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Matt and Deanna
A few years ago, we developed a serious case of wanderlust. So much in fact, that we decided to sell our house along with all of our belongings, buy a boat and set sail in search of a simpler life. To give you a little background, we met the old fashioned way - at a bar in college - where I was finishing up my senior year and Matt had returned for a visit after leaving the previous year. It was love at first sight. After just a few dates, we were pretty much inseparable and ready to blindly conquer the world together.
As the months turned into years, we got married, traveled, bought a house, sold a house, bought another house, climbed up in our careers, and had some pretty neat adventures. Matt was a commercial electrician with the IBEW Local 24 and I was working in marketing at Under Armour global headquarters. Things seemed to be going along pretty smooth. Over time, however, we began to realize that while we were busy living, LIFE seemed to be getting away from us. Like most people, we found ourselves glued to our phones and emails with no downtime. Weekends consisted of endless errands and to-do lists of things that didn’t get done during the week. We were stressed out and had just barely scratched the surface of 30. In fact, the only time we felt truly at ease was cruising the bay on our 20' center console. When we spent time on the boat, time seemed to slow
down and we could actually enjoy the moment instead of always worrying about what was next. Both Matt and I wanted to spend ALL of our time on the water and decided to make the transition to full time live aboard. After lots of planning (and nearly chickening out a few times) we pulled the trigger and sold the house and the majority of our stuff, and bought a 41' catamaran. We spent the next year and a half living aboard in Annapolis, acclimating to life on a boat, getting her ready to go cruising, and actually learning how to sail, which was an adventure in itself!
After a six month sabbatical cruising the East Coast, Florida Keys and the Bahamas, Matt & I returned to the States with a new outlook on life and more excited for the future than ever. We lived in Key West for a year after cruising, not quite ready to jump back into the real world after such an amazing trip. The boat had completely changed the way we wanted to live our lives and hoped to use our experience to help others realize their boating dreams too. Upon our return, I jumped into sales and Matt returned to service as a marine technician, moving over to sales not too long after. We really found our passion as yacht brokers, with Matt focusing on power boats and I with sailboats, and eventually adding power boats. In 2017 I was awarded the Beneteau Top Gun award for most new boat sales in North and South America, which was such an honor.
Aside from selling boats, we are members of the Eastport Yacht Club, and volunteer for the Eastport Yacht Club Foundation, the charitable arm of the club that focuses on education and career opportunities within the marine and maritime community. Our latest project is restoring a 17' Casita travel camper with plans to continue the adventure some day, this time by land.
Since returning from our sabbatical, Matt & I sold the boat and ended up back in the suburbs, this time with our two adorable dogs, an Irishdoodle named Bimini and a Labradoodle named Dodger. Although we no longer have our catamaran, we still get out on the water as often as we can and love that we have the opportunity to help other people realize their own dreams of getting out on the water as well.
Because, after all, life should be about LIVING, right?
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