Who Are We?

A young couple in love that want to travel the world by boat!
Pretty simple, right? But how we got here isn't.
So far everyone reading this blog is either friends or family, neighbors, co-workers, or local bartenders.  So here is just a brief description for those who may not know the both of us.

Matt
Matt is a handsome 25 year old dreamer.  If you know him, surely, he's told you about some crazy money making scheme or you've talked business or investments.  It seems like he can't sit still and is always on the move, and I guess that's because he has been since he was born!  With a Canadian father and a Mexican-American mother, he keeps a nice tan, eh?  His father worked in the oil industry and the family was always on the move.  He was born in Japan, spent a few toddler years in South Africa, and most of his childhood in Holland.  It was at age 11 that his family picked up everything and sailed their 36' Northshore Vancouver from Holland, through Europe and Ireland, and down to the Caribbean in about a year and a half's time.  Matt learned to sail and developed a passion for travelling.  His family settled in Southwest Florida so he and his brother Jonathan could attend a regular high school.  After high school, Matt attended Maine Maritime Academy, but (surprise) he hated the cold weather and opted to transfer to the University of New Orleans, graduating with a degree in Business Management.  He's worked in the maritime industry since graduation, as a marine surveyor, barge maintenance superintendent, and shipyard project manager for various gulf-coast shipping companies centered in New Orleans.

Laura
I feel odd writing about myself, but as Matt is currently putting back together a turbocharger, here it goes.  My name is Laura, and I'm also 25, younger than Matt by only a month.  I was born in Philadelphia to hard working Americans of mostly German descent.  I have a younger brother, Timmy (17), and a large and loving network of family and friends.  I attended Catholic schooling through high school and then went on to college at the US Merchant Marine Academy.  It was there that I learned to sail dinghys and developed a passion for travelling and the sea.  I graduated with a degree in Logistics and Intermodal Transportation and a USCG Unlimited Third Mate's license, which I used to work as a 3rd Mate on mostly tankerships in the Gulf of Mexico.

How we came together
It was in the awesome crescent city that Matt and I first met circa 2007.  I was sailing aboard a tankership as a cadet that went between New Orleans and Tampa, and Matt was attending the University of New Orleans.  Shout out to my college sailing skipper Chris who recommended I give his high school sailing friend Matt a call for a free tour around the city.  I did, and a few times Matt picked my up from the dock we did very touristy things, like drive around the lower 9th ward checking out all the hurricane damage, and more common Cafe Du Monde visits, all very platonic.  And that was it for several years.  I finished my cadet time and went back to school in New York and Matt continued doing his thing in New Orleans.  After I graduated and returned as a mate to the same ship and run, circa 2009, Matt and I reconnected (on facebook, as much as I hate to admit) and it seemed like we were seeing each other in a totally different light. Then we started dating, drinking red wine and watching Captain Ron, and I vaguely remember thinking 'how nice would that be!'