2023 Wooden Boat Festival

For those who love international sailing, deep travel, and who dream to do so into their 70s, finding crew, boats, and learning to adjust the physical work and mental expectations as we age is key. Ocean sailor Kaci Cronkhite (US) met Silvija and Egon Brandell (Sweden), owners and co-builders of the 44' ketch MAGNUM BONUM while sailing around the world in the 1990s. Thirty years later, (with Egon sadly passed) Silvija continues to sail their boat-as captain. In 2019, Kaci joined her for a month as First Mate sailing from Stockholm to Aalborg, Denmark. Silvija went on to sail to Iceland via Orkneys, Shetland, Faroe and back to Stockholm with other friends and family as crew. In summer 2022, Kaci (61) joined Silvija (now 76) and Janis (a 31 yo Latvian man) for a voyage from Stockholm to Denmark, transiting the Kiel (Germany) and Frisian (North Holland) canals to Enkhuizen, Netherlands. This talk focuses on that rare and magical 7-week experience—an international, intergenerational voyage of hearts, minds, and cultures onboard, as well as in every port.