Select a Trip Log

British Virgin Islands - 2014, Session 2

Staff update

Location: West End, Tortola

Changes are finally ready! Our boat is watered, we have fresh food, and all the sails are ready to be set. All we need are shipmates to come on board and get her sailing on the high seas. We are going to be sailing, diving, hiking, and learning throughout the 20 days here onboard Changes. Today we loading the dive tanks into our dive racks; we brought on board the BCDs and regulators for all the shipmates, and I took the liberty to really clean and wash the boat so that it was ready to be called home. We hope that everyone is as excited as we are, and hope that this will be a fun-filled voyage

  

Here is an introduction to the staff on Changes:

Sam- skipper

Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Sam Higgins quickly moved to the town of Stratham, NH. He grew up there alongside an older brother Jonathan and his twin Ben. Spending his summer months on the coast of Maine till he was eighteen aloud, Sam to experience his true passion, working on boats.  When he was old enough, he received his first license from the United States Coast Guard. Going on from there, he worked on Ferryboats, Maine Windjammers, and Whale/sightseeing companies. He received his RYA Yacht-master 200 ton in 2012 and has since been working on various yachts while also trying to keep his smoothie business, The Juicery, alive and kicking in Portsmouth NH. Often he can be seen fishing, exploring, and teaching people his love and passion of the ocean.

Catie- dive instructor/mate 

Originally from Massachusetts, Catie began scuba diving in the cold New England waters. Despite the cold waters, Catie fell in love with diving and grew to appreciate it even more in the warm waters of the British Virgin Islands during her first summer with ActionQuest as a student in 2009. Since then, Catie has gone on to become a PADI Scuba Instructor, holding a certification as an OSWI instructor as well as specialty instruction for the PADI navigation and PADI naturalist specialties. When not on the water, Catie is a current student at the University of San Diego, where she is studying Environmental Studies and Business Finance.

Lisa- dive instructor/mate

Even as a child, Lisa could be found adventuring on the lakes and rivers of Wisconsin. After completing a B.S. in Zoology & Biological Aspects of Conservation in 2004, she immediately set out to quench her wanderlust. Being passionate about human-powered travel, Lisa has traversed many countries on foot and pedal bikes. Wanting to get back to the water, she pursued her first professional dive rating in Honduras in 2011 and has not dried out since. Lisa is now a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer and is planning to advance her sailing and teaching skills as an educator with ActionQuest.