As he slowly backs away from the Vilano boat ramp in St. Augustine, Fla., Doug Johannes can’t help but smile. After enduring the many twists and turns that come from a life of service in the U.S. Navy, now retired, he’s enjoying his new role as captain of his Barletta Cabrio 24UE pontoon boat. Despite all the sacrifices he’s personally had to make over the years, he’s quick to recognize his wife and family and all they’ve done to support him.

“I didn’t do all of this for me. I did it for my family and for my country. I did it for all of us,” says Doug. “I’m not a selfish person and I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if I was selfish. I owe everything I have to my wife and my kids.”

On this day Doug is out on the water with his neighbor Tony Bozzi who is another military veteran who recently retired from the U.S. Air Force. As they talk, they discover they have a lot in common despite being in different branches of the Armed Forces.

After retiring from the Navy, Doug’s first thought was to buy a motorcycle, but instead he decided the money would be better spent as a down payment on something that he and his entire family could enjoy together.

“Wow: $25,000 for me to have a Harley so I can be selfish after all of the people around me had sacrificed, what was I thinking?” recalls Doug. “This was my opportunity to give back to my family and to all the people who supported me when I was deployed. This is why I got the boat.”

Doug and his wife Terry have three adult children, nine grandkids and two great grandkids with another one on the way. He met his wife while living in San Antonio, Texas, where he decided to stay after his father retired from the Air Force.

“I married a woman with three young kids and became a dad when I was just 21 years old,” says Doug. “I’m a firm believer that anybody can be a father, but it takes a man to be a dad. I wanted to get my family out of San Antonio and I knew a guaranteed way of doing that was to join the military.

Path To The Navy

While enlisting in the U.S. Navy helped him support his new family, he admits he had decided years earlier that he was going to serve.

“I had a feeling I was going to serve at some time or another; it’s just what you do in our family,” says Doug. “I was originally studying to become a fighter pilot because my father was retired Air Force and that’s what he wanted me to do. I started going to school to get my pilot’s license but decided I’d rather have it as a hobby. My mother started in the Army, but jumped to the Air Force because of my father. My father’s rank was higher so she kept changing forces so they could be together. My sister was Army as well so everyone besides my brother served.”

Well Traveled Man

Another factor in joining the Navy was so Doug could travel more. Growing up with parents in the military fueled his desire to travel even more. To date he’s been to 65 countries, circumnavigated the world eight times, has been to six of the seven continents and was deployed 12 times to different places all over the world.

He also knew that in the Navy, advancements happen much sooner compared to the other military branches. His original job in the Navy was underwater acoustics countermeasures weapons systems, where he served as a sonar tech.

“The Navy is much more broad as far as careers, where in the Air Force for example you learn one thing and that’s your wheelhouse,” states Doug. “I came in as a sonar tech, but I also did search and rescue, a 50 caliber 240 gunner, a combat adviser, I did search and seize on pirates ships, counter-drug operations, and countless other responsibilities. It was way more broad on the things I could do and they had nothing to do with being a sonar tech where I started out.”

The variety of career options of what he could do while serving was an ideal fit for Doug who is always looking to expand his own knowledge base. Then after retirement he continues to work contract jobs with the Navy.

Family History

Military tradition goes back generations and includes his great-great-grandfather that was part of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, explains Doug. “My great-great-grandfather was a lieutenant in the Army, and he and a couple of other officers rebuilt the 7th Cavalry. I have a picture hanging in my office of them from 1907 lined up where General Custer’s Last Stand happened. My family history in the military goes back far.”

Finding His Barletta

After deciding to pass on the motorcycle, Doug began doing his homework on boats.

“Honestly I was looking at a wake boat, once again, being selfish,” admits Doug. “We then decided we should get a more roomy pontoon and Barletta is the best of the best. The layout, the capabilities, everything about it is just great. Being in the Navy, and being on ships, everything has to have a purpose or why have it and that’s what I liked about this Barletta.”

Doug started asking questions to the guys at Bluewater Marine, a Barletta dealership near Daytona, Fla., about the care-taking of the motor and the upkeep of the boat itself. They pulled their master mechanic out and he broke everything down to the prospective owner.

“He went through everything with me,” recalls Doug. “I brought up some questions and he looked at me and said, ‘Not very many people ask those particular questions so I can tell you really want to take care of it.’”

Doug then went with his wife and some family members to the Jacksonville Boat Show where they met Eric Holladay, a sales rep for Bluewater. They found the exact model they wanted, a Barletta Coastal Edition Cabrio 24UE with a Mercury 200 V6 outboard that included a table layout for the kids and a lot of other amenities and features they were looking for.

Adding A LilliPad

His Barletta came standard with an extremely easy-to-use boarding ladder from LilliPad Marine, but when he bought the boat, Doug didn’t realize his pontoon was also equipped to handle other products from this Michigan-based manufacturer. His Cabrio includes three Ghost Mounts on the back deck so adding the award-winning LilliPad Marine diving board is as simple as threading three bolts in the holes. These mounts can also be used for a barbecue grill stand or flag pole holder from LilliPad Marine. Doug added the diving board as well as the flag pole and it was an instant hit for everyone in his family.

“When we showed up to our normal spot at the sandbar for the first time with the diving board, all eyes moved in our direction,” recalls Doug. “Before you knew it there were people coming from all around to take their turn. The LilliPad diving board can be enjoyed by the entire family, and it has created new relationships with dozens of people as its another means to bringing fun to the water.”

Doug Johannes (L) retired from the U.S. Navy a few years ago, while his neighbor Tony Bozzi (R), just retired from the U.S. Air Force. Following his retirement, Doug decided to invest in a Barletta pontoon and he loves being able to take others out on the water.

No Regrets

Since he didn’t grow up boating, Doug had a lot of questions at first, but has zero regrets after purchasing the Barletta.

“We love the boat. I’ve never regretted the decision for even a second,” says Doug. “For quality and durability, you can’t beat a Barletta. There is a reason why Eric was put in my life at that particular time. He’s such a great guy.”

The biggest reason Doug and Terry decided to go with the pontoon is for the room with a capacity rating for up to 14 people. He also likes that his pontoon has a more shallow depth so he can easily pull it up on the beach and drop the anchor.

His life with no regrets extends beyond his decision to buy the Barletta, or to choose a life and career in the U.S. Navy. Looking back today his best decision was marrying his wife Terry when he was just 21 years old and becoming a family.

“None of this would be possible without her support. Terry has done so much,” concludes Doug.