Korvessa
Korvessa is a 1985 Nauticat 40 Ketch – a Sparkman and Stephens designed boat built by the Siltala boatyard in Finland. For line drawings and interior photos, visit the Sparkman and Stephens blog.
“Korvessa” (for you linguists out there, the singular inessive form of ‘korpi’) means “into the wilderness” in Finnish and comes from a famous Finnish folk song about guardian angels watching over children lost in the woods. Here is a link to the song Maan korvessa kulkevi lapsosen tie, by Samuli Edelmann.
Prior to Korvessa, which we bought in 2014, we had Fairhaven, a beautiful 1975 Formosa 41 ketch. A sturdy, seaworthy boat that we had every intention of taking on this long trip, she served us well for seven years of living aboard and sailing. However, the reality of sailing with kids became quickly apparent, and we recognized that we either needed to make some massive modifications to Fairhaven or we needed to look at other vessels. It was heartbreaking to sell the boat that had been our home for many years and the location of Tom’s marriage proposal, but logic and practicality needed to trump emotional attachment. Not only had her layout been previously redone to suit only a couple, but she was much too difficult to single-hand and was far underpowered.
Tom’s previous boat was a double-ended wooden lifeboat that had been converted into a sailboat in the 1960’s. Walkabout was both a joy and a burden to Tom; the boat possessed a rare and special coziness and soul, but the maintenance was overwhelming and a crack in the garboard sustained in a storm in the Straight of Juan de Fuca never fully healed. Tom still calls himself a recovering wooden boat owner, but as all old-soul-sailors are, he still finds himself drawn to the beauty and romance of wood. One of our proudest moments with Walkabout was to take her to the Wooden Boat Show in Port Townsend, WA and see old sailors in rough gear stop, look, smile, and say with a nod “beautiful boat.”