Staff Update Day 1
Location: West End, Tortola
George, Isabel, and Amanda are so excited to meet all twelve of their new shipmates and welcome them aboard Return of the Macks. The trio has been working hard to prep the boat for their shipmates' arrival, and fill those empty cabins! Yesterday George and Isabel stocked our boat with delicious snacks and treats, while Amanda gave a final check to our dinghy Drift. Waterskis and wakeboard equipment have been loaded up, and all the final checks have been completed. George, Amanda, and Isabel cannot wait to get our new shipmates on board and start our summer adventure on the water.
Here is an introduction to the crew of Return of the Macks
George- Skipper
Born in the northern suburbs of Chicago, George spent his early years learning to sail and race on Lake Michigan and the inland lakes of Wisconsin. He spent his high school years racing on his high school sailing team, and his summers coaching youth sailing teams for his local yacht club. He has recently graduated from Miami University in Oxford Ohio, majoring in Business Management and Leadership. After slowing down his sailboat racing at the end of high school, he decided to join Seamester on their recent fall trip as a way to take a break from business school and get back into sailing, where he started on his 200-ton Yacht Master training and completed in the spring of 2017. After having such a great time with Seamester aboard Argo, he realized his passion for teaching sailing and working onboard boats, which has led him to ActionQuest. George’s passions include finding and listening to good music, cooking good food, and any activity having to do with wind he can get into.
Isabel- Dive Instructor/Mate
Isabel (or Izzy) is an Open Water Scuba Instructor hailing from Canada. After joining AQ as a shipmate for three summers, she’s excited to be back as part of the staff! Isabel has spent time working as a scuba instructor in Greece and has done plenty of diving in Honduras. She is currently in her fourth year of a BSc in Marine Biology at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia and is interested in all things sustainable. Other than diving Isabel loves camping or hiking… and she’s always on the search for a good pun!
Amanda - Mate
Amanda is new to the AQ team this summer and is very excited to return to the BVI. She started with GXG in the summer of 2015 as a student on S/Y Ocean Star, where she became advanced open water scuba and IYT certified. Since then, she has earned a Bachelor's degree in Marine Science from the University of Maine and has completed a year in the Master's program at the University of New Haven for Environmental Science. Amanda is a Rescue Diver, lifeguard, and certified US sailing instructor. She enjoys teaching others about the wonders of the ocean with hands-on experiences above and below the surface of the sea. During the school year, Amanda competes in cross country and track, as well as tutors fellow athletes and instructs biology courses. Despite growing up in the Northeast, Amanda has always been called to the ocean-especially water above freezing!