Together They Set Sail to Sea the World

Kuma Too Crew is a Couple with a Passion for Travel

and Love for Each Other

When I was working in the British Virgin Islands at age 23, I was ‘living the dream’ so to speak. I had my dream job working for a magazine on a tropical island full of adventurous people like me. Though travelling and experiencing life living abroad is amazing, it is a tough journey when done solo.

One day at the beach of Cane Garden Bay, I met a young, charismatic couple who shared a passion for travel, meeting new people, and most importantly, for each other.

Mandy and Joe lived in Florida, and utilised every moment of their vacation time from their careers to travel the world, live life to the fullest, and meet people along the way who would remain their friends for life. Europe, the Caribbean, and even their honey moon in Bora Bora… I was envious and intrigued by how many places they’d been together.

I met the couple twice in the British Virgin Islands, and visited them in Florida where I was taken out on their friend’s sailing yacht.

In 2016, Mandy and Joe decided to fulfil their dream and buy a catamaran, Kuma Too, which will enable them to take their home with them as they continue to see the world.

They are successful career people and are still taking the steps in order to experience life the way they’d envisioned. I am very proud to call Mandy and Joe my friends and was able to spend four nights on Kuma Too this winter. I’d love to share their story.

Meet Mandy and Joe, Crew of Kuma Too

Joe Age: 34

Joe Career: Manager for General Aviation Facility (now full time captain of Kuma Too)

Joe Hometown: Clearwater, FL

Mandy Age: 31

Mandy Career: Office Manager for Surgery Center (now full time crew on Kuma Too)

Mandy Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

How old were you when you met or began dating, and what were you doing at that time in your life? (ie students, working full time, on an employment break)

Mandy: I was 18, the summer after high school, interviewing for a job where Joe, who was 21, worked full time. By fall, I was in college and working full-time with Joe. We started dating that winter in December 2005.

Had either or both of you travelled much or lived different places before getting together?

Joe: I grew up doing Disney, camping around Florida and visiting family in Maryland on road trips. I’d never flown before age 22, yet worked in aviation since I was 18! My first cruise was with my brother around the same time I met Mandy. It was my first time seeing water that blue, and I was hooked!

Mandy: I did a lot of camping around Pittsburgh and vacations in Florida to see family. When I was 16, my dad and I got certified to scuba dive, and that’s when I became entranced by the ocean!

Did either one of you have to make sacrifices for the other in order to continue your lives together as a couple? (ie passing up a job, moving, etc)

Mandy: About a year after we started dating, Joe got the opportunity to move to Orlando with a promotion. I remember sitting on my green leather couch, having the final discussion where we decided that Joe had to take the position. Besides, it was only Orlando; it’s an hour and half drive.

We stayed pretty independent throughout the first 4 years of our relationship and only saw each other on weekends. Joe had never planned to get married, and honestly, we were too young to think about marriage at the time.

How did you both know you were “the one” for each other?

Mandy: Being established in our careers by 2010, we had spent an entire summer apart due to work, and that’s when we realised that we really missed each other’s company. That’s when we finally opened up and started talking about life plans. We realised that we really did want the same things; we loved the traveling we were doing together and wanted to incorporate that more into our life.

Before purchasing Kuma Too, how many times did you travel together as a couple and for how long at a time? How did you manage to travel so much as career people?

Mandy: We took our first trip together to Puerto Rico for a long weekend about 6 months after we started dating. Initially we were taking one big trip a year, usually a cruise. Once we started moving up in our careers, we were able to afford a little more and were doing 3-4 trips per year before we decided to buy the boat.

How did you manage to travel so much as career people?

Joe: Thus far, we’ve always strategically planned our PTO (paid time off). Our vacations were usually 9 days; 5 days of PTO plus two weekends. We only use PTO for vacations, and we use every minute of it, including returning from a cruise at 7am and heading right into work!

What’s the most rewarding experience of traveling?

Joe: The people we meet (ie. like Lala).Then the music and food that we get to share with those people! Thinking of the history that’s happened in some of the places we’ve been. The emotion that comes over you when staring at a horizon that’s been a dream/goal and achieving that.

Whose idea was it to purchase Kuma Too?

Mandy: Good question, I really think it was a joint decision. Since we got engaged, we knew we didn’t want the normal careers or to stay in Florida forever, but we couldn’t figure out what the next step was. In 2015, a strange chain of events found us in Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, where we met people sailing and got a glimpse of the sailing lifestyle.

Joe: We got home from Tortola in June, and in August we canceled most of our upcoming vacations to start saving for the down payment. We sold all our possessions, including our townhouse, and moved in with Mandy’s Mom to save money. We started shopping and bought Kuma Too on August 11, 2016.

Is there a meaning behind the name Kuma Too?

Yes, Kuma was our little boy kitty who passed away suddenly on our 2nd wedding anniversary. As soon as we decided we were getting a boat, we knew we wanted to incorporate Kuma’s name. Although, we’re not at all superstitious, for a mariner, seven letters and four vowels is supposedly lucky; that’s how Kuma turned into Kuma Too

What are your goals and time frame with sailing?

Mandy: The goal always seems to a shift a bit – right now, we’re focusing on our new business; sailing Kuma Too out of Dunedin, Florida. The ultimate goal is pay off the boat and set sail to explore the Caribbean then continue on to Europe, South Pacific and beyond. Until then, we’re enjoying trips around Florida and the Bahamas.

Joe: Once we set sail, we have no time frame. We want to see where life takes us. By obtaining our captain license, we plan to use that as income long term.

Here’s the question you probably always get asked, Do you guys want to have kids? Have do you feel when you’re asked this question?

Mandy: No, neither of us have ever wanted kids. It’s a normal question, so we’ve gotten used to it. My response now is “no, kids were never part of the plan for us.” Most people accept that answer now, and if they don’t, I proceed to tell them that we can’t have kids. Although, we don’t want kids, there are several families traveling the world with kids, and I think it’s an amazing way to raise a family.

What’s your advice to people who want to “settle” young in life, get married, buy a house, etc. How can they still achieve goals with commitments whether it be travelling, learning something new, starting a business, etc.

Joe: Make sure you’re following your own dream! If your dream is to have a house with a white picket fence, then by all means do it! But if you’re just following the next ‘step’ in life because you think it’s your dream, then take a break from it all and try to find out what you really want out of life.

Mandy: Write down your goal, and set smaller goals to get to the big goal. For example, once we decided to buy a boat, we canceled all our upcoming vacations because the first thing we had to do was get a down payment. Every step Joe and I have taken together has been towards travelling and seeing the world.

Sailing Kuma Too

I was lucky to have been invited to spend the weekend onboard Kuma Too. Mandy and Joe offer day sails, and full week charters from Dunedin Marina. They are already booked for charters for New Years Eve 2019 and 2020! Look out for my follow up article, ‘Weekend on Kuma Too’!