This is Mara Noka, my home…

Mara Noka was constructed in a shipyard in Whitby, England. It is 12,30 meters in length, 5 meters wide, with a draft of 80 centimeters. Made out of plywood with a vinyl covering and two masts, it splashed in 1974. It spent most of it’s life in the Mediterranean and eventually made its way across the Atlantic to the jungles of Panama, where I found him.

Mara Noka now has only one mast, (which up until our Atlantic crossing in 2019 was a radio tower). The boat has had most of its refitting done by Hans Klaar, adding his signature deck made out of fresh cut planks from a newly fallen tree, fastened with nothing but string, and a very powerful gaff-rig supported by a Portuguese telephone pole as a mast.

We sail 99.8% of the time. Mostly out of choice, but also because there is only a 9.9HP engine aboard―less than many dinghys. There is no chart plotter, no depth sounder, no radar. There is no auto-pilot or self-steering system; somehow, with a little help from me adjusting the sails, it knows just what to do.

I’m beyond thankful for my old boat. It keeps me safe, and takes me to the most beautiful places on Earth. I never would have thought I could have a boat as a soulmate…