Bend the rules

The day we have all been waiting for has finally arrived! Summer is here. We are so excited about the three-week-long adventure that is about to begin. For the past two weeks, the entire ActionQuest staff has been working tirelessly to prepare the fleet for the upcoming session. Bend the Rules, our home for the next few weeks, has been stuffed to the gills with food, water, and fuel in preparation for our students’ arrival. We’re keen to start teaching diving and sailing to our 12 shipmates who will be participating in the Neptune program. We cannot express how stoked we are to sail away on our next adventure with a whole new group of incredible students!

Cate - Skipper and Dive Instructor and Medical Team
Cate first went sailing aged three weeks old and hasn’t looked back. Since then, she has sailed over 10,000 nautical miles, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and worked three summers as a flotilla skipper. Cate also started scuba diving at a young age, getting her open water aged 11 and then 14 years later becoming a scuba instructor in Thailand, where she participated in a coral restoration program. She recently received her Master Scuba Diver Trainer certification and can teach ten specialty certifications. Cate is passionate about marine conservation, and when she isn’t on the water, she enjoys skiing, snowboarding, hiking, horse riding, and cooking. She has recently taken her Wilderness First Responder course and is looking forward to her second year working at Action Quest.

Ri - Dive Instructor
Ri grew up in a few African countries – Uganda, Cameron, Tanzania, and South Africa. After graduating from the University of Johannesburg and completing his articles in Chartered Accounting, Ri decided it was time to pursue his passion for diving and met his PADI OWSI certification requirements on Gili Trawangan and spent the next three years teaching diving in Indonesia and Thailand. During this time, he continued to expand his diving knowledge and training and is currently a PADI IDC Staff Instructor. When he’s not diving, Ri can be found climbing, running, training in BJJ, or settling down with a good book.

Sephena - Divemaster and Mate and Medical Team
Sephena got her Open Water certification in 2018 and attended ActionQuest for the first time that summer. She returned to the BVI to participate in the Rescue Program the following year. Sephena currently attends the University of California Santa Cruz, where she studies Marine Biology. She conducts research in the California kelp forest during the school year and works as a divemaster at a local shop. When Sephena isn’t diving, she is on bike rides, playing lacrosse, or spending time with family and friends. This summer, Sephena is excited to be a part of the AQ team and trade the cold waters of California for the BVI’s tropical temperatures. Sephena will be headed off to Corsica, France, to research the ecosystem and marine environment at the end of the summer.