About Us

We (Kimberly and Jeff) both sailed when we were younger – Kimberly during summer vacations on a Snark on Mission Bay in San Diego, and Jeff on Lake Ontario in Rochester, NY.

In the spring of 2012, I (Kimberly) suddenly found myself wanting to sail again, and Jeff was all in with the idea.  As luck would have it, adult community sailing lessons were starting that weekend at Mystic Seaport.  The class used fairly-tippy Dyer Dhows, and despite my capsizing twice in the freezing cold Mystic River (and Jeff once), we were hooked.

After completing an ASA 101 course (which included sixteen hours of practice time), we were really addicted, so we bought a 1975 Bristol Corsair 24 in March, 2013.  Dreams of selling everything and going cruising followed, so after hundreds of hours of research we bought a 1977 Bristol 29.9 at the end of July, 2015.

A Bristol 29.9 is considered small by modern standards for full-time cruising, but she’s big enough for us.  By choosing her we embraced the philosophy of “get the smallest boat you can happily live on” instead of “get the biggest boat you can afford.”  We like to maximize our fun-to-boat work ratio whenever possible, and the way we have set up Pegu Club helps us to do that.  The electrical system is exclusively 12 volts, we have foot pumps for water (no hot water), an Origo stove, an Engel refrigerator, and a composting head.  It may not work for everyone, but it definitely works for us!

After a lot of thought and conversations, we were sure that we wanted to go cruising full-time so we sold our house in February, 2017 and moved into an apartment.  Crunching the numbers, it was clear at the time that doing this would allow us to to save up extra money a lot faster.

Fast-forward to Christmas Eve of 2017 when we took Jeff to the emergency room.  After a two week stay he was released with a diagnosis of congestive heart failure.  To say we were shocked is an understatement.  He had been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation about seven years previously, but it hadn’t bothered him.

Initially it appeared that we would need to postpone our plans to go cruising, but Jeff improved quite a bit after a cardiac ablation in March, 2018 restored his heart into normal rhythm.  His cardiologist was well aware of our cruising dreams and she gave us the go-ahead to leave in the fall of 2018 – nine months after his diagnosis – saying “It’s good for the soul.”  She didn’t have to tell us twice, and we moved onto the boat on July 27, 2018, cutting the dock lines on September 3, 2018.

Since then we have been cruising up and down the U.S. East Coast and the Bahamas with plans to continue as long as it’s fun and health allows.  We took a break in the fall of 2021 and spent the winter living on land in Southern California, but by April we were back on the boat and raring to go south again this fall.

Although personal commitments have us going to the Bahamas this winter, we don’t necessarily see ourselves sailing there annually in perpetuity regardless of how beautiful the water is.  Towards that end, we are kicking around some ideas for different cruising grounds in the future.  Stay tuned!

48 thoughts on “About Us”

  1. Kimberly and Jeff…..Great Pictures and Video. Kimberly, what a wonderful writer you are! It was so much fun reading even though I had heard a bit about it last week. Happy sailing!
    Deb

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  2. Welcome to sailing! Keep it up and RETIRE so you can live the dream. We are going to the Bahamas again next winter living our dream. Look for “Kindred Spirit” this summer. We will keep an eye out for you. Love meeting new sailors even though we went to the dark side and bought a trawler. Thanks for reading our blog http://blog.kindred-spirit.net
    Al and Michele

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  3. Congratulations on your purchase of a Bristol 29.9!
    My wife and I bought our girl on 25 December of 2015. She is the S/V Egress We are located on Madeline Island WI in Lake Superior. Though we are based in Colorado most of the year. Our site is madislandsailing.com. Welcome aboard!
    Are you also on the Bristol owners Facebook page? Lots of good information there.

    Fair winds!
    Troy and Barb Lutz
    S/V Egress
    1977 Bristol 29.9 Hull number 28

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    1. Thanks, Troy! We’re thrilled with her and are glad that we were able to stay in the Bristol “family” (our previous boat was a Bristol 24). The Facebook page and the Yahoo group is great.

      We really enjoyed your video. Hope you’ll be able to get back to Egress soon!

      Kimberly and Jeff

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      1. Yes. It is a really nice theme. Say are you on the Bristol sailboat Facebook site? You can respond to me at madislandsailing@gmail.com if you wish rather than in this comment thread… As I Wasn’t sure how to contact you two outside of this format just shoot me an email if you wish

        Sent from the high mountains of Colorado via iPhone

        >

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  6. It sounds like we share the same dream. My wife and I just put an offer in on a Bristol 29.9 in Mystic. We are super excited but a little nervous at the same time since we have never owned a boat before. This website is fantastic, and I really enjoy reading about all the work you’ve put into your boat. Thanks.

