5.15- s/v "Vagrant Gipsy"

Vagrant Gipsy visiting Oriental harbor

I went out sailing in the Bauer today and found this impressive 50-ton ketch on the hook in the harbor.  Fabulous vessel, and a really great name for a sailboat (see the poem by John Masefield below.)

I got the following info from a SailBlog her third owners created during a Caribbean cruise two years ago:

Vagrant Gipsy a custom built monohull, built in Belize in 1969 on a custom design by Sparkman Stephens. She is built of solid rich mahogany with a custom fireplace with copper hood. The interior consists of two large staterooms both with king size berths. She will comfortably sleep 7 people... She is an ocean going vessle and has been across the Atlantic twice and spent time in the Mediterranean. Captain Skip, spent eight years restoring the Gipsy on the Tennessee River near his home. She was brought down the Tom Bigby Waterway to Mobile and then by intercoastal waterway to Appalachicola, FL, where she crossed the Gulf to Tarpon Springs, FL and spent her first hurricane season there. 

 There are a couple nice pics of Vagrant Gipsy under sail in a Regatta at George Town on this page of their SailBlog.  From there you can explore their other pages, which include some other photos of her cockpit, cabin, etc. 

I Must Go Down to the Sea 

I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.

- John Masefield

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