Shape Up

The crew of Shape Up has been hard at work over the past few days 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. The crew of Shape Up could not be more excited to kick off this 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 Shape Up :

Skipper: Margaux

Margaux grew up in Belmont, Massachusetts, a small town located right outside Boston. She started sailing at a young age with her parents, which included bareboating around the British Virgin Islands and sailing on a small lake in southern New Hampshire. This passion for sailing found her attending ActionQuest as a student from 2015 through 2017 and furthered Margaux’s love for the ocean through sailing and scuba diving. In 2018 and 2019, she returned as a mate on both Vega and Minerva programs. After obtaining her IYT Master of Yachts 200 Ton Limited License, she came back to ActionQuest as a skipper for the Vega program in the summer of 2021. Outside of ActionQuest, she is a recent college graduate from the University of Miami, earning her B.S. in Marine Science and Biology. While in college, she was president of the UMiami Scuba Club and played on Miami’s Club Lacrosse team. In addition, she studied abroad in Australia, then took a gap semester during college to go on Sea| Mester’s transatlantic voyage aboard SY Argo. Margaux works as a kids (7-teen) ski instructor at Beaver Creek Resort. She cannot wait to get back to the sunny and warm Caribbean for another amazing ActionQuest summer!

Dive Instructor: Ben

I am stoked to be joining the Action Quest Team this year. I recently qualified for PADI OWSI with a BSc in Marine Biology and an MSc in Marine Vertebrate Ecology and Conservation. I spent the last eight years as an RNLI beach lifeguard, where I worked across a range of different beaches in all manner of British coastal conditions. I have experience volunteering on various marine conservation and research projects in Central America and Southeast Asia.

Mate: Kari

Kari was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, where she learned to sail on the icy waters of Lake Michigan. She spent the summer of 2019 sailing from Tahiti to Australia on Seamester’s Argo, where she earned her PADI rescue diver certification. Today she has sailed over 6,000 nautical miles, and she has been loving her second summer back at AQ! Kari is working aboard as a mate and also is the Director of Food and Beverages at ActionQuest. Over the past year, Kari has lived in four different countries while finishing her undergraduate degree at Tulane University. This fall, she will be studying for a master’s degree at the University College of London.