Meet Our Owner
Captain Jay Keeney has always enjoyed being on the water. As a child, he imagined living aboard a sailboat and exploring the seas decades before he ever set foot on a sailboat. In college, he bought a kayak (prior to ever kayaking) knowing he would enjoy it as it brought together two of his passions; boating and the outdoors. Explore the harbor with a unique Charleston Boat Tour today!
Captain Jay now holds an Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV 6-PACK) license with the United States Coast Guard and is a certified US Sailing and Power-boating instructor.
Why Choose Mental Heeling?
Custom Boat Tours
Experienced Captains
Local Charleston Guides
Our Crew
Our Crew Is Looking Forward To Meeting You !
Adj Lee
Full-time Mate
Competitive Sailor
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Adj (Adrianna) Lee is a full-time sailor in Charleston, SC. She grew up sailing in the Great Lakes region of the US and attended College of Charleston on their dinghy sailing team. She still sails competitively including in CORA and recently completed the 2023 99th Bayview Mackinac Race. She joined the Mental Heeling crew at the beginning of the 2023 season.
Franzi Lewis
Professional Photographer & Videography
Mate/Crew
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Franzi Lewis is a videographer and photographer based in Charleston, SC.
Ryan Belk
Professional Photographer & Videography
Mate/Crew
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Ryan Belk is a videographer and photographer based in Charleston, SC. Born and raised in North Charleston, Ryan was introduced to photography at 13 years old by his grandfather, teaching him how to use a 35mm film camera. Eventually, though, he taught him the importance of documenting everything, even the mundane.
He studied photography at the Art Institute of Charleston and left with a passion for storytelling. Ryan’s experience spans over 12 years as a wedding, portrait, and food photographer. In addition to his commercial photography, he tells stories through video production, video editing, and documentary street photography. He currently resides in Charleston with his beloved wife, Ariel, and works full-time as an Art Director.
Ryan has been a mate on Mental Heeling since early Spring of 2023. A long-time friend of Capt. Kathleen, he caught the sailing bug after a charter and has been crewing and learning to sail since!
Belle Natale (Saltina Graphics)
Professional Photographer
Mate/Crew
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Bella Natale is a videographer and photographer based in Charleston, SC.
Allison Hansen
Mate/Crew
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Allison started sailing and crewing in the Charleston Harbor while in college at the College of Charleston and was instantly hooked. Since then, she has traveled to sail in the British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Dayton FL to Charleston SC via the Gulfstream, and will be sailing in Maine in July 2022. She now teaches sailing, races both inshore and offshore, and (most importantly) crews for charters on Mental Heeling.
Emmy Barron
Mate/Crew
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About Emmy
Christian Naples
Future Captain | Nephew
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Christian Naples was born in 2011. Every year he visited South Carolina where his uncle lives, who was a sailor. Every year he looked forward to going on the boat. His uncle will sometimes let him drive, he enjoyed that. He once said to his Dad, “when I grow up I want to be just like Uncle Jay.” So now all he is waiting for is to get older and get his sailing license.