Captains, Mentors, Moms: Meet Sarah Lawrence

Captains, Mentors, Moms: Meet Sarah Lawrence

When we first catch Sarah Lawrence for an interview, she's juggling a sick kid and a last-minute change in plans. She'd intended to go to the annual TowBoatU.S. Conference in Las Vegas with her husband, Adam, who's also her business partner. But as is frequent in the life of a busy mom balancing childcare logistics with work, a quick pivot was called for.

That ability to adjust and keep moving forward, whether navigating a tricky tow, homeschooling her son, or overseeing her expanding businesses, has proved Lawrence's secret weapon whether she's steering through calm or rough waters. But long before she was the owner of TowBoatU.S. Kent Narrows and Knapps Narrows on the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland, she was just a kid on a boat.

"I grew up in the marine towing and salvage industry. My parents started back in the '80s, so I grew up as a towboat kid. In winters, we'd head down the ICW and cruise to the Exumas, the Abacos, and different parts of the Bahamas, then come back in the spring and open the towboat business back up. My parents homeschooled me in the winter, then put me back in school when we returned."

Her love for boating never faded. In college she sailed competitively and, after graduation, bought her own sailboat in St. Martin. "I got my captain's license in 2009 and started working for a charter company and boating school. I was doing a lot of ASA instruction and deliveries between the Caribbean and East Coast of the U.S. while living on my boat and coaching junior sailing."

(Sarah Lawrence photo)

She met Adam in the Bahamas, got married, had their first child, and eventually made the move back to the U.S. to work in the family business now in its 36th year. Today, they're 24/7 all year round with four towboats and 10 people on their team. "Our busy season is April through October and November. In winter we slow down but still get occasional jobs," she says.

As if running a round-the-clock marine towing operation wasn't enough, four years ago Lawrence launched Chesapeake Boating Academy, a hands-on on-water training school offering accredited courses. "I partnered with the BoatU.S. Foundation to get boating safety outreach into different communities around the country." Now, with locations in both the Annapolis area and Kent Narrows, she's helping more people – especially women – become confident boaters.

With Burke, 9, and Vera, 7, literally in tow, balancing business logistics with keeping the home crew happy is not for the faint of heart. But flexibility is something Lawrence sees as key to doing both. When Burke was diagnosed with severe dyslexia, the family transitioned him to a hybrid homeschool and tutoring program.

"That's an adjustment for the family, seeing as we have a 24/7 business and a boating school. We're very busy, so often Burke will do school on the boat. We've got a houseboat at the marina next to the towboat, so everyone can be there and ready, and can cool off when it's hot in the summer, or warm up in the winter."

Her children don't just adapt to the boating lifestyle – they're living it. "The kids are basically part of the business. So when I need to put fuel on the boat, they come with me. They're part of the day-to-day." 

Burke even earns tips coiling lines in the summer and helping walk in lines for boats that have run aground. "He hopes to be running the boat when he's older," she says. Vera, meanwhile, has a passion for knots and helps the family entertain passersby at boat shows.

Sarah Lawrence

Lawrence sees strong parallels between captaining a boat and running a household. "Being a successful captain is anticipating problems before they happen. You're always checking the weather and where the boats are, or if there's a wake coming. You're doing risk mitigation all the time. Same as being a parent. To be successful, it takes a lot of clear communication and delegating." That delegating is helped by hiring the right people.

"As a mom, I can't teach all of the classes. I can't be in Annapolis and Kent Narrows because I've got kids who also need attention. We're doing gymnastics, soccer, golf, and piano, so part of what I've done is to just hire a really great team. You have to stay focused and organized, and know when to say no."

Although if you asked her kids they'd tell you the one thing she needs to start saying "no" to is buying more boats.

"I just put a deposit down on another boat yesterday, and the kids were like, 'Mom! We don't need another boat. Stop buying boats!'" she laughs.

Read more at the BoatUS website.

Source: Captains, Mentors, Moms: Meet Sarah Lawrence