Our Story

Troubadour's
 Linda Moore and Chris May 

Chris and Linda chose early retirement from corporate "office space" and cubicle life at GE Healthcare in Waukesha, Wis., to pursue their dream of going "down island" to the Caribbean.

They didn't meet at GE, as they are often asked, it was too big for them to ever meet. At that time they worked miles away from each other - he was in MRI engineering, and she was a collections manager, or as Chris likes to say, "the repo lady" (for products like the MRI's that Chris was building). Lucky for them, they had a mutual friend, Cathie V.  She figured since they both liked sailing and were crazy enough to work for "the General" why not get them together. That was in 2005.

Before he met Linda, Chris (a Parrothead who also listens to swing music) was spending his "vacation time" trying to escape the cold and snowy months in Wisconsin by bareboat chartering sailboats in the Caribbean with his Milwaukee friends.  He was also spending one weekend a month sitting in a cinder block office at the Naval Reserve Center on the shores of Lake Michigan. When he met Linda, the thought of dumping that corporate job and being a Caribbean boat captain was fast becoming a goal.

Before she met Chris, Linda was spending the very short Wisconsin summers checking off a bucket list item - learning to sail. She learned to sail as crew on her friend Rick's boat, a Nelson - Marek CM 1200 called Tango in Blue at the South Shore Yacht Club in Milwaukee in 2002. The yacht club was a stone’s throw from the Naval Reserve Center.

Chris had never sailed on Lake Michigan. "Too cold", he said. Linda never experienced sailing in the warm waters of the Caribbean, "What's bareboating?" she said. Her friend, Bernie explained it this way: "In bareboating, you don't have to put your beer down to trim the sails."

You know where this is going, don't you? South.

Very soon after they met, Linda introduced Chris to a few sailboat captains at the yacht club. It wasn't long before Chris found a boat to crew on - Nature's Touch a Beneteau First 375. A year later, Linda jumped ship to join Chris as crew on the Beneteau and next thing you know, they are planning their getaway.

They put their ideas and dreams together, and for three years, spent their evenings, weekends and vacations adding a bunch of certifications to their resumes, (because some day they will need to rebuild the cruising kitty) and in 2008 bought Troubadour. They sold their house (by now they were engaged) and their cars, and began life aboard.

Our first three years of life aboard can be found at Sailblogs.

How we chose our boat name

A "troubadour" is described as a wandering singer or minstrel, or a composer and performer of lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages. We felt the name fit because Chris sings and plays the guitar and Linda enjoys writing poetry, and well, we are wandering!

Troubadour is a German Frers design1986 Beneteau Idylle 15.50, formerly of the Moorings charter fleet.

A "bunch" of certifications

Linda

Linda is a Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher, having earned her 200 hour teacher training certification at Discovery Yoga in St. Augustine, Florida, a Kripalu Yoga affiliate. She studied under the direction of Deva Parnell.

Linda is an insured PADI Divemaster and Master Scuba Diver. She is also a member of DAN the Divers Alert Network. She is trained as a Red Cross Emergency Responder; has completed the STCW BST (Basic Safety Training), and holds a USCG MMD (Ordinary Seaman). She began crewing on Tango in Blue and several other sailboats on Lake Michigan in 2002.

Prior to life aboard, Linda worked in operations and collections management for GE Healthcare for ten years. Her family includes Mom and Dad, two brothers, two sisters and eight nieces and nephews, and their families.

Chris

Chris is an insured PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and can train in 17 specialties. He also teaches the Emergency First Response, DAN Diver Emergency Management Provider (DEMP), and On-site Neurological Assessment courses. He has formal training on Oceanic and Aqualung equipment and as a PSI Visual Cylinder Inspector.

Chris is qualified through the American Sailing Association (ASA) to teach their Basic Keelboat through Advanced Coastal Cruising, Bareboat Charter, and Coastal Navigation courses, as well as Cruising Catamaran. He holds a USCG 100 Ton Masters License with Aux Towing, Sailing, and STCW BST endorsements. He retired in 2008 as a Commander after 24 years in the US Navy.