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British Virgin Islands - 2018, Session 3

Staff Update Day 1

Location: West End, Tortola

The preparation for our next 17 days around the BVI’s is just about complete. A lot of hard work, sweat, laugh and planning all culminating for this afternoon when our new shipmates arrive onboard Slow Motion. You can feel the air buzzing with energy around the dock this morning. Anticipation, curiosity, and excitement motivating each of us forward until every boat is fully equipped for the amazing experiences ahead. The calm before the storm you could say. And what a storm we hope it to be. Improving on all of our proven methods, we hope to once again make long and lasting friendships among and between all the people we will come in contact with. We strive to teach all we can to our new students and are sure to learn many lessons ourselves. Our crew consisting of skipper Maddy, scuba instructor/ mate Lolo, and instructor Adi will strive to create an atmosphere for growth and expression. We look forward to the day when we will confidently hand over most all of the responsibilities to our new shipmates. To say we are excited is an understatement.

Here is an introduction to the crew of Slow Motion:

Maddy- Skipper/Divemaster

Maddy is a young swimmer who’s never far away from the water. Growing up in Norwich, she traveled regularly to Menorca with her parents to work on their family sailboat and dinghy sail. She went to boarding school for 9 years and left with A levels in sport, food, and biology. County swimming when she was younger, lifeguarding for 4 years, and school holidays working in kids camps, she’s always looking to learn and try new things. At 16 years old she went to Belize for a month to do marine conservation, learning species of fish participating in underwater species surveys. After A-levels Maddy decided to do a path different from most and not go to university, instead of going and getting her Yachtmaster. Six months of sail training in the winter immediately sent her packing to work in hot places. Last summer she was a flotilla skipper for Medsailors with her own boat and up to 10 guests at a time, cooking for everyone and maintaining the boat then showing people around the new towns we arrived in every night. Maddy also has been diving since 9 and got her Divemaster last October and plans to do more whenever she can. At home, Maddy is a runner, family person, cook, and big reader. She loves adventure, meeting new people, and wants to see as much of the world as she can.

Lauren- Dive Instructor/Mate/WFR

Lauren spent her first summer as part of the ActionQuest team in 2017. She is a dive instructor and primarily works with the marine biology program at AQ. She has been diving for six years and studied marine biology at the University of South Florida, which has taken her around the world to places like Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and Fiji. She has also worked as an outdoor leader, guiding paddling, caving, snorkeling, and hiking trips. Most recently she has worked as delivery crew for transits between Florida and the Caribbean and then as maintenance crew on a tall ship. Lauren is a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, an Emergency First Responder Instructor, and a Wilderness First Responder. When Lauren isn’t spending time on a sailboat, you can find her rock climbing, backpacking, or on a mission to find the perfect donuts and tacos.

Adison – Dive Instructor/Mate

Adison attended the University of Utah where he finished his bachelor’s degree in communications. While teaching skiing in the mountains, Adison found his interest in the ocean in 2016 when he got his PADI open water scuba diving certification. Since then he has been passionate in learning and experiencing all he can about the ocean and the creatures that live in it. His road to dive instructor took him through Honduras, Florida, and most recently Maui. After obtaining his OWSI, MSDT, EFR instructor he continues to seek out all the training he can. Joining the AQ team in 2018, he hopes to train a new generation of divers and people that can impact our planet in a positive way. When not scuba diving Adison loves time outdoors by camping, climbing, freediving, and always reading. Adison does all he can to spread enthusiasm and share amazing experiences with others. His future goals include underwater photography, cross-ocean voyages, and freediving.