One Company, Two LocationsFor the past many years Xavier and Elizabeth have contracted to provide all watersports at the beautiful Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. As an on-property concessionaire, they offer daily snorkel tours, eco-tours, fishing charters, sailing and windsurfing rentals and lessons, and sunset cruises. Elizabeth designs and organizes a multitude of team building events and recreational outings for the corporate clientele traveling to Cheeca. An unfortunate 2008 New Year’s Eve fire caused the Lodge to close for the year, forcing the Bay and Reef Company to extablish their company at the lovely (and newly renovated) La Siesta Marina. Fast forward to 2010 and the Cheeca Lodge is reopened and Xavier and Elizabeth are happily back in place at Cheeca Lodge, offering full service watersports. They also maintain vessels at La Siesta Marina. The combination is winning. |
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A little something about usXavier’s formal training is as a respiratory therapist. He received his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and a Master’s degree from the University of Colorado. He worked as a registered respiratory therapist from 1978 – 2003. As a health care professional, he spent 18 years working as a clinical therapist, educator, and hospital administrator. I am quite certain that all this is true, for I have seen pictures of Xavier in suit clothes, lab coats, and in offices surrounded by doctors and other important looking types. In fact, from meeting Xavier most people would not believe any of this story. After moving from Colorado to the Keys in 1994, his sense of adventure and lifelong love of the water moved him to obtain his United Sates Coast Guard Masters captain license. He continued to work as a therapist but, with license in hand, started to work on the water as a sailing and parasail captain. Until he met Elizabeth! I hail from the Midwest. It is possible that it was the years I spent growing up on a farm that made me thirsty for the ocean. I received my formal education from Boston University and went on to work in Washington D.C. in a market research firm where I felt the weight of the world through the intricacies of things that matter, “should the cupcake have curly cues or dots? and should the coffee cup handle be straight or angled?” After really making a difference, I vacationed to the Keys and decided to quit my job (after giving a two week notice of course) and relocated to live on a houseboat in Islamorada. I found that I could not bear the idea of working indoors so got my captain’s license and started working as an eco-tour captain. I then opened a watersports business on Long Key, realized that I was single-handedly helping to destroy the Bay by offering boat rentals and so sold the business and started work as a fishing guide. Time passes. . . . X met Elizabeth and they fell madly in love – and this is where I like to embellish the story and make up all kinds of things about our lives together! But the latest addition to our lives together is the arrival of a new member of our family! Baby Sofia! . . . . and I could go on and on and on and fill pages with darling pictures of this little treasure. A surprising twist on our already lovely existence? Well yes actually! But boy oh boy are we feeling blessed and quite the luckiest people on the planet!
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