Vince ’99 and Judy Price used the pandemic to set sail on their dreams

By Derek Herscovici ’14

We were trying to figure out a retirement plan, and then it became what does retirement look like, overall?” said Vince Price ’99 aboard his catamaran, Chaos Interrupted. He, his wife Judy and their dog Jake—the crew of Chaos Interrupted charter cruises—are currently anchored in St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. “We want to go diving and we want to travel. We started piecing it together and figured we needed to be closer to the water, because we lived in Atlanta at the time.”

Owning and operating their own charter cruise business in a tropical setting became the plan for retirement—then it became the plan for the immediate future. Vince, a building science graduate, worked for a large construction company. Judy graduated from Emory University and worked for real estate and law firms in client development and marketing roles.

Already adept at planning their own charter trips with friends, they moved to Miami after years of preparation. Vince obtained his captain’s license, they bought a catamaran and both became PADI dive instructors. They made the most of working from home during the pandemic, preparing the boat—and themselves—for their new full-time careers.

Chaos Interrupted set sail in 2021, averaging 15 trips in a season that stretches from mid-November to late June. They can accommodate up to six guests for a minimum of five nights around the Virgin Islands.

From interest-based itineraries to custom menus, Judy likens Chaos Interrupted to a “floating boutique hotel.” Vince serves as captain, engineer and chief cocktail crafter, while Judy, an Ashburton School of Cookery-certified chef, creates dishes inspired by local flavors and manages Chaos Interrupted’s brand and promotional arms. Jake the Boat Dog serves as Chaos Interrupted’s mascot and security detail. He even has his own Instagram page, @jake_the_boat_dog.

“It’s all custom. It’s all inclusive,” said Judy. “We send out preference sheets in advance to learn what [activities] our guests are looking for, then we’ll create the itinerary. I’ll create a custom menu and we’ll have it ready to go. We take our guests to all these different places and then if, for some reason, we end up somewhere they really enjoy, we can stay longer. It’s not a cruise ship where you must follow a set itinerary.”