About Louis
I’ve spent most of my life moving.
From Quebec to New Delhi, along the Gulf of St. Lawrence, through Southeast Michigan, and eventually onto a sailboat on the North American East Coast, change has been a constant companion.
For a long time, my life looked fine from the outside. I had a career, responsibilities, and a path that made sense.
But something in me knew I wasn’t really living the life I wanted. I didn’t know exactly what needed to change. I just knew something had to.
As I started paying attention to that quiet feeling, an old dream resurfaced: living on a sailboat.
There was just one problem.
I’d never sailed.
In fact, I had to ask myself a very important question:
“Do I even like sailing?”
It seemed like a good thing to figure out before reorganizing my entire life around it.
What followed was a series of experiments, mistakes, lessons, and adventures that eventually led me aboard Mearr, my 1989 Catalina 36.
Mearr is pronounced “Mee-arr.” It’s what happens when “meow” and a pirate’s “arrr” have a baby.
My cat Setzer joined the crew later. Some days he’s first mate. Other days he insists on being admiral. Rank appears to be determined entirely by mood.
Along the way, my career changed too. After nearly twenty years as a chef, I became a mental health coach, helping people navigate uncertainty, growth, and change in their own lives.
I thought sailing would teach me about boats. Instead, it taught me about myself. Somewhere along the way, I realized this wasn’t becoming a sailing blog.
There are plenty of sailors with more miles, more experience, and significantly fewer questionable decisions behind them. What fascinated me wasn’t mastering sailing. It was what happened when I chose change before I felt ready.
This blog is about what happens after you decide something needs to change, but before you have any idea how it’s all going to turn out. The mistakes, the doubts, the small wins, and the moments when you realize you’re doing things you once weren’t sure you could.
Some stories happen at sea. Others unfold on hiking trails, around campfires, while covered in engine oil, or during quiet moments when life asks a question you’d really rather avoid.
I’ve buried my head in the sand more often than I’d like to admit.
Sailing is the setting. Change is the story.
If you’ve ever felt stuck, wondered whether there might be something more, or sensed a dream quietly waiting beneath the surface, I hope these stories remind you that you don’t have to have everything figured out before taking the first step.
Welcome aboard.
— Louis, Setzer, and Mearr
