Staff Update Day 1
Location: West End, Tortola
On this sunshine filled day in the BVI, the staff has been working hard to ensure all equipment is prepped and ready for the upcoming journey. We have spent time ensuring that all food, gear, water, and teaching tools are stocked on the vessel. Now we just need our crew. We are each extremely eager for them to come aboard so we can start teaching and sharing our love for sailing, scuba diving, and the ocean! The vessel, Breakaway, is a fantastic and beautiful 51-foot monohull. Dave is giving a final check for all the boats systems and rigging, Annie has been assisting with all the provisions and supplies that we have taken aboard for the session, and Henry is giving everything a deep final clean and doing a final checkout with Blaze the dinghy.
Here is an introduction to the crew of Break Away:
Dave- Skipper/WFR
Dave grew up in the shipbuilding industrial wastelands of Northern England, and here learned to climb, sail, cave, and run in the hills and lakes of the Lake District. He worked here over 10 years as a youth worker, teaching traditional heritage skills, environmental sustainability, and more traditional outdoor adventure. He did eventually leave, spending 2 years riding a bicycle from the UK to Asia, guiding glacier hikes in Iceland, and climbing skiing and mountaineering across Europe.
Annie – Dive Instructor/Mate
Annie was born and raised in North Carolina, where she visited the beach frequently and developed a great respect for the marine world. When she was fifteen, she attended ActionQuest for the first time and fell head over flippers in love with diving and sailing. At 18, she joined the ranks of PADI as an Open Water SCUBA Instructor and has been teaching ever since. She enjoys working with young divers and believes teaching is the art of assisted self-discovery. Annie is going into her senior year at Northeastern University in Boston where she teaches diving to fellow students and spends as much time as possible on the water with Northeastern’s sailing team. In her spare time, she studies Business and Economics. When it’s extra cold outside Annie can be found snowboarding or making baked mac and cheese. As an avid traveler who’s been to almost all of the continents (Antarctica I’m coming!), the BVI is still a favorite. This summer will be Annie’s fourth summer with AQ.
Henry – Mate/WFR
Henry is a new addition to ActionQuest this summer. He is a native of New York but has spent the last 27 months in West Africa. Henry has just returned from Peace Corps service in Senegal. There he worked on fighting malaria, malnutrition, and promoting water sanitation and hygiene. He is also a graduate of our Seamester program from 2013, where he sailed from Tahiti to Australia aboard Argo. He has spent time leading sail-trip groups out of the San Juan Islands of Washington, working in the Scottish Parliament, and teaching science in Oregon. He loves sailing and scuba diving, and can never get enough of either. Henry is always ready for the next adventure, whether he is sailing, diving, exploring, or integrating into a rural Senegalese fishing village.