Meet the Cruisers: Nicole and Keenan of S/Y Maison de Santé
Hello and welcome to this month’s Meet the Cruisers series! I’m here today to introduce you to Keenan, Nicole, and their sailor dog Jack—that’s right, the first couple on Meet the Cruisers who are sailing around Mexico with a dog! We all met at Marina El Cid in Mazatlan, having arrived from crossing the Sea of Cortez at the same time (except their boat, Maison de Santé moves a little bit faster (okay, a lot faster) than Thisldu) in early December. We clicked instantly and enjoyed meeting up with each other again in La Cruz in February. Garrett and I were sad to say goodbye after the five of us buddy boated across Banderas Bay together to explore Yelapa. Nicole, Keenan, and Jack are heading north to the Sea of Cortez while Garrett and I now in Nicaragua, bound for Panama (we hope—Coronavirus is currently getting in the way of our plans).
In addition to having a dog, another thing that sets the Maison de Santé crew apart is that Keenan, the captain, still works full-time. This means that they stay in marinas during the week to have access to good cell service and WiFi and then sail on or explore the surrounding area together on the weekend. It also means that Garrett, Nicole, Jack and I went on a few weekday excursions together, exploring Old Town Mazatlan, Sayulita, and San Pablo. We loved exploring with those two! It’s especially nice for me to be able to spend time with a girlfriend down here, and Garrett and I loved having a dog around, too. We tried stealing him once or twice but he wouldn’t have it. Jack loves his parents, and I don’t blame him. We love them too.
We’ve still been in communication with Keenan and Nicole since waving goodbye from our respective boats in Yelapa, and Keenan has saved our butts not once but twice when Garrett and I forgot to call marinas to tell them we were coming ahead of time. Both of these marinas required advance notice—the first was in Chiapas, Mexico, where you check out of the country, and the second was in Puesta del Sol, Nicaragua, where we needed to check in to the country. Keenan was our lifeline on our three-day sail from Chiapas to Puesta del Sol. Not only did he communicate with the marina on our behalf and send them all of our paperwork, he kept us informed as Central American borders closed left and right due to Coronavirus. We know that he’s already inundated with work and appreciated his help so, so much.
Keenan and Nicole are just all around good people who we have enjoyed getting to know so much. Now, I want you to get to know them! So, without further ado, here’s their cruising story:
What are your names?
Keenan, Nicole, and Jack (the dog!)
If you don’t mind sharing, how old are you?
Keenan is 37, Nicole is 34, and Jack is 7
What is the name, make, model, year, and size of your boat?
Maison de Santé is a 1974 Cal 2-46. She’s 46 feet long, 12 feet wide, and has a 5 foot draft.
How did you get your start with sailing?
Keenan and his dad decided to try sailing when he was a child and he was hooked ever since. Nicole was introduced to sailing by Keenan when they met almost 11 years ago and for Nicole, being a lover of the ocean and water sports, sailing made for a perfect match.
What made you want to cruise?
Multiple factors were at play when wanting to go cruise. We fell in love with the idea together when we chartered a Catamaran in the Caribbean for our honeymoon. Sailing to tropical places on our own itinerary in beautiful places in the world then became a dream. We seek adventure and spontaneity on our trips and don’t like predetermined cookie-cutter excursions that are offered through hotels and resorts. We purchased our current boat in December 2016 with the hopes to cruise in the future. Once we lost our slip in 2019 and after family planning didn’t go as expected along with unforeseen health hiccups we decided to make the move this year. Many people wait to cruise when they retire and we have met many folks who waited too long and for one reason or another were unable to do it. Nothing in this world is guaranteed and we were concerned that the longer we waited the chances of us going would be less probable. It’s easy to get boxed into our routines and daily responsibilities of land life and making the leap was challenging but beyond rewarding now that we took the leap.
How long have you been cruising for, and how long do you hope to keep it up?
We have been cruising since November 1, 2019 starting from San Diego, CA. This season we will cruise until June then head back to the states until October and continue our journey south. At this point we plan to cruise indefinitely, spending part of the year on the boat and the other in San Diego, living dual land and sea lives so long as we are happy doing it. This also gives us time to see family and friends we miss dearly while cruising.
How are you funding this lifestyle?
Keenan works remotely, full-time Monday through Friday, and Nicole will work per diem when back in the States. We didn’t sell our home and have tenants covering the cost (more or less) of our mortgage. We also sold a car before leaving.
What’s the most positive experience you’ve had with cruising so far? What’s the most negative experience you’ve had with cruising so far? The biggest challenge?
Meeting such amazing people, both locals and fellow cruisers alike, has been absolutely wonderful. However, probably the best experiences include the special encounters with nature you would not otherwise get to experience: close encounters with whales breaching (a shark, too), dolphins playing with you at the bow, sailing thorough waves of glowing phosphorescence, night time skies at passage with blanketed stars everywhere. Also being able to live an alternative lifestyle with my love and partner is something I am so grateful for.
The most negative experience was when we were in passage at night from Mazatlan to Puerto Vallarta. The forecast predicted calm conditions and we experienced the opposite with up to 28 knots of wind and up to 10-foot waves with one of them hitting us broadside, sending our 20-ton vessel almost 90 degrees sideways causing our port side drawers to spew open and throw their contents all over the floor. I’m glad none of us were hurt or tossed overboard but it was a reminder of how nature can kick your butt and how important it is to be prepared for all kinds of scenarios.
The biggest challenge is probably a combination of staying on top of boat projects, the struggles of small space living and the Tetris that occurs with getting personal items out the many crevasses of the boat, making the v-berth bed, and having to stay in places with internet/ WiFi Monday through Friday for work reasons. There are additional challenges with cruising with a pet and we have made adjustments accordingly but it hasn’t been too bad. Mexico is very dog friendly but I know we will have to jump through more hoops for Jack in other countries. I also miss Trader Joe’s deeply but it’s a small sacrifice for the reward of cruising. It’s also hard to say goodbye to wonderful people you meet along the way.
Is cruising what you thought it would be? Can you elaborate?
For the most part cruising is what I thought it to be. Being able to sail to beautiful places and experience the culture and explore our new environments is wonderful. There is so much diversity to see in this world and I’m glad we have gotten a taste of it. Living life in a smaller space is not a problem for us and we have made many upgrades over the past couple years for both safety and for creature comforts to keep us happy. My two favorite features here in the tropics of Mexico on this boat are our A/C unit and portable ice maker.
There are always going to be struggles cruising so keeping a positive attitude and working together are key. Also expecting there to be unforeseen expenses along the way is important. One thing I didn’t expect was how much more expensive boat parts would be here and how hard it would be to import items to Mexico...we had an inverter held in customs for over 3 weeks even though we had a business owner and representative helping us. The solution here in Mexico we say in jest is “just add money.” One other thing I’m surprised about is in large grocery stores it can be troublesome or impossible to find everyday items we have in the states; I gush when I see kale and cheddar cheese.
Is there one piece of advice or insight into this lifestyle that you would like to share?
Don’t wait too long to go if it’s something you really want to do. It’s physically demanding and quite tiring at times. A piece of advice a fellow cruiser of decades gave me is to just shoot to do one or two things a day. Everyday chores take longer and listen to your body... if you need a nap, take a siesta :). It’s been really nice seeing cruisers of all ages and cruisers with kids and pets. Another important aspect is to make sure you know your boat, its strengths, weaknesses, and systems and be able to fix them. It’s a a matter of time before something fails so having spares of almost everything is prudent.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
To quote another friend/sailor, “sailing is the most expensive way to travel the world for free.”