Select a Trip Log

British Virgin Islands - 2013, Session 3

Staff Update Day 1

Location: West End, Tortola

At 11 am on a Wednesday morning in West End, Tortola, BVIs, it's 85 Fahrenheit, the skies are blue, and around the dock, the staff is bristling with excitement; in just a few hours our new shipmates will arrive, and we cannot wait. The 'Prosecutor' yacht crew are ready; the boat is stocked with food, the water tanks are topped up, and we are itching to commence session three. Captain Gordo and his sailing and scuba instructors, Sara, Kristine, and Simon are eager to set sail on a new adventure that will take us around the whole British Virgin Islands (and 3/4 of the staff are in fact British). We will be diving, snorkeling, hiking, sailing, dancing, exploring, having fun, going places, and making friends along the way. See you soon... :-)

Here is an introduction to the crew of the Prosecutor:

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 Commercially endorsed Cruising Instructor, and is also a PADI Advanced Open Water Diver.

Simon was raised in Scotland, and it rains there a lot! So after completing his Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biology, he moved to London. It still wasn't sunny enough there, though, and he soon grew tired of the 9-5; leaving his desk and wet skies behind, he took the plunge and swapped them for a new office under the ocean. Simon has dived all across the world, from South Africa to Honduras and Egypt to Australia, where he first become a SCUBA Pro in 2002. He has been teaching full time now since 2005 and especially enjoys seeing new divers' faces light up after their first experiences in the water. Simon is a PADI Master Instructor, CPR/First Aid Instructor Trainer, Cave Diver, Technical Diver, and is currently working on gaining his yachting qualifications.

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.

Born and raised in Oregon, Kristine has Been sailing on lakes and rivers all her life. For the last three years, she has been a sailing instructor in Portland, Or where she attends Portland State University and sails on their college team. She is an active dinghy racer throughout the West Coast and helped to lead her University team to their first college nationals. Kristine has recently returned back to the states after a 6-month long sail from Portland, Or to Mexico on a 35-foot sailboat with two other shipmates. Besides water sports, Kristine is an avid gardener and is working towards her degree in botany and environmental science. She has her US sailing instructor certification, STCW-95, as well as American Red Cross First Aid and CPR.