During a dozen years serving with the U.S. Air Force, Sebastian resident Christy Lenz visited some of the most beautiful and exotic places on the planet – Australia, Okinawa, Korea and the Philippines.
A graduate of Vero Beach High School, Lenz joined the Air Force and became part of a test program, which introduced 200 women into the previously all-male military police. Confident and smart, Lenz was well suited for the challenge, and after two successful years, crossed-trained in the customs service, and made a name for herself.
It was during her eight-year tour at her favorite duty station, Anderson AFB in Guam that she met and married husband Gary (also in the Air Force), had two children – and somehow found time and energy to play softball for the base team.
In 1987, the family was transferred to KI Sawyer AFB in Maine, from where they retired, he after 20 years in the Air Force, she after 12. They lived in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for several years, during which Lenz earned an associate’s degree in criminal justice from Northern Michigan University in Marquette. After many snowy winters as Uppers (You-pers), the Lenzes returned to Florida. “We knew we wanted to settle in Sebastian.”
Transitioning to civilian life, Lenz held down several jobs, among them debt collection, property management, working with an air conditioning company and serving as mate for the local Eco Tours operation.
“I grew up on these waters, boating, fishing, skimboarding and water skiing.” And she was scuba-certified. She found the work to be a good fit, and decided to get her captain’s license.
Lenz enrolled in the U.S. Coast Guard’s Sea School, attending the intensive 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. two-week training course in Melbourne and Cocoa and coming out with a “6-Pack license,” referring to the six-passenger limit placed on the boat and the licensee. A 6-Pack license holder may operate a boat up to 50 gross tons.
She soon upgraded to the 100-ton Master license, which allows her to operate vessels carrying more than six passengers. Sea School and the battery of required tests were intense, she remembers. “There was a 100-question test and, to pass, we could only miss three questions.”
When the Eco Tours business she worked for dissolved in 2004, Lenz had already come to realize that life on the water, in a place she loved and doing work she loved, was what she was meant to do. In 2006 Capt. Christy’s Casual Cruisin’ was born – “and I haven’t looked back.”
Today Capt. Christy is a familiar face on the Indian River lagoon, the St. Sebastian River and at Mulligan’s, where her tours originate. With Gary’s support, “he helps tremendously behind the scenes,” she says, Lenz now offers six different, 2 1/2-hour sightseeing tours, narrated by her. She shares not only knowledge of the local flora and fauna and the unique and delicate ecosystem, but also her great passion and enthusiasm for the area and its rich history.
Accommodating no more than six people – “I like to keep it small” – the tours are private, allowing her to provide the most pleasant and comfortable experience, answer everyone’s questions and tailor each trip to the individual group.
The tours include visits to the Sebastian Inlet, a St. Sebastian River “Jungle Cruise,” Pelican Island, the Spoil Islands, a sunset cruise and a water tour past some of John’s Island’s most impressive riverside homes.
A favorite of visitors is always “getting up close and personal” with the rivers’ beloved denizens – dolphins, manatees, birds, turtles, raccoons, alligators, stingrays and jellyfish. “I’m always out there with you. I want to provide not just a boat ride but, when you come out with me you should learn something. That is my goal.”
And she never tires of watching a child discover a lagoon treasure for the first time. “When the kids first see a dolphin or a turtle – that’s precious. We can get out on an island and explore. We’ll talk about the seagrass. I’ll maybe find a jellyfish; they’ll see how delicate they are. And they get a lagoon coloring or activity book at the end of their tour. The book reinforces what they’ve learned. ”
Over the years, Lenz has added kayaks and paddleboards, rented by the hour or for personalized tours. She also offers a la carte services, shuttling people out to the islands, providing as much or as little as they require for a picnic or party, food, beverages, tents. “I can provide it or you can use your stuff. We’re different than the bigger tours. We have something for everyone. I like to say, ‘If you can think of it, we can probably do it!’“
A custom charter Capt. Christy especially enjoyed was with 30-plus kids from the Boys and Girls Club.
Like most of the people who work in and around local waters, Lenz doesn’t “leave her work at the office.” Rather, she remains active in the effort to protect and preserve the lagoon, always bringing a collection bag along on her excursions for the trash she invariably finds. On July 26, she and her boat will join others in the annual Coastal Clean-Up, transporting volunteers to the spoil islands, then hauling the bags and bags of trash back for disposal. Lenz will also help photograph the operation and gather detailed data on the nature of the collected trash.
Today Capt. Lenz is enjoying her blended family – four grown children and two grandchildren – and the opportunities she has every day to share the river she loves and to remind people – visitors and residents alike – of the treasure that is the Indian River lagoon, the St. Sebastian River and the creatures that call them home.
“We tend to take for granted what we have right here in our own backyard. So – just get out there and enjoy it. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Being on the water, having fun …” she just smiles. “I love what I do.”
For further information on bat tours, call 772-633-0987.
