This blog is about Ben, Sophie, friends, and the wonderful sailing vessel Kuaka adventuring in the Pacific Ocean.
Kuaka is a 43′ sailboat that is our home / adventure vehicle / good friend / responsibility.
Kuaka is the Maori name for the Bar tailed godwit – a small bird with one of the longest (maybe the longest) non-stop migrations in the world. Kuaka’s prior owner was a commercial fisherman who spent considerable time fishing and living in New Zealand and Alaska. Like the godwit, he migrated back and forth between NZ and Alaska. His fishing boat, which also made the trip back and forth, was named the Godwit. When he set off sailing after purchasing Kuaka in Spain, he named this boat the Kuaka. We love the name and have kept it. There is great info about the Kuaka on this website: http://www.hekuaka.co.nz/the-flight-of-he-kuaka/background
In 2021 we purchased Kuaka in Homer Alaska and sailed to Seattle with two friends. Sophie was moving across the country to live aboard in Seattle and we had to be there by May 28th! We pulled into Ballard on May 27th after 7 weeks traveling with an average daily distance around 80 nm (we didn’t go in a straight line). Below are some videos that I made of the trip south – but don’t worry. This is the full extent of Kuaka’s youtube career.
Also – you can find Kuaka on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sv_kuaka/
Our position shows up on No Foreign Land here.
or send an email (text only please) – svkuaka “at” gmail “dot” com