Tropical Oasis

The crew of Tropical Oasis/ Kokamo has been hard at work over the past few weeks prepping for the start of session one. A lot of hard work, sweat, laughter, and planning has gone into getting ready for our shipmates. With the struggles that covid has brought us, we will be getting a super cool opportunity and will be starting off the program on a catamaran called Kokamo. The boat is fully stocked with food, fuel, water, diving books, and sailing equipment. We have shipmates arriving from all over, and we are so excited to meet everyone! During our next 21 days, we are going to explore the islands of the British Virgin Islands while doing some amazing sailing and diving to work towards certifications. After the quick speed bump that was COVID-19, ActionQuest is back, and the crew of Tropical Oasis could not be more excited to kick off the summer with diving, sailing, and of course, loads of fun! We can not wait to see everyone grow and become more confident in their skills!

Here is an introduction of the crew on Tropical Oasis / Kokamo :

Skipper: Margaux
Margaux was born and raised in Belmont, MA, a small town located outside of Boston. She attended ActionQuest in 2015, 2016, and 2017 as a shipmate, then returned in 2018 and 2019, working as a mate on the Vega programs as well as the Minerva programs. During the school year, she attends the University of Miami and is working towards a B.S. in Marine Science and Biology. In addition, she helps run her school's scuba club. During her junior year, she studied abroad in Australia, then ended up taking fall 2020 off of college (due to covid) and went on Sea|Mester’s transatlantic voyage aboard SY Argo and obtained her IYT Master of Yachts 200 Ton Limited theory portion. She started sailing at a young age with her parents, bareboating around the British Virgin Islands and also sailing on a small lake in southern New Hampshire. When she is not scuba diving or sailing, she enjoys playing lacrosse, basketball, hiking, and skiing.

Dive Instructor/ Mate: Jake
Jake first joined AQ as a student in 2016, and in 2020 he became a PADI dive instructor. He is currently attending Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he studies business management. Prior to Covid-19, he also helped instruct at Rollins’ scuba diving program. Growing up in New Hampshire, he spent a lot of time both snow skiing and water skiing and is excited to teach students how to waterski as well. This past fall, Jake studied abroad with Seamester, where he crossed the Atlantic Ocean twice. His favorite diving is in the British Virgin Islands, and he can’t wait to share the beauty of the underwater world with new divers. He is also very excited to have the opportunity to give new AQ students the same amazing experience he had as a student for so many summers. Currently, he is working on completing his IYT Master of Yachts 200 Ton Limited and completed the theory portion while attending Sea|Mester.

Mate: Emma
Emma grew up 3 hours from the nearest ocean in Maryland, but to her, it was always worth the drive! She now studies Marine Affairs and Sustainable Business at the University of Miami, where she joined the scuba club and learned to dive. She has been lucky enough to sail from South Africa to the Caribbean on both S/Y Argo and S/Y Vela and can’t wait to share her love for sailing and the water with others. She also has her IYT Master of Yachts 200 Ton Limited theory. If you don’t find her on a boat, you’ll probably see her being towed behind it on a wakeboard!