Today we’d like to introduce you to Capt. Greg Ingram.
Hi Capt. Greg, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Sea n Things Boat Trips really started with my love of being on the water and the satisfaction I get out of entertaining others. I have owned other boat chartering services in the past but Sea-n-Things is my favorite by far. Now I am able to focus on a boating experience that people of all ages love. The trips are very kid friendly! Regardless which trip my guests choose, they walk away so satisfied.
I am originally from Pensacola, Florida, and was raised in south Louisiana, where living near the Gulf was simply part of life. After returning to the Sunshine State in 1999, that lifelong connection to the water evolved into something I could share with others. I became a licensed USCG Merchant Mariner in 2002 and did fishing charters for years off Florida’s east coast. I slowly evolved into doing more educational eco-tours, which started when I captained a boat for Marriott Vacation Club in Orlando. When I moved to Florida’s west coast and created Sea n Things Boat Trips in 2016, it was a way to give my guests a much more entertaining and personal experience on the water. What started as fun dolphin and sunset trips eventually evolved to include hands-on marine-life education and exploration.
What makes the trips different is that its not just about getting on a boat and cruising around, its an narrated adventure! I love the “Things” in Sea n Things—the dolphins, shells, sandbars, birds, marine life, local history and unexpected discoveries that make every day on the water different. We never know what we may come across while out on the water.
Cruising on a beautiful and very comfortable 26 foot pontoon boat looking for Dolphins, Manatees (seasonal), the occasional sea turtle sighting or watching a sunset hoping to see the “Green Flash” are at the heart of what I do. Another very popular trip is the 2-Hour Sandbar Experience (kid favorite) where we get off the boat on local sandbars to find all kinds of shallow water critters like sea urchins, sea snails, clams, crabs and much more. As we find these “Things”, I educate everybody on what they eat, how they live, who their predators are and more. These trips are very family friendly and all these experiences are available throughout the year. I love searching the local beach communities for dolphins and other wildlife, while sharing some of the local history along the way, and giving guests a chance to experience this area from the perspective they can only get with me. No two Sea n Things trips are ever exactly the same—and that’s part of the fun.
That approach eventually caught the attention of Sean Daly and his Daly Discoveries series on ABC Tampa Bay 28. He joined me on the water to explore Boca Ciega Bay, and the resulting television feature really captured what Sea n Things Boat Trips is all about—my excitement when we discover something, my knowledge of the marine environment, and my genuine enjoyment of sharing it with other people. Something else that keeps me fired up is the 100’s of ALL 5 Star reviews on TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook. I have read each one and truly appreciate my guests taking the time to share their memorable experience over the years.
Behind the scenes, Sea n Things is very much a small family business. I’m the captain and personality behind the experience on the water, while my wife also a USCG Merchant Mariner, Capt. Kristin Ingram, brings her background in website design, business development and sales/marketing to the business side. We have very different strengths, and Sea n Things has become a fun way of bringing those strengths together.
Today, our goal isn’t to become a large commercial tour operation. We want to preserve what makes the experience special: small, personal trips where people can slow down, have a new friend and get off the beaten path and discover a side of Florida they may not have known was there. I have many local boat owner guests that hire me so they can experience something they just can’t get on their own boat.
The best part is watching someone—whether they’re five years old or eighty-five—get genuinely excited about seeing a dolphin, experiencing an amazing sunset from the water, or discovering something they didn’t know was living right here in our backyard. Those moments are really what Sea n Things is about.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
For the most part its been a smooth road. Over the past 15 years there was two different times that red tide impacted the gulf coast which impacted business. Another brief struggle was covid in the beginning as it was for everyone. After the first few weeks of covid in Florida, our state government made a rule that groups of people could not exceed 10 people at one time in a particular area. Well that worked out for me business wise, because I am licensed through the USCG to take a max of 6 passengers. My phone was ringing off the hook because of so many people coming to Florida to vacation during that challenging time. Finally, the back to back hurricanes in 2024. The next few months after that, we were on rebuild mode and not to many people were traveling to the area. We rebounded very quickly and got back on track for the most part by Spring Break 2025.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I create memorable experiences for people around the world. I have even perfected the metric system for my European guests. For example, when I would tell my guests, when a pelican dives in the water for bait fish, its neck can stretch like a balloon to hold up to 3 gallons of water, they weren’t sure how much water that really was. I now know it approximately 9 liters. There are many boat companies where you book a boat trip with a captain included. The feedback I have received from past guests, is that my trips are a completely different type of experience because of my responsive communication, friendly connection to people and entertaining personality. I see other companies out there and many do not engage with their guests. These companies typically have boat owners that hire different captains day to day. When my guests read my reviews they know what they are going to get, one man, one boat and a great experience regardless of which trip they choose. Sea-n-Things Boat Trips has received the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Award every year since 2019.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Well when I am not on the boat, I love cooking, baking and putting smiles on faces when they eat my food. My next venture in life will possibly be opening up a food outlet of some sort. I guess if I could figure out away to add a dining experience to my trips, I would be in Heaven LOL. Entertaining is what I love!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sea-n-things.com
- Instagram: sea.n.things
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Die4eiQxN/