    Brien

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    1. Thanks for the kind words, Brien, and congratulations! We were very nervous when we bought our first boat (the Bristol 24), but it’s amazing how quickly we became comfortable with it. You’ll have a blast! If we can help at all, don’t hesitate to reach out. Looking forward to seeing you and your wife out on the Sound! Kimberly

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      1. Hi Rhonda – Brien mentioned on the Bristol Sailboats Facebook page that he decided not to purchase that particular boat. Not sure if he’s still looking for one or not. Kimberly

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      4. Her name is TAZ. That’s the name she came with, we’re considering changing it but can’t come to an agreement amongst the five of us. Hope to see you out there.

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  7. I’m enjoying your blog and am inspired to take on a project or two that you’ve done. This will be my 6th season owning #57 and I typically do a “major” purchase/upgrade/ project every off season. This year its new self tailing winches and a Speedo (no, not the swimsuit). Lifelines, sails, canvas, autopilot, bottom, halyards, hatches, among other things have all been replaced/redone. Not to mention the annual varnish, waxing, engine maintenance, etc…
    Remember to put the tools away and go sailing, I’ll keep an eye out for Pegu Club this summer!

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    1. Thanks, Dan! It sounds like you’ve done a lot of great projects. You’ll love the self-tailing winches. Pegu Club came with them and they’re fantastic. Do you sail in our area? What is your boat’s name?

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  8. Boat name is “Let It Be”, moored in Hempstead Harbor. Sailed mainly in Western LIS, occasional longer cruises depending on the schedule. I’ll let you know if I’m headed in your direction this summer!

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    1. Pegu Club was originally in Oyster Bay, right next door to Hempstead Harbor. Seems like our boats might have been neighbors at some point. Definitely let us know if you’re in the area, and we’ll do the same!

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  9. Hello Kimberly! My husband and I bought our first sailboat on Aprils fool day of this year with the same plans in mind as yourselves! (We questioned weather this would make us a ship of fools…lol) Our little lady is named Questor, and she is also a wonderful 1977 Bristol 29.9. We are slowly getting her ready and hope to head out by March or April of next year. Love your blog! Question, how did you know that yours was hull #17? I have SO many questions!!

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    1. Hi Rhonda – Congratulations on your B29.9! Where do you keep her, and where are you headed? We can’t wait to cut the dock lines! We know it’s hull #17 because of the number that follows “299” on the hull number. If I recall, the hull numbers all start BTY299, then the hull number, and then the month and year the hull was finished. Happy to answer any questions I can, and you might also want to check out the Bristol Sailboats Facebook group which is quite active. Kimberly

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      1. Thank you for that information, there is so much we are learning! She is presently docked at Jekyll Island in Georgia. We want to start with a costal cruise towards the north past New York and up to Maine and New Hampshire. I bought a wonderful sailrite sewing machine to replace my old one and we have just finished building and Sewing our first Bimini for the Questor. I laughed, I don’t think I hated making the wench covers as much as you did but, I HAVE hated making the hatch covers!

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      2. Making a bimini is on our list for this winter. Now I’ll know who to ask for tips! Hopefully we can get together when you’re cruising through the area next summer.

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    1. Thanks for posting, Rick. Nell is a beautiful boat – we’ll keep an eye out for her this summer! Yes, we’ve gone back and forth quite a bit on the watermaker but ultimately decided that it’s a must for us. I’ll have a future post re: which one we’re choosing and why. We definitely won’t overdo it! I don’t know how some people are able to do a constant refit over a period of a year or two. Once the sailing season begins, we definitely play on her much more than we work. 🙂

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    1. I admire anyone who has the patience to build a boat! What size will she be? Sailorboy is the user name for a guy on Cruisers Forum who has been posting what he has spent cruising on a monthly basis. He’s been out for two years now. Kimberly

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  12. Hello Kimberly and Jeff,
    I’m new to your site and just a bit of a Luddite with regard to things like blogging and Facebook and such, but your site totally grabbed me when all I was doing was looking for some inside tips on rudder replacement. Wow, you’ve done an outstanding job of preparing, but even more, of having a great attitude while dealing with adversity!
    So the short story on me is that after 40 years in Vermont’s Mad River Valley, I retired and moved to East Falmouth on Cape Cod and purchased “Thunder Mist” a 1979 29.9 #154, taking delivery in Bristol of course. She’s based by Woods Hole, and we’d love to have you visit sometime, or meet at Block or Cuttyhunk or Newport, whatever. I replaced the original salt water 2QM20 two years ago with a great running freshwater cooled one, and last year did the cutless bearing (both by myself). We mostly sail up and down the coast but next summer plan a longer trip north. And maybe, just maybe, duplicate your current trip. The amazing though unsettling thing, reading your recent entry, is that in June we did a trip on a Sea Sprite 34 from St. Leonard, MD to Woods Hole, and though I only boarded at the Cape May beach, on the previous day the boat had run into the same underwater menace that you hit just south of the canal, just at the big powerboat was being pulled off the thing. Anyway, I’d like to learn more about the rudder bit – I couldn’t find anything after the April 2017 blog when you were ready to call a pro. But even more, and especially if you’re returning to New England, there are lots of other things I’d like to talk about without cluttering up your wonderful blog site, so I’d invite you to email me. It seems we have a lot in common including the nexus of healthcare and sailing fun, so I’m hoping we can connect sometime. Meanwhile, your wonderful journey will be my armchair entertainment after we haul Thunder Mist this Friday.
    Fair Winds,
    John Jaeger

