10 . 22. 2022
How we met
Early on New Year’s Day in 2018, Dan joined the crew of SY Argo in Cape Town, South Africa.
Tina was already aboard.
(Alas, Tina isn’t very good at mornings, so this wasn’t a fabulous first impression.)
Over the next few months, we traveled across the South Atlantic to Antigua via St. Helena, French Guiana, and Brazil. We battled stomach bugs, broken booms, and mid-semester blues all the way, but Tina redeemed her first impression by teaching Dan how to scuba dive!
The summer took us back across the Atlantic again, this time to France via the Azores and Gibraltar. By that point, we’d been living together for about seven months, so figuring out when our first date happened is difficult. If we had to choose, we’d pick the day the top right photo was taken on Faial in the Azores.
We rented mopeds on our day off and traveled all over the island. Faial is a volcanic island, so we visited the caldera, tide pools left behind from lava flows, and new land formed by eruptions within our parents’ lifetimes.
Not bad for a first date, huh?
From ocean to ocean and boat to boat, we bounced around for work, for adventure, and for the sake of sharing our passion for sailing, diving, and the marine environment with our students. We eventually left Argo for other vessels. Over time, we’ve spent semesters oceans apart and seasons living out of each others’ pockets. For the most part, however, we’re incredibly fortunate to get to do what we love, often as a team.
The Proposal
In October 2020, we traveled to Long Island to visit Tina’s parents. Unbeknownst to her, Dan had gotten in contact with her childhood best friend, Kerry, and made arrangements to pop the question.
Kerry traveled to Caumsett State Park earlier in the day and hid Dan’s proposal materials (a blue raspberry ring pop and a DVD of The Ring) in a tree. While pretending to go for a run later that day, Dan located the tree and moved the materials to a picturesque bluff overlooking the water.
The scheming paid off, because when Tina joined him for a hike later that day, she wasn’t suspicious in the slightest.
The Story Continues…
But of course, the story isn’t through — it’s just beginning! We’re so looking forward to celebrating our decision to make this journey together with all of our friends and family.
days
hours minutes seconds
until
the knot gets tied!
Dan & Tina 