Introductions: Meet the Crew!

Hello! Welcome to Mentally Sailing- we’re so glad you’re here.

We are Skye and Steve, your writers, guides and fellow learners of all things sailing. Before we go any further, we’d like to introduce ourselves individually.

Hi friends! Skye here. I am originally from Garland, NC, a small, southern town. Growing up I loved the beach, being in the water, and for a short time, sailing! A friend of my Dad’s gave us a small racing sailboat to use on a lake near us. I was so excited I couldn’t stand it. Dad taught us how to sail the small boat, what to do if we tipped it over, and how to enjoy it! Heck, even our small dog, Skipper, would go with us sometimes! Years passed, my brother and I got older, trips to the lake were few, and sailing was something we didn’t do as much.

Fast forward to May 2020: I moved to Norfolk, VA. My uncle offered me an opportunity to help him on his sailboat when I could. I was working a full-time job at the time that allowed me to be off three days a week, so having some extra work (and extra money) was nice. The first day I went, I learned so much about varnishing, sanding, and all kinds of maintenance that needed to be done on a sailboat. It helped that I knew a lot of the basics with my dad being a carpenter and having taught me a lot of it as a kid.

Another thing that happened that day? Oh, well I met my new friend Steve (yes, the same one) who lived on his sailboat on the same dock. Fast forward a few months, we became good friends, and then a little while later – more than friends, and now he claims that I only started dating him because he 1. Lived on his boat and 2. Had a dog. Obviously those aren’t the ONLY reasons I’m dating him.

We are now planning our trip South this Fall, have moved onto the boat (together!), and we’re writing this blog! There will be lots of things here, like boat repairs, what to pack while living aboard, and our favorite spots that we’ve discovered along the way! We really hope you stick around.

Hi I’m Steve. I’m originally from Richmond,  Virginia, but have moved a few times across the US. I spent my high school and college years in Arizona, and since I grew up around boats, I taught sailing several summers while working at a boys camp in Wisconsin. We had some eccentric personalities at camp, and they really influenced me in changing my outlook on life and what I wanted to do. I formed a plan to get a job, move to the coast, save up some money, purchase a sailboat and live aboard it. 

One of the biggest influences on my decision to just go for it was reading an internet post about “Build the life you want, then save for it.” Instead of saving a bunch of money, then purchasing a boat and cruising to faraway lands while not working, instead I saved up some money, made sure I wanted to cruise far and wide by purchasing a smaller, older boat and sailing around locally. 

I’ve been living on the boat on and off since 2018, fixing her up and taking her out on the Chesapeake and a foray or two into the Atlantic. Between mishaps, such as an overheating engine (twice fixed), bilge flooding from faulty wire connections, and battery troubles resulting in a tow by the Coast Guard, I’ve had a lot of fun sailing, motoring, and maintaining the boat. 

I even invited my buddy Jacob to stay for a few months the summer of 2020 at the height of COVID and that’s when I met Skye. I was working remotely in the cockpit when I saw her walk down the dock for the first time, and I immediately told Jacob to come up here so I didn’t look like a loner. Weeks later, Jacob left and I missed his company so I tried fostering dogs; a couple days later I adopted Buoy. 

Buoy and Skye really hit it off, let me tell ya. For a while, the only time I talked with Skye was while she was petting Buoy. Eventually we became better friends, she finally texted me months after I gave her my number, and we hung out not at the marina. That evolved and now we’re near inseparable and looking forward to the next adventure and next horizon on the sailboat.

Woof woof!  Hi everyone who is reading this on your funny light up screens, I’m Buoy!  I’ve never typed on a computer before so don’t let that give you paws.

I was adopted on July 25, 2020 by my Dad, Steve Cooke.  I was so excited to have a new person, but I had no idea I was going to LIVE on a boat.  It took me a minute to let it sink in, but now I love all of my warm sunning spots where I nap, and the way the wind feels through my fur as we’re sailing!  I met Mom pretty soon after Dad adopted me, but she wasn’t my Mom yet, but I knew Dad liked her.  Anyway, they finally started dating and now I have two parents who live with me on the boat! 

When we’re not sailing, I like to chase squirrels.  I think it would be really fun to catch one someday, but only to make a new friend.  At least squirrels live on land.  The only animals I see while sailing are fish and they’re quite crabby.  

I’ll be writing some on the blog along with Mom and Dad, so I hope you read it!  It will be a lot of how-to’s for dogs and kids, maybe you’ll get some good ideas from it – I sure hope so.  In the meantime, I’ll be hanging with Mom and Dad.  Hope you have a woof-derful day!