Staff Update Day 1
Location: West End
Everyone at West End woke up to blue skies and a warm breeze this morning. We went straight into a full day of work prepping for the arrival of shipmates. Captain Gordo sailed our boat from the charter base to join the rest of the AQ fleet and is very pleased with the way she handles and is confident we will be winning some races. Everyone is so excited for the session to start. The entire AQ staff had such an amazing last session and is itching o get this one started and to make it even more memorable! Gordo, Sara, and I are beyond excited to meet all of our new shipmates. I wish everyone safe travels to the BVI, and I can't wait to make some memories!
Here is an introduction to the crew of Elowyn:
Chris- skipper
Chris grew up in England, spending the majority of his time sailing and surfing on its coasts. Between leaving school and University, Chris took a year out to follow his passion for travel and continue to gain experiences sailing. His adventures lead him to Australia and New Zealand where he skippered in races and yacht deliveries. While attending Royal Holloway University London as a Geology major, Chris combined his passion for sailing and teaching to become a sailing instructor. Chris joined the team in 2008 as a Skipper sharing his knowledge of sailing and enthusiasm for new experiences. Chris holds the RYA Yachtmaster 200 Ton Offshore and is a commercially endorsed Cruising Instructor. Chris is also a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.
Sara- dive instructor/mate
Sara has been a diving professional since 2008 and has worked around the world in many warm and wonderful waters! With that in mind, she decided to brave the UK seas (not quite so warm) in 2011 and has been teaching and organizing dive trips in the UK and abroad ever since. This is also where she became involved with Tall Ships - her maiden voyage of 5000+ nautical miles on the T.S. Pelican took her across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and into a new life of sailing and diving. Sara was also involved in organizing the 2012 Olympic Sailing opening ceremony in Weymouth and is responsible for starting joint training exercises with the RNLI in one of the busiest diving regions in the UK. She spends most of her spare time outdoors and hopes to one day circumnavigate the world by sail - following the footsteps of the first explorers and comparing the world above and below to how it was then.
Jin- dive instructor/mate
Jin first began diving while attending university in Australia for a Bachelors of Marine Science, emphasizing in Marine Biology and Marine Geosciences. While studying, she dove as much as possible and became a PADI instructor. After graduating, she moved to Singapore to work for a company which involved developing the yachting industry in Asia. During that time, she made the most of the weekends by instructing in Malaysia or traveling to dive new places (Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Borneo, and Mozambique)or conquering the useless. Jin's favorite things include: seeing the world, catching up with old mates, gummy bears, and a good laugh.