About Us

First of all, welcome to our blog!  By now, you’ve probably poked around and read a few pages.  So what is this “Boat Dad” thing really about?  The Boat Dad was created for one simple reason…the idea of promoting sailing and boating with kids by writing about our own experiences as we live them.  We are not expert sailors.  We will make mistakes.  We will learn from our mistakes.  We will have fun. Most of all, we will teach our son the art of sailing so that he may grow up knowing how to cast off and sail into the sunset.

So what exactly is “The Boat Dad”?

“Boat Dad” is a term in our household that was coined to describe my complete submersion into the sailing lifestyle.  Endless research on boats, talking about boats, the nautical tee shirts, Columbia shorts, and somehow relating every conversation to sailing.  Do you know the first rule of sailing?  Always talk about sailing.  

The Boat Dad Family

I’m an engineer for a chemical manufacturer and Kristin is a corporate attorney for a firm in Galveston.  Connor, well he’s just a toddler living it up without a care in the world.  Kristin and I met in college at the University of Central Florida way back in 2005 and got married in 2007.  After working briefly in central Florida, we packed up and headed for Houston in 2007.  As two native south Floridians, Houston came as a bit of a shock.  But over the years, we’ve grown to really enjoy our adopted home and everything the great State of Texas has to offer.

So how did we get into sailing? Our first excursion into sailing together occurred on our belated honeymoon in St. John, USVI in 2009.  We fell in love with St. John and vowed we would return. Since then, we’ve sailed on a catamaran in Cozumel, Mexico and another cat in Port Aransas, Texas. We did a handful of club sails from a local club.

Fast forward to November 2015, and our family grew to 3 when Connor was born.  This guy brought more joy into our lives than we could ever imagine!  Then we got serious about sailing. I took ASA 101 in March 2016 and we bought Seraphina later that year in November.   We’ve been on the water as much as possible ever since.

I grew up in Key Largo, Florida.  My Dad bought a place down there in the late 1980’s on a canal.  As early as I can remember, we had a 16′ flats skiff.  I remember spending the weekend out on the bay fishing and skiing. It was a lifestyle!  When people find out that I grew up in the Keys, the always ask so what was it like growing up in the Keys? I bet it was great! Well, it’s all I knew, so I couldn’t tell you whether it was better or worse than anywhere else. Unique? Sure.  There aren’t many places where you can keep your boat in the water in your back yard and be out in the bay in 5 minutes.  And there aren’t many places where you can be boating in January wearing a tee shirt.  One thing growing up in the Keys and having unlimited access to the water, its in my blood.  All of the stress from work and the land life seem to slip off my shoulders as I throw the dock lines, liberating Seraphina as she awaits the command to set sail.

Kristin grew up in Fort Myers, Florida.  She spent her childhood on the beautiful beaches of Sanibel and Captiva. She also sailed with her family each summer on Lake Lanier near Atlanta, Georgia.  Kristin enjoys being active outdoors and traveling. While she is most at home on a beach, she is discovering the thrill of working the lines and grinding the winches.

Connor, the true Texan in the family…He loves being outside and enjoys nature.  His first trip on the boat, he was waving to all of the other boats as we passed them in the channel.  He is restless and wants to be part of the action, which makes for a challenge to keep him occupied while we’re sailing.