Life Aboard a 1928 Yacht | 78-Foot Schooner Tour

Captain Shannon Carleton calls a 1928 gaff-rigged schooner home — and she wouldn’t have it any other way. In this episode of Seaworthy, Shannon welcomes us aboard Kelpie, a 78-foot wooden yacht moored in Sag Harbor Bay, and takes us through every inch of life on the water: a gimbal stove that levels itself at sea, an icebox with strict “no gazing” rules, candlelit evenings in lieu of a generator, and a 300-gallon water bladder system that keeps the taps running.

Shannon shares how she found Kelpie in Spain, fell in love with her masts from a distance, and spent two months sailing the Mediterranean to learn how to handle her. She opens up about the realities of full-time liveaboard life — from the $1.6M price tag to the constant leather oiling, varnish work, and strategic shoe limits — and why she wouldn’t trade any of it for life on land.

Kelpie sails the Hamptons from May through September, then makes the 6–7 day passage down to Charleston each fall — with Saint Barts on the horizon.