Every sailor knows the feeling of being drawn in by a boat that catches their eye and holds their attention for days, months, or even years. Maybe it’s just a small ad in a classifieds section, a listing on a broker’s website, or a boat that turns your head at a dock in a foreign port. For Anneliese and Aron Johnson, it was the latter.
After starting their sailing journey a few years prior, they were inspired by a trip to the Wooden Boat Festival and decided that they really wanted a different kind of boat than the ones they’d been learning on—something unique that could take them anywhere they wanted to go. The seed had been planted, but the actual boat didn’t turn out to be a Festival find. The meet-cute with their custom 41-foot wooden keel ketch, Kailda, came at a Canadian dock.
While cruising through the Gulf Islands on a club boat that they had rented, the Johnsons came upon Kailda at Poets Cove on South Pender Island, British Columbia. They had just pulled in on their charter and Anneliese immediately noticed Kailda and said, “Now that is the kind of sailboat I would like to have.” As luck would have it, she was commenting on the exact boat they had recently been fawning over on YachtWorld. A year after that chance encounter, the long-planted seed to find just the right one-of-a-kind vessel bore fruit, and they finally had the opportunity to make Kailda their own.
The Johnsons bought Kailda in November 2018 right after Thanksgiving, and then spent five years restoring her. She was relaunched in October of 2023 and has been sailed locally and up through Desolation Sound and the Octopus Islands, and down through the San Juan Islands over the past two summers.
48° North: Tell us a little about your boating background?
Anneliese Johnson: About ten years ago, we decided to take up sailing as a fun, family activity. We had each sailed just a bit when we were younger but had never owned a boat of our own. I believe that we actually spoke to Joe Cline, who worked at the Seattle Sailing Club at the time, about joining the club in order to gain some sailing experience, which we ultimately did. We enjoyed sailing with the club for several years with our daughter. Then one fateful September, Aron attended the Wooden Boat Festival in Port Townsend and our journey with wooden boats began. From our marvel at the craftsmanship to the community spirit, we quickly realized that dream of owning a unique wooden boat enthralled us, and Kailda fit that bill perfectly.
Tell us about your boat’s history and what makes it unique.
Kailda is a custom ketch designed by Ernie Simmerer, who was born in Seattle and designed the boat for his family. Kailda was built in 1972 at the yard of Hawaiian Tuna packers at Kewalo Basin, Honolulu, Hawaii. Notably, internationally beloved Pacific Northwest legend John Guzzwell was engaged to work on and direct Kailda’s construction and also built her spars.
From there, the Simmerer family sailed her around Hawaii and through the South Pacific. Then the next owner, a man from Bella Coola, BC, purchased Kailda in Hawaii and sailed her back to Canada and then down to the Bahamas and Caribbean and trucked her back up to Canada. The boat certainly has some miles in her wake!
Tell us about your boat’s name.
The boat was named Kailda when she was built. We understand that the name means ‘Bright Start’ in the language of the Haida First Nation. We need to sail up to Haida Gwaii to verify this information for certain, but that is what the daughter of the designer told us, as did the previous owner.
What do you like best about your boat?
Kailda is a very sea-kindly and comfortable boat. Even when the sea is rough, she is stable and cuts through the waves like a dream. She is actually quite fast for a full keel, heavy displacement boat and our favorite way to sail jib and jigger—foregoing the mainsail, for the ketch-uninitiated—wafting about in the bay in front of Port Townsend.
What do you know now about your boat that you wish you’d known when you bought it? Would that have changed your mind?
Kailda looked beautiful when we bought her. Though we knew some repairs would be needed, we had no idea that the prior owner had literally pumped her full of epoxy, which is death to a wooden boat. The stem was filled with little pieces of wood all held together with glue. The transom also needed to be replaced. And the deck, which was a teak overlay over fiberglass also needed to go. Her hull was stable, though we did need to replace 24 planks, but we ended up rebuilding her from the hull up with new, traditional framing, new cabin sides, new yellow cedar deck, a new doghouse, etc. Daniel Hawkins of Haven Boatworks of Port Townsend was the lead shipwright on the project.
What’s your favorite story involving your boat?
I love that the spars were made by John Guzzwell. I also love that my daughter grew up working on the boat alongside us, though I am not sure those weekends and holidays at the boat yard are yet her favorite memories.
I think my favorite memory was bringing Kailda back to Poets Cove to anchor. It is such a gorgeous spot, one of our favorites, and to visit the location of our first encounter cruising the boat we dreamed of those years ago was really special.
We’ve also had remarkable cruising highlights, like sailing to Lund for the first time and seeing grey whales off the stern; and making our way through Hole in the Wall after sailing through the most gorgeous morning mist.
Describe the most challenging situation you’ve experienced on your boat and how it performed.
We had a little situation with our dinghy in the middle of the Strait of Georgia and had to haul her on board while our daughter was steering. That was a bit of fun I might not like to have again.
Otherwise, we have been in a few lumpy seas crossing the Strait of Juan de Fuca and some windy anchorages, but each time Kailda held steady. Because we are so familiar with how she was built, we have a lot of confidence in her performance and know that the boat can withstand much more than we think we can.
Where do you plan to take your boat? Do you have a dream destination?
We plan to sail as far north this summer as we can before it is time to head back for school. Ultimately, we would love to just leave and sail where the wind takes us for as long as we please.
If you could have any other boat, what would it be and why?
We love this boat. She is, however, not the easiest boat to steer, especially in tight quarters or in reverse. So, if she had a bow thruster, that would make docking so much less exciting. Adding self-steering gear would also be nice, but otherwise, I don’t think we would trade her for another boat.
What didn’t we ask you about your boat that you wish we had?
I once heard an old shipwright say that there is nothing wrong with taking care of something. I remember that often over the weeks of sanding and varnishing every September. We certainly have taken care of Kailda and continue to do so. Having a wooden boat is expensive and sometimes quite thankless, yet I think it is so important to maintain our maritime heritage and the craft and skills that allow such beautiful vessels to be made by one’s own hands. That is why I love wooden boats, and this boat in particular.
The varnish may not be perfect, a few bungs may be cracked, but I varnished those cabin sides and tapped in those bungs. My daughter tapped each copper nail of the tingle she placed on the hull. My husband has spent countless hours, sanding, varnishing, boat souping, designing, constructing, you name it. And each shipwright and each person who has touched the boat has helped to make her what she is today, and she lives on with every sail, every motor, every adventure.
Somehow, Kailda feels more alive to me than other vessels. Probably because there is so much of our family in the boat itself—blood, sweat, and tears. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
If you’d like to share the story of your boat in a MY BOAT article, we’d love to hear from you. Please email 48° North Editor Andy Cross to get started (andy@48north.com).
