
Christened in 1934
The Cloudia is a beautifully restored, rare example of a classic Norwegian double ended ketch. Inspired by the original designs of famed naval architect Colin Archer (1832-1921), from Larvik, Norway, the Cloudia is a Listerskøyte. The top-sail ketch is notable for durability and safety. Archer’s shipyard designed and constructed the famed Fram, which participated in a number of expeditions to the North Pole and later supported Roald Amundsen’s historic first expedition to the South Pole.
Archer’s designs became popular for commercial use and in the pleasure sailing market during the 20th Century, and remain so to this day.
The Cloudia is rigged as a topsail ketch in the British or American style, which means there are 2 two-piece masts which allow the Cloudia to carry more sail than a traditional Norwegian rig with shorter single masts. The Cloudia’s main mast is 85 feet high including the top-jack.
Many different woods were used to craft the ship, including Norwegian white oak, sapele hardwood, Douglas fir, Alaskan yellow cedar, and Ipe Brazilian hardwood. The pilot house is fully equipped with modern maritime electronics, including state of the art radar and navigation systems.

In The Movies
The Cloudia should have received a Hollywood Star for her unique design, history and splendor. She did make it as “the lead role” in her debut to the big screen in a Warner Brothers movie – The Sea Gypsies (1978). It’s a story about a family’s adventures on a sailing trip around the world. Your friends and family will love that you took you took a tour on a ship used in a Hollywood movie.
Warner Bros. Pictures® and logo are the registered trademarks of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. The Cloudia is not associated with or sponsored by Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Thar she blows!!
Whale watching on the Cloudia – what a great afternoon! You take off from a real fishing harbor in a sloop with 10 to 20 other guests – so very personal experience, not like those big crafts 200+. The young crew was so informative about whales, sealife, San Diego’s marine history – and all the while taking up sails, showing us how things worked, and watching for signs of dolphins, whales, etc. We saw a grouping of Humpback whales and later Grey whales along with numerous dolphins. Thoroughly enjoyed it – feels like going sailing on a friend’s boat!
Whale watching
My wife and I live in the Arizona desert and we love it. When we want a change we head for San Diego. In the 30+ years that we have traveled there we had our best experience and most fun last month when we went whale watching on The Cloudia. The ship is magnificent. The owner, captain and crew made our trip one that we will remember forever. We saw many whales, dolphins and lots of other sea life. The price is right and the experience was grand.
Excellent afternoon of whale watching
5 of us had a picture perfect afternoon on a wonderful old wooden boat. The captain and crew were very knowledgeable and found numerous whales and dolphins. The seating was very spacious and we saw other people on the cattle boats crammed around the railings looking for whales as we sat on comfy cushions watching whales. It would be a really great boat for a sunset cruise around the bay.
Thar she blows!!
Whale watching on the Cloudia – what a great afternoon! You take off from a real fishing harbor in a sloop with 10 to 20 other guests – so very personal experience, not like those big crafts 200+. The young crew was so informative about whales, sealife, San Diego’s marine history – and all the while taking up sails, showing us how things worked, and watching for signs of dolphins, whales, etc. We saw a grouping of Humpback whales and later Grey whales along with numerous dolphins. Thoroughly enjoyed it – feels like going sailing on a friend’s boat!
Whale watching
My wife and I live in the Arizona desert and we love it. When we want a change we head for San Diego. In the 30+ years that we have traveled there we had our best experience and most fun last month when we went whale watching on The Cloudia. The ship is magnificent. The owner, captain and crew made our trip one that we will remember forever. We saw many whales, dolphins and lots of other sea life. The price is right and the experience was grand.
Excellent afternoon of whale watching
5 of us had a picture perfect afternoon on a wonderful old wooden boat. The captain and crew were very knowledgeable and found numerous whales and dolphins. The seating was very spacious and we saw other people on the cattle boats crammed around the railings looking for whales as we sat on comfy cushions watching whales. It would be a really great boat for a sunset cruise around the bay.