ORANGE BEACH - It didn’t take “J” Reas long to earn his sea legs, but it’s his land legs he has a little trouble with. The Indiana native and Vietnam Veteran admits this is his first time living on dry land in at least 30 years.

“My first boat was an aircraft carrier,” he said. “When I came home from the Navy I bought my first run-about boat. I was hooked.”

“J” said he has never been without a boat since then. In fact, in his 60-plus years he has owned approximately 100 of them.

Retired from Ford Motor Co., “J” and his wife Sherrie relocated to Elberta almost three years ago.

“I came down to visit a friend in the winter and stepped out of the car wearing a short-sleeved shirt. I called Sherrie and said ‘I don’t know where you plan to live, but I found where I need to be,’” he said laughing. Now, “J” says “this” home. “I never want to be anywhere else. I’m an Alabamian now.”

That began the journey down numerous rivers to move their houseboat from Jeffersonville, Ind. to the Wolf Bay area.

Shortly after floating down to live in the area, the couple of more than 20 years bought a house - on dry land. But, they didn’t move in right away.

“We still lived on the houseboat and let our family and friends who visited use the house,” Sherrie said. But the couple eventually sold the houseboat because of the upkeep.

“Taking care of a boat in saltwater is completely different from upkeep in freshwater,” “J” said. “It’s a lot of expense.”

But, Sherrie added that neither half of the couple is fond of living on dry land.

“We will eventually get a boat we can go out on and spend the night,” she said. “We miss being on the water at night.”

Sherrie said living on the water is, for the most part, a laid-back lifestyle, and in many ways, easier than living on land.

“Anytime  you go on the water it’s more relaxing. The water takes your worries away,” she said. “And, it’s nice to be able to take your home with you when you go on vacation.”

Not the types to sit around, “J” and Sherrie soon began looking for something to do.

“‘J’ had his captain’s license, so he went to work helping out one of the dolphin cruise boats at Bear Point Marina,” Sherrie said. “It was just a good fit, so about two years ago we bought our own and started offering dolphin cruises.”

Compared to the other boats in the marina, the Skipper “J”’s size might deceive you.

“Our boat is one of the smaller ones, but we can hold up to 30 passengers,” Sherrie said. “But, we don’t typically carry out that many because we want everyone to be comfortable, have plenty of room to move around and get the best views of the dolphins. We’d rather people have a good time and come back to see us, then be elbow-to-elbow.”

What does the couple enjoy most about their retirement job? According to Sherrie it’s seeing the smiles on children’s faces when they see the dolphins, adding that most people don’t realize how big they are.

“We also just love meeting people from all walks of life,” she said.

“J” added, “There can’t be a better office than this,” as he sat in an adirondack chair overlooking the water at Bear Point Marina where the Skipper “J” is docked.

And the best part? Everyone is in a good mood.

“Everyone who gets on the boat is happy because they’re on vacation,” Sherrie said.

The Skipper “J” averages two cruises a day, sometimes three, according to “J” and the only day the couple closes down is Saturday.

“There are just too many boats out on the water on Saturday, but Sunday is a really good day to go out,” “J” said.

Operating from Feb. 14 to Oct. 31, the Skipper “J” has the lowest fare at Bear Point.

“This is our retirement job, not a job/job,” Sherrie said. “Rather than making a lot of money, we want to people to have fun.”