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    1. Thanks for posting, John. We would love to connect at some point next summer when we return to New England. Your account of the underwater menace (I like that description – I may have to steal it rather than the “damn underwater dike”) truly is amazing. The results for the rudder stuffing box is in the May 5, 2016 post – here’s the link: https://adventuresontheclub.com/2017/05/05/i-feel-like-bustin-loose-bustin-loose/. I’ll definitely send you an e-mail. Kimberly

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  13. Hi Kimberly & Jeff! In the early 80’s I owned a Pearson Ariel purchased in Westbrook CT. and moored behind Mason’s Island. I then sailed to Florida and have been here ever since. Fast forward the wife and I purchased a 1980 Bristol 24 July of 2017 in Merritt Island Florida and couldn’t be happier with the boats performance. Of course the dream of cruising the out islands is there, maybe cruising the Florida peninsula. The biggest tease is we live along the I.C.W. in Cocoa, watching the annual migration of boats heading south and north from our backyard patio. We’ll make it out there eventually either in our B24 or something bigger. Interesting coincidence of Bristol 24 ownership, kind of a leaping off vessel to larger leading to a live aboard scenario. Enjoy your cruising!
    George Wilson
    S/V Little Yvie B24
    Hull #715

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    1. Hi George – thanks for posting! We loved our Bristol 24. What a fantastic boat, so forgiving of all of the mistakes we made. 🙂 If only the water tankage had been better, we very well could gone cruising in her. Of course we also love our 29.9. Keep in touch. We’d love to see your Little Yvie next time we pass through Cocoa! Kimberly and Jeff

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  14. Hi Kimberly and Jeff

    My wife and I just acquired a Bristol 29.9, 1977 vintage Hull #10. We are new sailors. My wife has a mast cell disease. We used to camp a lot but now odors (smoke from fires) trigger mast cell reactions so that is out. We live on the Eastern Shore of MD so near the Chesapeake Bay and hence we got a sailboat, the clean salt air agrees with her. We have 3 kids and they love going out. So far, we are just motoring out as we have a lot of work to get all traces of mold out (Kim-my wife, reacts to traces of mold), and some repairs. We got a little Victoria 18 to build our sailing skills with before we hoist the sails on the Bristol.
    I appreciate all the details of the work and upgrades you all are doing and attitudes of life with medical issues.
    Enjoy Sailing!

    Terry

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    1. Hi Terry – Thanks for the kind words. Congratulations on your B29.9! What is your boat’s name? We’ll be heading down the Eastern shore after we leave Annapolis so we’ll keep an eye out for her. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions as you work on her. We’d be happy to help if we can. Take care. Kimberly and Jeff

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  15. Hi Captain Kimberly and Jeff, it was great meeting you both at Donny’s Marina! Selina and I are enjoying your blog. Awesome adventures!!! We definitely share some favorite destinations. Please give us a call when you’re in Norfolk again! Fair winds, Tom

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    1. Hi Tom! We finally got internet so I was able to access your comment. 🙂 We also had a great time meeting you, and hope to catch up again soon! Thanks for the kind words. Kimberly and Jeff

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  16. Hey you two, it’s me (James) from SovereignNations, S/VS.N. Cetacea…just starting your blog and love the POV…you are definitely our people!
    As far as recommendations go…please Go Down East (from Boston to Nova Scotia) in July, August and September… you’ll never regret that adventure!
    It sure inspired us.
    Peace and respect.
    J

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    1. Hi James – Thanks for the comment! We’re definitely hoping to meet up with you two at some point when you get to the Bahamas (or elsewhere). We’ll be here until sometime in May before we point the bow north again.

      In the meantime, thank you for the suggestion on going Down East. We absolutely want to do that. Maybe next summer!

      Take care,
      Kimberly and Jeff

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    1. Hi Drew – yep, we’re still cruising! My blog posts are behind – I’m up to this past summer – but we’re currently in North Carolina making our way to the Bahamas again. Kimberly

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