Gail Maltby's Page

Gail Maltby's Klaraborg Adventures

I left my home in Whitehorse, Yukon in early 1971 for a travel/work experience in Australia. In Darwin I met Davey Jones who told me about the Klaraborg and convinced me I should join the crew. I first saw the Klaraborg in Sydney harbor – awesome! After much preparation, and allowing a film crew to film the guys sailing the ship for a Beach Boy movie, we set sail on August 7, 1971 for Tonga. Thirty days later, September 6^th, we arrived in Tonga. We were treated royally. In fact, four of us were stranded on an island due to weather where the King of Tonga happened to be attending a feast. He provided us with food, a hut to stay in and sent his choir to entertain us. We left Tonga on September 23^rd, arriving in Palmyra on October 15^th. Palmyra was a deserted island at that time – formerly used by the U.S.A. during WWII and thereafter as a meteorologist centre. Many buildings and equipment were still there. It was a favourite stopping off point for yachters. (Read “And The Sea Will Tell” by Vincent Bugliosi about two murders of yachters that occurred on Palmyra in 1974 to get a flavour of the island.) Beautiful beaches that are useless for swimming because it is a breeding ground for sharks. We left Palmyra November 2^nd, arrived at the Gilbert and Ellice Islands (now Kiribati) on November 16^th. Eight days later we set sail for Guam. After a very brief stop in Nauru, we arrived in Guam on December 15^th. I stayed in Guam when the Klaraborg left about January 18^th, 1972. (I kept a diary during the voyage, hence the exact dates. It was great fun reading it after 35 years!)

The above is the itinerary, but it does not touch the memories that were involved with the Klaraborg. We had great fun on board even though Ove and Ingmar kept us in line (most of the time…). I was impressed when the gaff of the mainsail snapped when we were at sea. Within hours, they had changed a log on board to a round gaff, and put the sail up again. Memories of meals of tuna, shark, crab in Palmyra, my home made bread, coconut done 20 different ways, etc. I will always remember the enormous hospitality the greeted us at each island. People were very curious about the ship and wanted to share in our story. Needless to say, I was sad to read over the internet last year of the demise of the Klaraborg. However, the memory of our days on the Klaraborg will be, I am sure, a highlight in the lives of all former crew members.

The crew on my leg of the journey were Ove Linner, Ingmar Janum, Jill Ekberg (Swedish); Laurie Lever, John Field, Albey Mangels, Peter Carr, Dotty Gavenlock, Carol Muller, Erika Sharp (Australian); Davey Jones, Ann McKern (English); Alain Caribannier (Swiss); Gail Maltby (Canadian); Jan Snowden (American); Catherine Courtois (French).