After four years of exploring the coast on solid ground, we hopped aboard La Cruz, Spanish for “The Cross,” and viewed Wrightsville Beach from a Norman Cross Trimaran that EJ, Marisa, and Kevin (the pug) are lucky to call home. Within minutes I was flooded with gratitude. I felt deep appreciation for this coastal community and its unwavering hospitality; thankfulness for a few peaceful hours with my husband; and sheer awe for the untouched coastline that hides beyond the million-dollar homes.

Our two-hour private cruise was luxuriously relaxing, and an idyllic escape from our usual routine—it felt like an afternoon staycation. While I could gush about our experience aboard La Cruz, our host’s story is even more extraordinary: We sat down with Marissa to hear all about how she and EJ started this new journey.

What was the big deciding factor in moving onto your boat?

Well, EJ has always wanted to live on a boat, so for him it was always just a matter of when. For me, the concept of living on a boat was so enchanting but seemed like more of a fairy tale rather than something you could realistically do. When the two of us met five years ago and started dating, I realized it didn’t have to be a fairy tale. We didn't know how, we didn't know when, we just knew our home would be on the ocean. La Cruz was passed down to EJ from his father and at first we wanted nothing to do with it because it needed a lot of work. I mean A LOT of work! We had it up for sale and even had a couple prepared to buy it and move on board. The two of us just could not shake the feeling that we were making a big mistake. It felt wrong to let someone else sail off with the boat that meant so much to EJ’s family. We were giving up a family heirloom. After more consideration we opted not to sell it and decided that any amount of work would be worthwhile to keep the boat in our family.

What keeps you coming back to Wrightsville Beach?

Wrightsville is home for us. We love the community here and we have such great support from friends and family.

Tell us a little bit about the crew.

If I had to describe EJ with three words they would be: surfing, fishing, and food. He is an all-around waterman with an appetite! Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, EJ spent summer breaks with his family in Ocean City, Maryland before moving there permanently after highschool. This is where he grew up on all types of vessels. Since his family is so into boating, he gained all of his experience on various fishing and sailing vessels. EJ has a sixth sense for reading the wind, swell, and current. I am very thankful to have him as my captain!

If I had to describe Marisa with three words they would be: cooking, pugs, and compassion. She loves to experiment in the galley, is absolutely pug obsessed, and is one of the most caring people I know. She is a North Carolina native and also has an obsession with the ocean and everything in it. She graduated from UNC-Wilmington with an Environmental Science degree and has a passion for ocean conservation, travel, and helping others. Together we make a great team and our lifestyle on the water was inevitable.

Kevin is the newest addition to the crew. Our sweet pug puppy loves the beach, learning to swim, and tanning his belly. Fun fact: Kevin was named after character Kevin Malone in the TV Series “The Office”. We felt it was appropriate since pugs are notoriously chubby and food-obsessed.

What do you love most about sharing your boat with guests?

Our favorite part is sharing something so different. It is really fun to show off our hard work and educate people about what “boat life” entails. We are still in awe that we made La Cruz happen and it is great to have people who are just as excited as we are about being on the water.

What's the craziest story or experience you've had living on a boat to date?

We had a crazy trip from West Palm Beach to New Smyrna, Florida. It was our first overnight sail up the coast on the way to North Carolina. The sun had just set and we decided to take a shower. Butt naked and soaped up, we got a huge gust of wind out of nowhere. With no time to rinse the soap off, we dried our sudsed up bodies and threw on our foul weather gear. We noticed that there were some unfriendly clouds closing in so we decided to reef the sails (put up less surface area). As the clouds closed in, lightning illuminated the sky and to my horror, there was a funnel cloud forming right behind us. After seeing that, we dropped all the sails. The swell got so big out of nowhere, the boat was surfing down waves and we were going as fast as our average cruising speed with just bare poles (no sails, no motor). I had never been so scared before in my life. I jumped into support mode, doing whatever was asked of me. EJ was cool, calm, and collected. He steadily steered the boat downwind with the swell. We were gracefully surfing away from this monster in the sky. Thankfully we did not witness a waterspout touch down and things calmed down after what felt like hours. It was quite a way to kick off our first overnight run!

How have you made your boat home?

The boat needed so much work when we got it. EJ and I learned how to do everything ourselves (thanks YouTube). All of the carpentry, plumbing, electric, upholstery, you name it. We learned how to do it all and, honestly, I had a blast learning so many new skills. It's really great because if we are offshore and something breaks, we know how to fix it. It was a very daunting task taking on so much but after 4 months (and the arrival of COVID-19) we were just ready enough to shove off the dock. La Cruz is still a work in progress and we have a list of things that we want to do. As soon as the pandemic started we threw everything on board and sailed away and man has it been quite the adventure!

As cooler weather moves down the coast, EJ and Marissa will set sail for the Bahamas to hunker down for the winter. months. Be sure to book your sunset cruise before they head south this November!