about Fair Winds Realty Group

My husband Steven and I started Fair Winds Realty Group right from our home in fall 2023.

We have both called the Ocean State home for our entire lives and want others to be able to call it home, too. As a child, I caught a love of the ocean from my father, who taught me how to sail and really introduced me to the thrill of being at sea. I’ve carried this love and respect for the ocean and its power with me my whole life. 

When we were coming up with a name for our new business, we wanted to pay homage to our Ocean State roots. We also wanted the name to reflect our goals. We asked ourselves: what are our goals? To guide our customers to their new home, and to make this journey as safe and smooth as possible. Steve likened it to a voyage at sea. When you set out on a sailing journey, the wind and waves must work together to guide you to your destination. We thought of the phrase that sailors have often used to commemorate the start of a voyage:

“Fair winds and following seas.” 

Nobody quite knows the origin of this adage. It is likely an amalgamation of two different nautical phrases. ‘Fair winds’ could have been taken from Moby Dick, where Melville says,  “...and make a fair wind of it homeward”. ‘Following seas’, on the other hand, is defined by Bowditch’s American Practical Navigator as "a sea in which the waves move in the general direction of the heading." Researchers have speculated that sailing communities combined these two terms and turned them into a blessing of sorts. “Fair winds and following seas” became the way to wish fellow sailors good fortune and good health on their journey. We realized that this is the exact wish we have for the people we will work with. This use of this phrase is a customary tradition in the U.S. Navy. Steven’s father  served in the Navy during the 1950s as a Seaman First Class where he and his fellow seamen were responsible for the smooth operation of all occurrences above deck. This required a working knowledge of the ever-changing marine environment and an endless list of equipment, structures, riggings, lifeboats and at the various artillery he manned to protect the ship. 

Thus, Fair Winds Realty Group was born. 

In keeping with our theme, we decided to make our logo a nautical flag. I grew up familiar with these flags and the nautical alphabet that they were based on. Take a look at our logo and you will see four squares with respective designs. These are the nautical letters F, W, R, and G. They represent our name in a fun nod to my family’s love of sailing. While my father is no longer with us, his influence on my life is strong. I hope to make him proud with our new business and I am happy to honor him by taking inspiration from the salty world he introduced me to. 

We’re all about family here. And we recognize that each family we meet is inimitable. They have been formed by different histories and may be split up in different locations. We have personal experience with family situations like divorce, blended families, and multigenerational housing. In fact, we bought one of our first homes as a new couple with the intention of taking in my parents. You can read a bit about that under “Multigenerational Housing”. We have raised five children of our own along with 13 foster children. Our life journey together has been all about teamwork, communication, and empathy. We are so excited to take on a whole new partnership and be a part of your journey.