Alpenglow

Arrival day is finally here! The crew of Alpenglow cannot wait to meet their 12 new shipmates and welcome them to the crew. Riley, Amanda, and Whitney have been on their grind to prepare Alpenglow for its Alpen family over the last few days. Our home for the next three weeks is squeaky clean and filled to the brim with food to fuel our adventures. We’re excited to put on our scuba gear and PFDs and explore the ocean from above and below! Here’s some background on your amazing staff for the session!

Riley (skipper) spent most of his early life and teenage years racing dinghies, keelboats, performance catamarans, and other racing-oriented sailboats. Riley had his boating license by age 12, First Aid/CPR certification by 15, and became a Level 1 and 2 U.S. Sailing Certified coach at age 17. Riley also gained a Pre-Engineering Certification through his high school and spent time building docks and seawalls in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. He has participated in multiple World Championship regattas on the east coast of the U.S. and began some Olympic training in the Nacra 17 class in 2021. Riley spent four years as a race team sailing coach for a community-based sailing program in Sarasota, Florida, where he met Travis, Mike, and the majority of the GXG office team. Riley joined ActionQuest in 2021 as a mate. Since then, he has joined the office during the year as an enrollment advisor and has spent time working for all of the brands underneath the GXG tree, also getting his 200-ton Yachtmaster in Spring 2024. Riley spends almost all his time on the water, whether it be sailing, surfing, fishing, or any other sport on or in the water. When it comes to teaching, Riley is dedicated to teaching the sport that he has learned to love in an easy and fun environment, even though his background is mainly focused on high-performance racing. Riley also has some experience in organic produce farming and mollusk/crustacean farming throughout the Southeast United States.

Amanda (scuba instructor/mate) grew up in Rye Brook, New York, right outside the city. She fell in love with the ocean from a young age while snorkeling on family trips to St. John, USVI, where she eventually got scuba-certified with her whole family. Since the beginning, Amanda developed a passion for being underwater and knew it was something she wanted to pursue. She spent many incredible summers as a student with AQ since 2016 and earned her Open Water Scuba Instructor certification in 2022. She learned a lot through her summers with AQ and is beyond excited to share this knowledge with students of her own! Amanda is pursuing a Psychology degree outside of AQ at the University of Miami. She loves Miami but is beyond excited to return to the BVI’s for another life-changing summer with ActionQuest! Her main goal is to keep the stoke levels high and create a life-activating experience for her students.

Whitney (scuba instructor/mate) grew up in the coastal cities of San Diego, Shanghai, and Boston, laying the foundation for her love for the ocean. Set on becoming a scuba diver, she braved the chilly waters of Massachusetts to earn her first scuba certification at 15 years old. She continued to earn her following certifications in the warmer waters of Southeast Asia. After an epic gap year sailing from Palau to Thailand aboard S/Y Argo with Seamester, Whitney is now diving into her Environmental Science and Technology studies at the University of Maryland. She teaches college prep courses at nearby high schools when she’s not at the university. Whitney cannot wait to teach underwater this summer!