One of the great delights of cruising is the people you meet. The majority are wonderful company sharing a common interest and these encounters are often intense because everyone knows that they are all too often brief and you have to make the most of them. Once in a while someone exceptional appears and Harold La Borde was one I wrote about. Kari Blackmore is an extraordinary woman and so I devote an entry in my blog to her.
I first encountered her in Antigua where her yacht Zahlia was anchored not far from Plane Song. She was noticeable not because she was a rare female solo sailor but because she effortlessly rowed a small dinghy quite a distance to shore and always hauled it out at night. I met her again in the Azores in Horta, then in Velas and later in Praia da Vitoria where I had time to learn more about her achievements. She is modest about them and the story has to be gently prised from her.Before sailing became central to her life she worked as a cook in London and Porto Santo, Madeira. During her back-packing days she travelled extensively. She casually mentioned that she had cycled around Thailand as though this was nothing out of the ordinary.
In the Cape Verdes she met Jean-Yves, a French sailor and after both had separately crossed the Atlantic they decided to circumnavigate in Jean-Yves' 32 foot steel yacht. Kari sold her yacht in Trinidad. They spent 6 years sailing round the world. This experience helped her formulate her ideas when she decided to have her own yacht. She commissioned the hull of a Wylo 32 foot steel gaffer from a yard in Penryn which by good fortune was familiar with the design, having built two previously.
Fitting out a yacht myself taught me the perils of such an enterprise. That Kari achieved this in two years with no previous training in the skills needed, whilst living aboard, is a considerable feat. To have designed and built in all the features her previous sailing had taught her were important adds another dimension to this remarkable achievement. There isn't enough space to include them all but I mention a couple to give the flavour.
Water inside a steel hull is to be avoided at all costs. To ensure she could easily replenish fresh water from an anchorage, her domestic supply is held in carriable plastic containers, each with its own secure storage compartment. The one in use slots under the double sink unit, located on the centre line to ensure good drainage and is hand pumped to the sink. Fool proof and well suited to someone who prefers to be at anchor.
Stowing anchor chain is something of a compromise on many yachts. In most cases the sea water and muck that comes with raising the anchor finds its way into the bilges which on a steel boat is a potentially serious problem. Kari's solution is to have a large robust plastic container positioned under the chain pipe. The bottom has a skin fitting and a pipe leads to a container where the salt water is collected. Because the chain container is very accessible, rinsing the chain with fresh water is simlicity itself. Nothing enters the bilge.
These are but two of the sensible and practical ideas she has built into her unique yacht. Everywhere you look above and below deck there is some very practical solution to make the yacht safer and more easily handled. Astonishingly, she also made most of the rigging and all of the sails, not to mention the upholstery and her own clothes. Being a traditional gaffer, Zahlia has some 30 blocks-no prizes for guessing who made them. Oh, and that nice little dinghy,a Nymph design, was built by Kari.
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| Fore Hatch-hinged from front or back |
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| Forward View from Galley |
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Full Size Chart Table |
During my stay in Velas, I met Jim and Becky, a wonderful couple from the Shetlands. They organised a musical evening and invited Kari, who plays a penny whisle. Jim is a talented fiddle player and Becky is learning to accompany him with a concertina. Kari played really well and it was a delight to listen to live music again. I then discovered Kari is entirely self-taught. I'm wondering what she will turn her hand to next! Whatever it is she will be the master of it.
I'm not sure I have captured the essence of this remarkable,energetic and likeable character but I am grateful to her for allowing me the opportunity to try.
