Makin Memories

MEET THE CREW!

Captain and Chef Courtney

Courtney grew up in the Maryland area boating around the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay, and spending many summers on Cape Cod, MA, exploring Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Woods Hole, and all the many islands and hidden beaches around the Buzzards Bay area boating, waterskiing, windsurfing, paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing – playing in or on the water is Courtney’s happy place! Courtney’s passion for food and cooking led her to spend much of her youth working in many different roles in the food service industry from short order cook to catering, bartending, and even serving at 5-star restaurants.

In 1993 Courtney graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sociology and Criminal and Juvenile Justice and spent over 2 decades working in the legal profession in Boston, raising 2 boys, and stealing every chance she could during the warm months to set sail with friends after work in Boston Harbor, or catch a sunset paddle or swim with friends in Newburyport.

In 2009 Courtney began exploring the relationship between food and nutrition and spent many years studying culinary and functional nutrition, and eventually became a Certified Culinary Nutrition Expert from the Academy of Culinary Nutrition in Ontario, Canada, in 2015. Courtney’s culinary passion and expertise focuses on creating nutritious dishes using the best and freshest local organic ingredients possible. She loves spending time in the kitchen using these ingredients to create delicious meals that feed the body with healthy and balanced foods that make choosing healthy foods the enticing, tastier option.


Captain and Chef Jim

Jim grew up on the beaches of Delaware, spending much of his free time boating and playing in the local waters, fishing and surfing year round. Local fishing, crabbing and clamming were a way of life growing up on the Delaware shores. Seafood feasts were a central part of his family’s customs and celebrations – and the beginning of Jim’s love for exploring the endless spicing and cooking combinations for
seafood.

Jim spent his early adult years as a navigator on a minesweeper in the navy during the Gulf War, which, despite the obvious dangers this involved, reaffirmed his love for life on the water and ignited the beginnings of the dream to eventually transition to a full-time career on the water. However, following his career in the navy, Jim’s passion for food and cooking steered him in another direction and he spent the following 10+ years on the west coast in the Monterey Bay area developing and honing his skills in all aspects of the food industry food prepping, serving, and bartending in a variety of environments from eclectic coffee shops to fine dining establishments to large banquet catering events.

Jim eventually made his way back to the east coast and started a fishing charter company, which he captained in his hometown of Delaware while pursuing a degree in Geology. Jim eventually transitioned as a full-time student to the University of South Florida and graduated with a degree in Geology. Jim worked for many years as a full-time professional geologist focusing on environmental remediation in the state of Florida. Despite the demands of his professional career, Jim never missed an opportunity to spend time on the water boating, paddleboarding or just surfing the waves before or after work any chance he was given.

Courtney and Jim

We met in our early 20’s and became roommates and best friends, bartending together at a local bar in Santa Cruz, CA. Our friendship was instant as we were both very young and a long way from home, but excited for the year-round warmth and endless opportunities to play outside, especially boating, sailing or surfing on the water. We loved working together bartending and providing exceptional service and memorable nights for our customers and friends at the bar. However, as with all things, life moved on and we lost touch over the years. It was over 20 years later when we finally reconnected again through Facebook. Eventually we met in person and that was it - we were married 8 months later!

We slowly transitioned out of corporate life and moved our full-time home to a 40’ trawler that we spent two years renovating in San Diego Bay, CA, learning the ins and outs of every aspect of boat life and committing to building the dream of a life and career together on the water. We also worked tirelessly spending time mastering all the necessary skills and obtaining the certifications we needed for our dream as captains chartering dream vacations, including spending a summer managing restaurants to hone our culinary and service industry skills.

Our shared love for food, warmth, sunshine, boats, entertaining and any and all things water-related was an easy and natural pathway to this
shared dream, which is now our reality, living full-time in the gorgeous Caribbean waters, hosting memorable vacations and sharing all of our favorite passions in life with others!

We are excited to share this dream with you and your guests and creating memorable adventures sailing, swimming, snorkeling . . . and just allowing you to become fully immersed in the natural beauty and island-style pace of life! We are excited to spoil your senses with our years of culinary experience, using the freshest local island ingredients to create Caribbean inspired meals that will delight and please all your senses!

We look forward to meeting and serving you and Makin’ Memories that will last a lifetime for you and your group!