Sailing War Story

Sailing War Story

By Anna McKinley

He’s active-duty Marines; she’s active-duty police. They have two teenagers and a boat dog (a Great Dane!), and they live aboard their catamaran, War Story, full time!

“You’re crazy!” is almost always the response, and it’s an accusation that I don’t deny. The dream started over 14 years ago, when I met Jason, my future husband, in my senior year of college. I offhandedly told him my romantic notion that I would love to live on a houseboat. I had no idea what it entailed, and really didn’t plan to put it into action. However, it planted an idea in Jason’s head, one that he couldn’t shake, and evolved into a new dream of circumnavigating the world together by sail.

Meeting new people can take us down a rabbit hole of 50 questions; there’s just a lot to explain. The typical introductory questions lead to more questions. What do you do for a living? I’ve been a police officer for over 8 years now. It’s a topic that tends to perk people’s curiosity. Usually then I’m asked what my husband does for a living. My husband Jason is active duty, he’s been in the Marine Corps for over 17 years. Where do you live? We live aboard a sailing catamaran full time. The punchline is: Yes, we have kids! Two teenagers and a boat dog, a Great Dane.

Sailing War Story

Of course, as a Marine, Jason is a person of action. By 2015, Jason was learning to sail off the coast of Camp Pendleton, and a few years later we purchased our own boat. We even completed a PCS (permanent change of station) with our boat hauled across the country; we pulled her out of the Pacific and splashed her in the Atlantic. Upon arriving at our new station, we decided to find our forever boat, and make the plunge to live aboard full time.

After hours of looking online and climbing over a few catamarans, we came across a beautiful Privilege 395, named War Story. Her owner was a Special Forces veteran, and immediately there was something about her we couldn’t shake. The owner’s care and attention to detail was evident throughout the careful logbooks and labels that covered just about everything. Still, we had our doubts; was buying a boat again the right move to make? Should we just go get a house like normal people? Would we go crazy living aboard with teenagers and a dog? Was this just a stupid, horrible investment? We headed to the 2019 Annapolis boat show with War Story in the back of our minds. As

I happily wandered around the boat show with a cold Pusser Painkiller in hand, I struggled with a thought that had been bothering me. Our plans to circumnavigate the world after Jason’s retirement from active duty excited me, but I kept asking myself... why? Is it just to have fun? Just to travel? What was the purpose? Jason and I have a trait in common of being driven people; it’s something that draws us together, we want to know what the mission is, what value we are bringing to the table. Sailing has brought us together as a couple and a

family. It’s been tremendously therapeutic for mental, physical and emotional stress that has been brought through endless deployments, field and training exercises, and all the critical incidents we have experienced. What if we shared this with other military and veterans? First Responders? What if we introduced them to this life, and it was helpful for them? As usual, anytime I get excited about an idea, I immediately call up Jason before even really thinking it through. He happened to be across the boat show, and when I told him my half-baked idea, he laughed. It wasn’t because it was funny; he happened to be standing in front of a table for a group called Valhalla Sailing. Valhalla Sailing is a non-profit dedicated to teaching Veterans to sail and race, while regaining their sense of self and community.

Sailing War Story

It was a serendipitous moment for us; we aren’t crazy, there are people out there pursuing this and there is a need for it! Our ride home cemented that we would purchase War Story. It felt like we were continuing on the dream of the previous owner as we fleshed out our dream and future plans for her. We didn’t know all the details of how we would make this happen (and in many ways still don’t) but we knew it felt right and the pieces were falling into place for the long term plan.

Since living aboard War Story, we have personally introduced many people in our local veteran communities to sailing and the simplistic lifestyle that comes with it. We have found ourselves in a very unique community ourselves; many of our good friends here are in their seventies, still living an active lifestyle and sailing. A unique, twin bond of service and sailing proves to overcome many differences, including age.

In a few short years, the two of us will be out of our uniforms and setting off into cruising full time. For now we are sailing and gaining as much experience as we can while preparing our boat for her future adventures. The dream is quickly turning to reality. For many who serve, transitioning is a difficult, stressful thing, even for those who are ready for a new chapter. Leaving the camaraderie, the brotherhood, the routine, and yes, even the adrenaline and stress, can be a daunting endeavor. Sailing is our means of bridging the gap between the present and the future, shaping our new chapter, and providing us our next mission.