The beginning

Seeking Gifts from the Sea 🌊

A blog about how I learn to sail, live a non traditional life style with my family and find who I once was before having kids and becoming a wife.

Hi I’m Tesha Snook. I married the man of my dreams 3 years ago, Mr. Zach Snook after knowing each other for 10 plus years but only dating for five months before we were married- when you know you know <3 and I’m here to tell you how I went from a typical working mom of two, who was essentially raised under a rock (my family wasn’t very adventurous, adventure for us was a 3 mile bike ride around our small town waterfront or a crazy Friday night filled with pizza and movies) to now working up the courage to sail with my husband who was practically raised on a sailboat, if I may add; our 2 children and our 65lb pit Bull mix named banjoe, Joe for short. At first, the plan is to sail on the weekends so me and the kids can work on our sailing skills and our sea legs, to eventually (hopefully) sailing full time. It’s my 5 year goal.

Let me give you a little back story about us.

Im 28 years old. I had my first child, Liam when I was 18 in 2013 while living at home with my parents and 3 younger sisters. I was always free spirited by nature. I’ve always loved a good time and for me, that’s a drink in hand, near a body of water and the sun beaming down on my skin.  but becoming a mom at such a young age changed who I was. I was focused on being a good mom and making ends meet while working as a host at our local Applebee's. I think I made about $12k that year so you can imagine how tight money was for a first time mom. Fast forward to 2015 as I started a new job as  an administrative assistant at a detention facility and finally able to afford my first apartment. I immediately fell in love with the job and wanted to be more involved with the inmates. I’ve always had a nurturing and caring way about me, so in 2017 I started nursing school and became a licensed practical nurse by 2019. Life was finally coming together for Liam and me. A year later, Covid happened and things took a huge turn for the worse. My long term boyfriend and I broke up, and Liam and I found ourselves back at my parents house trying to put the pieces back together. Schools were shut down, business were closing and life was just different. However through it all, God was on my side. The scrawny blonde hair blue eyed boy I had a crush on some 10 or so years back messaged me on Snapchat asking me on a date and since our first date back in April 2020, we have been inseparable ever sense.

My husband on the other hand has always been outgoing. He’s accomplished 4 years active duty in the Marine Corps, he’s gone to dive school and  learned how to scuba dive and do underwater construction, he’s rock climbed, he’s snow boarded and surfed all in the same day. He sailed around on a little 19 ft sailboat, he’s even lived in a different country for a little while and managed to land a good paying government job all at the ripe age of 28. I always  find it so crazy that he’s lived so much life in his 29 years and in a way even a little (a lot) jealous of all of his adventures.

June 2020 we found out we were pregnant with our daughter, Nova Marie- little daddy's girl.  As we have watched her grow over the last two years we’ve noticed that she takes after her daddy a lot. Adventurous and not scared of anything and I mean absolutely nothing. And let me tell you, as sassy as they come. She’s full of life, has a love for animals and an extreme love for boats and water and the outdoors. My little future veterinarian.

As Liam has gotten older, our 9 year old boy, he’s become a bit like your typical pre teen boy who has become entitled with the way of the world- and yes, we as parents take blame for it as well. Zach and I have thought of countless ways to help with the entitlement so Liam can grow to be a proper young gentleman. Chores, bed times, groundings for disrespectful behavior, limiting and eventually completely taking away video games; we’ve even gone as far as buying 6 chickens for him to care for, to show him a sense of responsibility but nothing seems to be working. And if I might add, Liam is a mamas boy, I’m not bashing him for his confidence and his self-centered ways. He’s my boy and I love him dearly. He’s just a pain in my ass sometimes but what do you expect with growing, maturing kids.

Our next idea was a lifestyle change to help open his eyes to how hard we have to work for the things we have or want. We thought we would start a farm, grow our own crops and tend to our own animals. We thought hard work would definitely help break him of his entitlement and he would be more grateful for the things we have, but who were we kidding we're too lazy and care free and as much as I had this thought, I just kept up with the idea until one day Zach said.. and I quote “who are we kidding, we’re too lazy to run a farm. We should just buy a sailboat” and when I tell you my eyes lit up, I was so down with the idea of living on a sailboat, sailing in beautiful crystal blue waters, putting my feet up while docked at the marina with a cocktail in hand. Wow, that’s a care free life style I can live for the rest of my life!

February 4, 2023 we put in a verbal offer on our 1988 Catalina 27 and by the grace of God our offer was accepted! Over the next several days we looked around our local area trying to find the perfect marina to store our boat while we finish paperwork, inspections and whatever else you have to do to buy a boat. We needed a good place to accommodate 2 children, a dog and two parents looking to enjoy themselves as well. Little did we know, in southeast Georgia, lots of people love to boat and we had such a hard time finding a wet slip that we can store our boat annually and not just temporarily so we could take advantage of our weekends to sail around. After several phone calls and a mild panic attack we found a slip. It’s not perfect and far from where we want to be but it’s a start.

Presidents’ Day weekend, Zach plans to sail with his dad from St. Augustine, FL. where we purchased our beauty of a sailboat and sail it all the way to St. Marys, GA were it will be docked at our new future weekend home. The trip is to take 13 hours, so they’re taking 3 days just to be safe. As badly as I want to go on this adventure, just to prove to myself I can do it, I have taken the role of chauffeur and will be driving the boys the 2 hours to the boat yard so we don’t have to leave our car and make another trip just to pick it up. But don’t worry, I’ve told Zach he’s got to document the adventure and take lots of pictures.

I’m so excited to start this journey, not only to make the best memories with my family but to be in my element, to learn who I am aside from being a mom and a wife. I’m excited for the things I will learn, the things I will see and the pure joy and happiness I will feel in my heart. God has truly blessed me and my family. 2023 is the the year of growth, stepping out of my comfort zone and finding that free spirit I had so many years ago.

So tag along and stay tuned to see how our weekend sailing trips/ lessons go. I’m sure there will be plenty of tears, scared kiddos, a scared doggie and stressed parents who may want to give up, but I’m so desperate to live a nomadic lifestyle that I’m not willing to allow defeat. This is a dream that I will make a reality :)

Tesha; seeking gifts from the sea 🌊