Who we are
Welcome aboard! Weāre Tom and Abby Foxx, a married couple sailing together full-time on our Beneteau 393 - Salty Foxx. What began as a shared dream has become our everyday reality ā chasing horizons and finding home wherever we drop anchor.
This website is our floating journal ā a collection of stories, photographs, and reflections from life at sea. We write about the places we visit, the joys and challenges of cruising as a couple, and the many lessons weāve picked up along the way. Whether youāre a fellow sailor, a hopeful cruiser, or simply someone who loves a good story, weāre glad youāre here.
Fair winds and following seas,
Tom & Abby
Our Journey
š§ 2020 ā We Met in Virginia
Tom and Abby crossed paths in Virginia and quickly discovered a shared love for the water, adventure, and each other. When Tom had to move back to Hawaii for work, Abby moved the 4,695 miles with him after only 8 months of dating!
āµ 2021ā2022 ā Living in Hawaii
We spent over a year living, cruising, and racing on Oahu ā soaking up trade winds, big swells, and fast boats. We loved to freediving and hanging out with our friends at Hawaii Yacht Club.
š² 2022ā2024 ā Life in Upstate New York
In Spring of 2022, Tom took a job that let us explore life in Saratoga Spring, NY. We raced on the beautiful Lake George in the summers and went camping as much as possible.
ā Summer/Fall 2024 ā Bought Salty Foxx in Hampton, VA
We moved back to Virginia in August of 2024 with the goal of casting off for full-time cruising within the year. In September, we found our perfect boat ā Salty Foxx ā and started sailing the Chesapeake Bay.
š 2025 ā Cast Off for Full-Time Cruising
By July, both Abby and Tom decided to take a break from their respective corporate jobs. After many boat projects and short shake-down sails, we set sail from the Chesapeake Bay to begin our newest chapter: cruising full-time aboard Salty Foxx.
š 2026 ā The Adventure Continues
After a winter spent in Virginia to get some boat work done, we are back out on the water! We cast off the docks in early May and we are making our way up the East Coast.
Tom
Hey there, Iām Tom. I grew up in Santa Cruz, CA surfing and riding mountain bikes. At the age of 17, I moved to Prescott, AZ to attend Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and got my undergraduate degree in Aerospace Engineering with a focus in Astronautics. After college, I moved to Hawaii to work for the Department of Defense as Nuclear Engineer focusing on the US Navyās nuclear submarine propulsion plants.
In February of 2020, I moved to Norfolk, VA for a 10-month stint for work. Within the month, Covid struck and the shutdown began. While bored and browsing Facebook marketplace, I found a 1973 Columbia Yacht T-23 for sale. With no prior sailing experience, I bought the boat and gave the previous owner a 6 pack of beer to teach me to sail. With that 1 lesson and my educational experience as an aerospace engineer (Sails are really just sideways airplane wings right?), I took off on my sailing journey. Since then, I have been lucky enough to crew on several race boats in Hawaii, New York, and Virginia and have even become an adequate foredeck. Following a sailing trip to island of Molokai in the Hawaiian Islands chain, I knew this was something I wanted to do full time.
Abby
Hey there, Iām Abby. I grew up in Virginia Beach, VA and stayed close to home when I attended college at Old Dominion University in Norfolk. At ODU, I studied political science and was a member of the ODU Sailing Team. Fun fact - I had never sailed before I joined the team! It was at ODU that I learned to love sailing. After college, I started a career in the non-profit industry working as a fundraiser at the Virginia Beach Surf & Rescue Museum, and then later at the Virginia MOCA.
During the 2020 Covid shut-down, I met Tom and in Jan 2021 I made the decision to move to the beautiful island of Oahu. I continued my fundraising career at the Hawaiian Humane Society and picked up free diving! In early 2022 we found and adopted our dog, Tots! She moved with us from Hawaii to New York in spring of 2022, and then came with us to Virginia in 2024. She has been a great addition to our small family, and is learning to love fulltime sailing as much as her crazy parents.
