Greg (aka The Greg, Shea Butta)
Greg was raised in Kaufman, Texas which at that time was a growing suburb of Dallas.
In highschool, he spent his spare time playing brass instruments in the high school marching and concert bands. When the Sky Ryder Drum and Bugle Corps held tryouts, Greg auditioned and spent two summers travelling around the country, competing with other drum corps in national competitions.
Though Greg enjoyed the comradery and showmanship of performing music, and teaching private lessons to kids gave him a sense of legacy, he felt that this was not to be his destiny. At the age of 22, he asked his young bride if she would be amenable to cashing out a small 401k account to purchase a personal computer (with Windows 95, oh yeah). With that, the man was back in his element, with a near-miss of being a band director. He quickly moved on from his college music major and job at a building supply chain and built his career from entry-level Help Desk Tech to Senior Implementation Specialist for a boutique IT Service Management Software Company.
Greg took his first sailing class in the Florida Keys in 2000. After many years cutting his teeth on the lakes of North Texas on a Ranger 23, he sold her and all of his personal belongings to start the process of living aboard full-time. Greg is 10% luckier than most. He loves Tex-Mex, IPAs or a good nitro stout. His ability to tinker and figure things out will serve him well on Star Stuff for many years to come.
Thus begins his life as a sailor.
Julie
Julie was raised in a tiny speck of a town called Palmer, Texas. There were 38 people in her graduating class. Thirty. Eight. You can’t blame a girl from a small town for getting a little wanderlust.
Julie spent her adult life in graphic design and print production. Though she earned her Bachelor’s in advertising, she decided she wanted as far away from that world as humanly possible. Besides, we’re all minimalists now anyway, right?
After spending 14 years in a cubicle for a single company, Julie planned her escape to the sea with her husband. Together, they downsized their life from a 4-bedroom house to a 1-bedroom apartment and then pared down to 2 vehicles worth of belongings to move to the boat. Even that turned out to be too much stuff.
In 2019, Julie researched, designed, and published the Comprehensive Ship’s Log and it’s companion log, the Ship & Shore Chronicle. She also helps out with some part-time graphic design work for The Boat Galley.
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