Our Story
Note: As of 12/12/24 we are still trying to sell our house to purchase Vagrant Gipsy.
Necessity is the mother of invention they say. It all started in March of 2024. Captain Suds had been out of work for six months and Mermaid Melusine was no longer able to make ends meet. So a re-org was necessary. Less house, less yard, less stuff, less bills.
A long-forgotten dream sprang to life again. What about living on a boat?! Less house. Check. Less yard. Check. Less stuff. Check. Less bills. Check. Just one thing. What would the kids say? Two homeschooled elementary-age boys? They’re up for the adventure. One high schooler? She’s not so keen but if she still has her own room? Maybe it would be okay.
So the search began. And it was love at first sight. First in photos, and then in person. The Vagrant Gipsy is just quirky enough to suit our strange love of the extraordinary and bizarre.
But where does soap come in? We have been lovers of the natural world for many years and try our best not to coat our insides or outsides with chemicals and toxins. We believe natural process are usually best and the human body is made to function like a delicate organism when taken care of properly.
So why not merge the two interests and have the best of both worlds?! Soap that’s good for you with a pirate ship theme. Good, clean fun for landlubbers and sailors. What’s more, and even closer to the live-aboard’s heart, soap that won’t harm the delicate marine environment that supports us.
The Vagrant Gipsy is a 1969 Sparkman & Stephens Centerboard Ketch, and is a piece of sailing history that has turned heads in every anchorage.
The Vagrant Gipsy is 60' LOA, 53' LOD, 17' beam, 6' draft with centerboard up, 10'6" board down, she weighs in at 40 tons.
The Vagrant Gipsy was built by Denys Bradley in British Honduras (now Belize) and completed in 1969. The original owner, Jay Teasdel, and Mr. Bradley handpicked the trees that were used to build her. Honduras mahogany for planking and interior, Santa Maria for her frames, and cabbage bark (local ironwood) for the keel. All bronze fasteners were used.
Owner Jay Teasdel wrote the book "The Vagrant Gipsy, a Boat's Life" about her construction and his travels in North America and Europe. Lin and Larry Pardey delivered the Vagrant Gipsy from Spain to New Orleans and recounted their time aboard in two of their books.