Staff Update- Ready for the Adventure!
Location: West End, Tortola
It is officially day 1 of the program, and the dock is bustling with final boat preparations and staff anxiously awaiting the arrival of all of our shipmates! Over the past several days on Laurasia, Tucker, Liam, and I have loaded the food on the boat, planned our sailing and diving curriculum, and have been getting more and more excited about the amazing adventure we're about to have with our nine shipmates. With one shipmate already onboard, we're excited to welcome eight new faces to Laurasia today- our home for the next 21 days!
Here is an introduction to the crew of Laurasia:
Liam- skipper
Liam has always loved being on the water! As a very young teenager, he started to sail and race single-handed dinghies and went on to compete on an 18' catamaran. Liam found himself coming to the completion of his formal education (A levels in England) and a whole bucket of possibilities to consider. He chose FdSc Yacht Operations, that leads to the BSc (Hons) Navigation and Maritime Science at Plymouth University. With a huge amount of sea time on college yachts, Liam worked through the RYA tickets' and was recently awarded the RYA Yachtmaster Off-shore qualification. Being qualified as a dinghy and powerboat instructor he finds it very fulfilling to see others gain in confidence and competence, Liam can also scuba dive and has his PADI license to 18m.
Julie- dive instructor/mate
Originally from the Midwest, Julie joined ActionQuest as a student in 2004 and quickly developed a passion for all things aquatic. Seeking a new avenue to study marine life, Julie spent a semester abroad in college at a field school in Baja California Sur studying marine mammals and biodiversity conservation. She graduated from Wellesley this past May with a degree in Anthropology and Biological Sciences and will be moving to New York City at the end of the summer to start graduate school. A former member of the sailing staff at ActionQuest, Julie is now an Open Water Scuba Instructor and is excited to teach Open Water diving this summer.
Tucker- dive instructor/mate
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Tucker found his love for the water and scuba diving as a shipmate of ActionQuest for multiple years. After graduating high school he knew he needed to move closer to water and found himself attending the University Of Miami, where he is studying environmental engineering. After completing his open water scuba instructor along with his CPR and first aid instructor, Tucker decided to return to ActionQuest as an instructor to further develop his passion for the water.