Meet Colleen Herold, 62, and Paul Herold, 69, live aboard boaters based in Atlantic City, NJ. Colleen is a retired manger and Paul a retired plumber pipefitter. They own a 36-foot Union Cutter called S/V Journey, on which they cruise together with their 5-year-old grey tortoiseshell cat, Dennis.

How did you take up boating?
When I met my now-husband about 20 years ago, he owned a Seidelmann 32-foot that he used to teach himself sailing. I’m a city girl from Philadelphia and had no clue about boating, much less sailing. His dream was to retire on his sailboat and I happily followed.

What do you most enjoy about being on the water?
The solitude. It's just beautiful to wake up each morning overlooking beautiful vistas that real estate in- vestors pay millions to also overlook.
I also enjoy the navigational portion of boating in plotting a course and following markers.

Recent outings?
After installing a new engine in our Union Cutter in St. Marys, Ga., we then sailed to Fernandina Beach, St. Augustine (one of our favorite spots), Palm Coast, and now we are in Vero Beach visiting friends. Next stops: Stuart, Coconut Grove, Marathon, and who knows where from there.

Has coronavirus changed your boating habits?
We were in Marathon on a mooring ball when the Keys closed due to COVID. We opted to sail to the Dry Tortugas with only three other sailboats. Our return to New Jersey was delayed by two months due to spiking COVID counts there.
Since then, cruising plans and destinations are set in Jell-O — who knows? We are planning on Isla Mujeres, Mexico, in late February. Many of our friends didn't even put their boats in the water this year.

Where are your favorite places to go?
BVI and USVI: Gorgeous vistas and all are a day sail. We also love Block Island and Newport, RI. That’s where there’s real sail boating money!

Must have item during trips?
We’d be lost without our 10-foot AB inflatable with 2-stroke engine. Some hate the 2-stroke but it’s always been dependable on the first pull.

Creature comforts include really good foam cock- pit cushions, a TV with hot spot, my oven as I bake often, a pressure cooker and ice, which is life-changing, as well as good thick Mexican glasses for our sundown- ers. We refuse to go the all-plastic route other than when underway.
And pillows — also life-changing for any woman on a boat! Easiest and least costly way to decorate the interior and the cockpit.

Describe your most challenging experience on the water:
That would be when I hit a huge green marker on Cape Fear River and we almost lost our pulpit. We crawled to a dock and literally duct taped and wrapped the pulpit back onto the boat until our next stop where Paul made and installed a new 8-foot pulpit and read- justed the rigging.
First thing I learned: Never, ever take your eyes off the water when looking ahead at the route on Navionics. Second thing: Sailors who don’t make mistakes don’t take their boats out.

What is your dream boat?
A catamaran, which is so much roomier, yet not as seaworthy as our heavy Bluewater boat. I’d also love a Bluewater sailboat with an aft cabin as I long for a larger bedroom like on land.
Journey is free and clear and there’s no way I’d want the financial commitment of a catamaran. We all enjoy the same vistas and we’re not inside very often.

Best advice to new boaters:
Foremost, write up what you imagine as the per- fect scenario living on board, then read it monthly and transport yourself there. Mine was lying on the foredeck of Journey, sunning in the harbor of Jost Van Dyke, while a construction crew hammered away, goats and roosters sounded off, island music played — all the while thinking, “this is my nirvana.”

To get there, pay off debt and write an action plan to reach your goal. If you can, invest in something with passive income, then live the plan. Get rid of stuff and simplify, simplify, simplify.

Get on the water and get experience but never as- sume the other boat knows what he/she is doing. Be careful and have fun!