Schooner Kiva launched in 1973
Our home port is near Victoria on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada where we bought Kiva in November 2019. She had been abandoned and neglected for ten years, filled with mold and rotten wood.
We had walked every dock on Vancouver Island for months in search of the right boat, and we knew immediately when we found her. We have been rebuilding this beautiful ferro-cement 55 foot staysail schooner ever since.
Kiva started her life in 1973 under the name of Arctic Dogwood. She was commissioned and purpose built to be the first boat to sail through the famed and unforgiving North West Passage from West to East. Kiva was brought to life by famed designer Cecil Norris and professionally built at the Samson Marine Design shipyard in Richmond, BC.
The original Captain of the vessel was able to convince the Federal and Provincial governments to join in the adventure. Hydrographic surveys, weather research and a colour film were commissioned by the Federal government. The Provincial government contributed an initial $25,000, half of the promised amount, in exchange for an idea: The Arctic Dogwood is a made-in-BC ship and a global circumnavigation following the Northwest Passage crossing would waive the flag for BC shipbuilding companies. The BC government also managed all of the publicity for the journey. Despite this funding and generous contributions from the BC shipbuilding community, the $175,000 construction price tag required more help. The public could join the Artic Dogwood Society for a $5 membership fee, people would receive a copy of the ship's log after the voyage.
The six person crew consisted of the Captain, his wife (a registered nurse), First Mate (an experienced sailor and Glaciologist), Second Mate (an experienced mountain climber and sailor), and two cameramen. In mid-July the vessel and her crew left the Victoria Inner Harbour to great fanfare and media attention, completed by a christening ceremony by the wife of the BC Lieutenant Governor Walter Owen. The 10,000 mile voyage was estimated to take 100 days if the weather and ice conditions were average. About one month after departure, local newspapers reported that at least ten trades companies who worked on the vessel were still owed almost $1700. Scandal erupted in the newspaper, the governments, and the Arctic Dogwood Society. Further government funding vanished.
At the same time, the vessel had an unscheduled 10 day layover for repairs in Homer, Alaska after a collision with a US Coast Guard Vessel. Unfortunately, a combination of the unscheduled layover and leaving too late in the season resulted in the decision to leave the sailboat in Homer for the winter. The one and three quarter inch thick reinforced ferro-cement hull was specifically designed to continually rise above the pack ice. The crew flew home to BC, returning to the vessel the following Spring. They sailed the boat through the Aleutian Islands toward the Bering Sea. "When we got to Dutch Harbour we found that the ice conditions were bad". The vessel and crew returned to Victoria, BC in August 1974 when the vessel was put up for sale for $200,000.
Join us as we explore the incredible West Coast of Canada, and eventually sail further afield.