More About In the Lee
About Jimmy, Sondra, Utopia and The Jeep
This website was primarily created to host a blog. We have received enough requests from friends and family to share our travels and adventures. The Home page will contain simple information about where we are in our story, while the Blog page will provide more details, and a new page is available for those interested in our long hike of the Appalachian Trail.​
Below is more information about the us, and the Links page provides location information, our contacts, along with some fun media links.
The Boat(s)
Utopia is a 2006 Caliber 40 LRC SE. She is rigged as a cutter with the staysail and head sail are on furlers and the mainsail is cradled with lazy jacks and a stack pack when not in use, with a Seldon in boom reefing system. There is also a light wind spinnaker on a furler. She has a long fin keel with a skeg hung rudder. The transom includes a small swim platform.
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There are two berths, with the master berth a pullman style located just aft of the forward head. There is a second head adjacent to the quarter berth near the companionway steps, across from the galley. The salon settee can also be converted to another bunk. The tankage on this boat is incredible. With just over 200 gallons of diesel storage, the boat has a long range even when the wind is not blowing. Add in about 180 gallons of fresh water storage, you can see why it is a Long Range Cruiser.
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We are her third owners. The first owner named the boat Gigi's Island. The couple that we purchased the boat from re-named her Utopia and created a palm tree and sun logo that is present on the hull.
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An 8.5' Highfield dinghy and a 9.9 hp outboard serve as our car to get to shore or to explore shallow waters. We accidently called it The Jeep one day, and the name has stuck.
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Past Boats: About Time a 1985 32' Sabre & a 25' Hunter
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The Crew
Jimmy
The bearded one
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Jimmy is the one that started us down this sailing journey with the idea of looking for a new hobby to take on as a couple in 2006. His first time sailing was during our ASA 101 course in Pensacola, FL.
Sondra
Medusa meets Einstein
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Sondra is usually up for an adventure and said "why not?" when Jimmy mentioned learning to sail together. She is fully hooked on sailing now.
Former Crew Member: Baxter
The fluffy one
Baxter was Jimmy & Sondra's second sailing cat and Utopia was his second boat. The big orange cat now lives with Jimmy's uncle enjoying more room to run and a big patio to watch birds.
Our
Plans
Loose plans for our third season of full-time cruising are to leave Daytona Beach, Florida February 2026, head south to the Florida Keys then wait for a good weather window to jump over to Mexico. After spending time there in March, we will cruise around Belize for a while, maybe in April & May. As hurricane season approaches, Utopia will head to the Rio Dulce in Guatemala where she will stay until November. During this period, we will head to the States for hiking, family, friends and doctors. In mid-August we return to Guatemala to explore the beautiful country. Once hurricane season wraps up we will pop back up to Florida for another winter season pause. Beyond that we are thinking of possibly heading down the Eastern Caribbean. But we never really know what comes our way and where the wind takes us.