Reflection Series: The Golfieris – Waves Through the Years
In 2020, when Making Waves first met the Golfieri family, the world was shutting down. But for them, something was just beginning.
They had just purchased their first boat two weeks before the pandemic hit. What started as a dream quickly became a lifeline. As the world locked down, Nicole and Walter Golfieri, along with their three daughters, Layla, Emilia, and Isabella, turned to the water. School went virtual. Acting gigs paused. Sports stopped. But the sea was open.
"At first we thought the pandemic would last two weeks," Nicole remembers. "Then it became months. But having the boat gave us a sense of freedom. We brought the girls out for school which looked more like virtual Zooms with dolphins in the background."
It wasn’t easy. Like many parents, Nicole juggled full-time work and full-time teaching. “I was terrible at it,” she laughs. But the challenges turned into unexpected gifts. The girls learned independence. They had each other. They had the ocean. And slowly, the family’s charter business grew. From one boat to eight, from shutdowns to sold-out weekends, they built something lasting together.
Catalina became their sanctuary. Holidays turned into new traditions : Thanksgiving on the water, discovering bioluminescence, finding rare seashells on deserted shores. “There were days it was just us out there. No other boats. No crowds. Just our family and the sea.”
Five years later, the Golfieris are thriving. The twins, now in middle school, have caught up and excelled in school. Isabella, once a baby during the first photo shoot, is now a confident skateboarder with a wild streak. The girls still remember the early Making Waves shoot of posing on the boat like pros. "Those photos are still our favorite," Nicole says. "They captured the essence of who we were becoming."
Looking back, the family agrees: the waves they made weren’t just on water. They were about resilience, creativity, connection, and the choice to turn an uncertain time into something beautiful. Making Waves, to them, isn’t just a name. It’s a memory. It’s a mindset. And it’s framed on their wall.
Learn more :
Want to stay up to date with the Golfieri family or learn more about their charter business? Check out the links below to follow their adventures and support what they’re building.
Website: www.leiboatcharter.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leiboatcharter/
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Photography by Robiee Ziegler
