The Person Behind the Page
Blair Northen Williamson
From the sea to the page — and everywhere in between.
The Yachts
M/Y Peaceful Fish
A superyacht where Blair served as female deckhand — the real-life Below Deck. The boat that started it all.
S/Y Yanneke Too
A sailing yacht in Phuket, Thailand, where she served as Chief Stewardess and Private Dive Instructor.
From a Yachtie to an Award-Winning Author
The Ocean Was Always
the Beginning
Blair grew up between Richmond, Virginia and the coast of Wilmington, North Carolina — where a lifelong love of the sea took hold early. She followed that pull around the world, spending over a decade with Global Expeditions Group, living and working on the water across the British Virgin Islands, Phuket, Thailand, the Bahamas, and beyond.
You know the BRAVO show Below Deck? That was her life. She was a female deckhand aboard M/Y Peaceful Fish — one of the big yachts — and later served as Chief Stewardess and Private Dive Instructor aboard the sailing yacht S/Y Yanneke Too in Phuket, Thailand. It was in the British Virgin Islands in 2008, while working for Global Expeditions Group, that she met her husband Sam.
She is a 200-ton Yacht Master Captain, a PADI Scuba Instructor with 500+ certifications, a Collegiate School Hall of Fame athlete, devoted wife, and mother to two girls. Those years beneath the surface of the world's oceans now shape every story she writes for children — vivid, purposeful, and rooted in a real love of this planet.
500+
Scuba Certifications
3+
Published Books
10+
Years on the Water
5+
Major Awards
Life on the Water
Adventures That Shaped the Stories
The Journey
A Life Lived in Chapters
The Athlete
Collegiate School Hall of Fame, 2019. Virginia State Player of the Year, 2003. Scholar Athlete, All South Team, 4-Year Captain. The discipline of elite sport never left — it moved from the field to the page.
The Yachtie
Female deckhand on M/Y Peaceful Fish. Chief Stewardess and Private Dive Instructor on S/Y Yanneke Too in Phuket. 200-ton Yacht Master Captain. PADI Instructor with 500+ certifications. That was the real Below Deck.
The Author
Three published books. Five major awards. Kirkus Reviews. Publishers Weekly. National speaker. Simon & Schuster author forthcoming 2028. Every story rooted in the ocean, the adventure, and a fierce belief in the next generation.
Press & Recognition
Winner — Best Picture Book 2025
American Writing Awards
Book Excellence Award
Island Girls, 2022
Green Earth Book Award Longlist
The Ocean Protectors, 2026
Kirkus Reviews
Both ocean titles
Publishers Weekly · Writer's Digest
Featured
Amazon #1 New Release
Multiple titles
Charitree Foundation
Best Book for Earth Day 2023
NCTE National Convention
Featured Signing Author, 2025
Reading With Your Kids · Kirkus · Bold Journey
Podcasts & features
the island writer
One Planet. One Ocean.
"Home is wherever my family is. One thing is for sure — I can't wait to get back out on the ocean."
RVA · Siesta Key · Wilmington, NC · Tortola, BVI
the island writer
© 2026 Blair Northen Williamson. All rights reserved.