The Knarr, an originally wooden boat designed by Erling Kristofersen and built by Einer Iversen in occupied Norway in 1943. After the war, the Knarr, named after a Viking cargo craft began production of this dragon inspired sailing vessel. The lines of the Knarr are classic and graceful. Most of the boats on the San Francisco Bay were shipped in containers from Norway and Denmark in the early 1960’s. Over the years other Knarr owners have ordered and shipped them from Norway and Denmark where they were produced. 

In the late 1960’s, Knud Wibroe, a Danish transplant and the unquestioned godfather of the San Francisco Bay Knarr Class, organized the first International Knarr Championship held in San Francisco. Since then, the International event that rotates between San Francisco, Oslo, Copenhagen and Bergen has been “the spice in the sauce” that Sailing World writer Kimball Livingston Says in many of his Articles like this one Knarrs, Legends of the Bay.  He writes of the IKC Without it, this would be just another 30-foot one-design class that might or might not be surviving—much less thriving—in the three countries where it thrives in the way of a flower that grows in only a few meadows on only a few mountains, at a certain elevation, where a delicate balance of moisture provides just enough days of summer sun. With an international, multigenerational cult of followers. He also says of the IKC, Name another class with a 52-year tradition of a championship regatta that rotates annually among three countries; where visiting sailors are hosted in private homes; where boats are provided from a local fleet; where pros pop in, but nobody gets paid; and the parties are as competitive as the sailing—you better believe it.

The San Francisco Bay Knarr Association has been around since the late 1960’s, it has always been voluntarily run by avid boat owners who love the fleet because we race -A LOT. While a few Knarr owners just cruise their Knarrs, most are avid racers. Our racing schedule usually consists of approximately 34 races per season on the weekends and about 12 Wednesday night races for a normal season with over 45 one-design races! That’s a lot of racing. The competition is fierce but almost anyone can win a race in this fleet. Some of the best sailors on the Bay have shown up and raced on Knarrs, including John Kostecki and Paul Cayard who was quoted saying that “it took him 15 years to win a Wednesday night race.”

Why buy a knarr? Well you can read my blog post here. Aside from great racing, we are all great friends. While on the water competition may be top-notch, we are also great friends off the water. The IKC’s provide a great forum for developing international friendships that last a lifetime. Friendship and camaraderie is really what sets the Knarr fleet apart from all the other one design classes but don’t take my word for it. Here is Kimball Livingston again with what I think sums up the camaraderie of the Knarr fleet better than anything I can say. Word has it that if you bottled the secret sauce of the Knarr, every class would buy some. We are a welcoming fleet and would love to have you join us, sometimes we have boats available for sale listed here.

–Risley Sams, 2023 San Francisco Bay Knarr Association Secretary and owner of US 47 built in 1951