float” event that gets people onto the beaches like the old days and a chance to take home a real Japanese glass float find.

The Maritime Museum uses “real floats,” most recently from the tsunami clean up in Japan and imported back to the U.S. These are real working floats as opposed to decorative thin skinned art floats. Most floats are shades of green because that is the color of glass from recycled sake bottles as has been the tradition in Japan. These glass floats are survivors and not prone to breakage.

The floats are hand etched with “WSBHS 2026” to identify floats released from the program as opposed to what are referred to as “Truly Wild” floats that are still found with regularity by lucky beachcombers.

Everyone who finds a float is encouraged to share their finds through social media and to make sure to add a hash-tag #wildfloats and #Experiencewestport.

Visitors who would like to learn more about beachcombing can visit the Maritime Museum and check out their collection of South Beach combed floats along with unique collector floats.

Wildfloat etiquette; Don’t hog floats. The nature of a wild release means that occasionally they will bunch up. If you find several, please make one your bag limit and leave the rest for others or help visitors find them. The goal of the program is to share the experience and stories with visitors.