We have dreamed of sailing the Caribbean together since shortly after our marriage in 2014.  Our goal is to plan, work, and save money so we can embark on our dream when Nate retires from the education system in 2028.  I, Tara, plan to continue working virtually as a physician assistant for the first few years to help finance this next phase of our life together.

       Our home state is Michigan.  We love the beautiful summers here, but we are more than ready to head south and never experience snow or cold again on a regular basis.  My love for the water started at a very young age while vacationing with my family in South Haven, MI.  While standing at the pier with my sisters watching the boats come in, I decided that I would one day own a boat and sail away.  Nate, meanwhile, lived in Siesta Key, FL for 8 years during his college days and fell in love with the sun and beaches.  Little did we know that our paths would cross, we’d fall in love, and live out this Caribbean dream together.  Our mutual love for the water and sailing started on our honeymoon.  We cruised the Caribbean and fell in love with island life.  To this point, we have visited 8 Caribbean islands together including St. Thomas, Tortola, Aruba, Grand Cayman, Roatan, Jamaica, Cozumel, and the Bahamas.  We consider South Haven our second home here in Michigan, and Siesta Key our home down south.  For these reasons we plan to learn to sail on Lake Michigan, and use the Southwest Florida area as our home base for our sailboat, Knot 4 Time.  

       The name, Knot 4 Time, originated while Nate and I were visiting South Haven.  At that time, Nate and I were avid CrossFitters (I still am).  Many of the workouts are “for time” which means get the work out done as fast as you can.  As we were watching the boats come into the marina we were contemplating how relaxing and refreshing it must be to be on “island time” and not worry about how fast things need to get done.  From there the name was born.  It is even more relevant today because we both have stressful, time-constrained jobs that constantly cause us to feel hurried and uptight.  We long for the days to be aboard Knot 4 Time where our only worry will be the weather.

       This site is to serve as our vision board, to document our progress and adventures, and to store the memories made along the way.  We invite you to follow us on this journey.  What is Caribbean life to us???  It is sun, sand, water, and Johnson adventures!!

Nate and Tara