Welcome to Karaka's Web Site

So what the F____ Is going on with karaka those days?
Yes I guess it is all rather confusing...

so, Karaka is sitting in a boatyard in La paz, Baja California , Mexico, while Kim and Tom in an act of unprecedented betrayal, are sailing on another boat along the coast of eastern australia...

We just completed a successfull crossing of the pacific on a 40ft steel cutter called Orianne, that we are about to resell.

So for now Karaka is not going anywhere, but soon, soon, she'll be ready to roam the ocean again. Tom is about to fly back to mexico to take care of Her, there are a few months of work that are long overdue. basically an extensive refit is planned, elimination of all the rust, repainting, revarnishing, plus some conversion and modification that have been too long on the project list...

We won't need crew as such for a while to come, and we already have a lot of people who want to sail with us through the pacific next year, but in the good ol'tradition, we'll welcome anybody willing to give a hand to the refit, there will be work for everybody, and some of the craziest, tequila fueled, mayhem making parties you'll ever seen... we're going to put mexico on fire, and hopefully get karaka all shiny and beautiful as well...

Kim is going to stay a while in australia to work and make a bit more money( it is going to be expensive sailing in the pacific, and all the money we'll have will probably be eaten by the boatyard bill) and will come back to the boat sometime in february maybe, we're not sure.

So yep that's it, sailing in oz for now, fixing up orianne, visiting kim's island, then down to brisbane to sell the boat, then tom back to la paz to work on karaka for the next few months. that's the plan...

After all that the general idea will be to put together an excelent long term crew and go disapear in the remote islands of the south pacific for the next 6 or 8 months... For those wanting to apply for a crew position, please read the website thoroughly and then drop us a line, now is the time to reserve your bunk.


Otherwise as for our trip on Orianne, you can follow our progression by checking the two following links:
Spot Tracker Page
Orianne's blog
And of course if you want to buy a boat, check our advertising page for Orianne : Orianne's Page http:

NEW!The trailer for the Karaka documentary is online! It is on a fundraising website as Simon, the filmmaker intend to finance the movie by crowdfunding. Look it up it is pretty neat, and don't hesitate to make a little contribution, he is not getting much response so far and also to spread the word far and wide... Here is the link: KARAKA-THE SEED OF CHANGE-TRAILER

Although they are going to be neglected for a while, you can also check the log for the latest news and Kim's blog for some magic and more. As well we have a facebook accountwith a fair amount of photos, look us up...
If you reached this page looking for a crew position, try the links and contacts at the bottom of this page as an alternative.
For those who want to help us out, we have now a functioning donation page you can access by clicking on this red link.
You can also donate direcly by clicking on that button:

Otherwise this comprehensive website contains all the information necessary to understand what we're all about and how it is possible for you to join the crew at some point.

Everything you need to know about the ship, the crew past and present and the life on board can be accessed by clicking on THE SHIP at the top of the page and navigating from there.
The details about the costs involved in crewing with us are to be found HERE
If you are having qualms about the concept of cost sharing, please read this page HERE
The email address to apply for a crew position is to be found in the CONTACT page.
For those who have a boat or who dream of going sailing, I just put together a collection of hints and advices, check the PDF version.




syketurah.blogspot.com
Keturah is a 45ft ferrocement ketch curently sailing in South east Asia and the Indian Ocean. Francesco is an old shipmate of mine and also an ex crew member on Karaka. His website is a very complete source of information for applicants. We face the same issues in selecting crew members from the internet and Francesco has a knack for expressing things clearly. Anybody willing to join Karaka should read his website as well.



chasingtheillusion.com
The Illusion is a fiberglass sloop curently getting ready to sail south from the East coast of the States. Brian sailed on Karaka in 2005 and has since accumulated miles crewing for other boats. He just spent a couple years refitting his boat and will take crew members when he set sail, hopefully pretty soon.



imaginasailing.blogspot.com
Imagina is a 38ft fiber glass sloop, skippered by another ex crew member of Karaka, Alejandro, and his girl friend Marianna. They are now about to leave Florida and sail in the northern carribean. They can take a couple crew to share the trip. They are focused on Scuba diving and kite surfing.



Gwen and Vera are two good friends who recently exchanged their small sail boat for a nicer bigger one, in order to have some room for their newborn son Morgan, and also to be able to take passengers to help them with the costs of running a boat. They are sailing in the southwestern carribean at the moment, and are open to any proposition regarding chartering. They are not taking crew as such, but would be the ideal boat if you only have a few weeks vacation but still want to experience what life afloat is like. They are kind of in between what we offer on karaka and what an expensive charter company offers. Contact them at gwendaljudith@yahoo.com



liveaboardsailing.com
Tropicbird is a 50ft wooden ketch with which our friend Julian is now offering sailing opportunities on a cost sharing basis in the Caribbean in the same order of idea as Gwen and Vera just above.



Lilly Bolero . A beautifull gaff rigged schooner curently in South Africa, and operating under the same conditions as we do. We never met them but just looking at photos of the boat is enough for me to recomend them.
Lilly Bolero



Olive is a steel ketch run by Ron, a british south african who is sailing in the caribean. He used to take crew on a share cost basis, but we haven't heard from him for a while. You can contact him by email : vesselolive@yahoo.com.



stahlratte.de
The Stahlratte is a 40 meters 100 years old steel schooner run by a german anarchist collective. They are running backpacker trips between Colombia and Panama most of the time but they sail around the Caribbean once a year.



rvheraclitus.org
The research vessel Heraclitus is a massive quasi organic ferrocement chinese junk run by a worldwide association. They are curently sailing in the Med on an expedition headed to the Black Sea.



A few free crewfinder websites on which we post ads and from which we have good returns :

floatplan.com
7knots.com
lonelyplanet.com
crewbay.com
couchsurfing.org
stw.fr
cruiser.co.za
Also for finding out where to look for boats, a great website with all the latest info on cruising destinations, harbors and marinas is on noonsite.com



moulinruel.canalblog.com
Lastly, for those who are traveling Europe and want to experience the real France, not the France of the cities and consumerism, my parents are running a small scale WOOF farm. They take volunteers to share their little bit of paradise in the woods. They are located near Grenoble, France. Gps position :45 18.220 N 05 16.320 E. If you are interested you can check their profile here(top listing in french) and contact them through the WOOF France website here. if you are not a Woof member you can send me an email directly and I'll pass it to them.