We are grateful for the opportunity to share our story with Bold Journey during an interview. This is what they published.
Meet Jessica Wissmann - Bold Journey Interview
We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Wissmann a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jessica, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
My passion for helping people in the boating community comes from my lifelong love of boating. Growing up, my family always had boats, and every summer we spent time on the Chesapeake Bay, visiting family or meeting up with cruising clubs. My father’s dream was to cruise the Caribbean, and we worked towards that goal by getting larger sailboats and taking longer cruises. Eventually, we spent a year sailing from Annapolis to Grenada when I was in 7th grade. My grandfather’s advice to my dad, “Don’t take your time for granted, and do what you want to do while you still can,” has always stuck with me.
After graduating high school, I needed money for college, so I joined the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG). I naturally gravitated towards small boat stations, where I conducted Search and Rescue and Law Enforcement missions. I was the only female coxswain (boat captain) in District 1 (the northeast) at the time. I later became a Surfman in the Northwest, attended Officer Candidate School, and served as a Search and Rescue (SAR) Mission Coordinator.
After my husband and I both retired from the USCG, we went on to get corporate jobs in Houston. Jess had a couple, Operations Manager with Amazon, and a Program Manager at a NASA contractor and the Army Corp. Clay was also working at a NASA contractor as a Network Engineer at Johnson Space Center. We liked our jobs and were grateful, but something was missing. We still had the drive to help people and be outside on the water. So we decided to quit our corporate jobs and move to Florida, where there is a bigger boating community and we might be able to help more people.
Through our experiences with SAR cases, we’ve seen many things go wrong on the water, and we want to help people become more knowledgeable, especially women who may not feel as comfortable behind the helm. We want to share our lifetimes of experience and ensure everyone on the boat knows how to handle it, stay out of trouble, and know what to do if something goes wrong.
This is one of the reasons my husband and I established CoastEase, a captain services company that provides hands-on boat training, captains for deliveries, and charters on an 18-passenger Tiki Boat.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
At CoastEase LLC, our team of USCG veterans and licensed maritime Captains is dedicated to providing top-notch maritime services. We recently acquired an 18-passenger Tiki Boat, perfect for entertaining larger groups in the Orange Beach area, whether it’s for reunions or special events like bachelorette celebrations.
In addition to our charter services, we are proud instructors at The Captains School, offering safe boating classes for Florida and Alabama, as well as captain’s courses for the 6-pack and 100-Ton Masters Licenses. We also provide on-the-water training for new boat owners, helping them confidently navigate their vessels.
Furthermore, we offer captain services for boat owners and renters who need a captain for the day or require long-term yacht management.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The top three skills that have been most helpful in my career are a positive attitude, adaptability, and perseverance.
Having a positive attitude is essential. You have to believe that people have good intentions, even if you don’t initially understand their actions. Most people are trying to do the right thing based on their beliefs and history. If you don’t understand someone’s reasoning, take the time to ask them “why.” This approach usually gets your team involved and supportive of the decision. Plus, with a positive attitude, you can often find humor in the situation, or at the very least, gain a valuable experience for your resume.
Adaptability is the key to survival. Things rarely go as planned, especially on the water or in many other professions. Making the best decision you can at the time and being able to adapt as new information or resources become available is crucial for success. This has been true in many of my roles, from the USCG to working as an Operations Manager at Amazon, and as a Program Manager with an Aerospace company on NASA projects going to the moon.
Perseverance is how you get things done. One of the first big lessons I learned in the military is that you’ll never get anything unless you ask. It’s challenging to step out of your comfort zone and pursue what you want. I had to push through seasonal weather, breaking my arm twice, and a very sexist culture to become a female Surfman. Achieving that wasn’t something that was just offered; I had to prove myself repeatedly and overcome new hurdles every day. But one great thing about the military is that if you have the skills and knowledge and can prove yourself, you can achieve your goals.
What is the biggest challenge you are facing right now?
The biggest challenge we are facing is getting our small business off the ground. As many entrepreneurs know, the initial phase of establishing a business is often the most difficult. Finding clients, building a brand, and demonstrating professionalism can be particularly challenging. However, we are confident in our capabilities and the experience we bring to the table.
All of our Captains have at least 20 years of professional maritime experience, making them highly reliable for charters, deliveries, yacht management, and training. We are fortunate to have formed valuable partnerships that will help us launch our Charter Boat services. Our collaboration with Tiki International in the Orange Beach and Pensacola area, as well as our partnership with The Captain School, another veteran-owned business, have been instrumental in our progress.
We believe that our skills and professionalism will be key to the success of our small business. We are committed to continually improving ourselves and our partnerships to better serve our clients and the boating community.
Contact Info:
Website: www.coastease.com & www.coasteasetikis.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coastease/ & https://www.instagram.com/coasteasetikis/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CoastEase & https://www.facebook.com/CoastEaseTikis/
Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/company/coastease
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/coastease-captain-services-pensacola
"Meet Jessica Wissmann", Bold Journey, published Feb 4, 2025 (https://boldjourney.com/meet-jessica-wissmann/)
Image Credits
Jessica Wissmann
Clayton Wissmann