Lascaris

The crew of Lascaris has been hard at work over the past few weeks prepping for the start of session three! Hard work, planning, and laughter were the essential tools to transforming our mayhem into the perfect chaos required for our shipmates to have a blast. We are stoked to finally meet our students! The boat is fully stocked with food, fuel, water, diving books, and sailing equipment. During our next 17 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 Lascaris 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 Lascaris :

Skipper : Margaux d’Arbeloff
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: Garrison Clower
Garrison first became part of the GXG family when he joined the student crew on Seamester’s summer 2019 voyage from Tahiti to Australia. Being from Tennessee, it was quite a transition to boat life, but it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with sailing and scuba diving. After his trip, he stayed on as a volunteer crew member for one final voyage. Last year he lived on the island of Utila in Honduras for six months, gaining his PADI Open Water Scuba Instructor certification, despite the hurdles caused by Covid. He is also qualified to instruct the Deep, Wreck, Enriched Air Nitrox, Full Face Mask, and Adaptive Techniques SCUBA specialties. Additionally, he does a great Gingerbreadman impression from Shrek. When on the mainland, Garrison enjoys reading, hiking, and cooking excessively nice dinners for a college student. This will be his first summer with ActionQuest, and he’s excited to pass on his passions for the ocean and discovering new places to students this summer!

Mate: Kari Hoover
Kari is from Chicago, Illinois, where she used to spend her school years wearing dry suits to sail on Lake Michigan’s icy waters. Although Lake Michigan feels like home, she far prefers the warm waters of the BVI! After her freshman year at Tulane, Kari sailed with Seamester aboard S/Y Argo from Tahiti to Australia, where her passion for the ocean grew. Kari is finishing up her last year of university by studying abroad in Lisbon and, afterward, hopes to continue her journeys on the ocean blue. When she is not on the water, Kari loves watching Steven Spielberg films, exploring New Orleans, and taking long walks with her dog Pepper. This is Kari’s first summer with ActionQuest, but one of many summers spent sailing. She can’t wait to see what adventures the summer will bring and is excited to meet all of the students.