Meet the Staff
Location: West End, Tortola
Hi all! Meet the staff on board Harbor House Out for session 3! We’ve been working hard for the last two days getting everything shipshape for the students to arrive. We are so excited to meet all ten of our new shippies today and to have an amazing last session of 2025.
Meet the crew:
Skipper - Skyler
Skyler grew up mainly in Vancouver, Canada, and spent a few years in the Cayman Islands. Luckily, both are very close to the ocean, her happy place. While living in the Cayman Islands, she tried scuba diving and sailing for the first time. Eventually, she got scuba-certified in 2023 while aboard STV Vela sailing from Antigua to Fiji. Her time on Seamester was life-changing, and she can’t wait to give that experience to the students at ActionQuest. She has spent the last year working on a boat in New Zealand, but is very excited to return to cruising with the wind. She loves hiking, skiing, or finding the nearest cold lake to swim in! She loved her time at AQ last summer and can’t wait to come back this year and see everyone!
Dive Instructor - Toby
Toby first heard about ActionQuest the day he learned how to speak. About 25 years ago, both of his parents were staff members at AQ, and they always said they were the best summers of their lives. Following in their footsteps, Toby started diving when he was 12 during his first session at ActionQuest. He then returned for another two summers, knowing he wanted to continue diving and eventually become a staff member. He decided to take a gap year last year and went to Bali for three months with his brother, Tyler, to do his PADI Divemaster and Instructor courses. After four years of being a student and many years of hearing his parents talk about ActionQuest, Toby worked at AQ for his first year as a staff member! After living in Hawai’i, continuing to teach diving, and getting his Yachtmaster, he’s returning to AQ for his second year!
Mate/Medic - Aden
Aden is originally from the landlocked state of Pennsylvania. However, his family decided to move to Florida when he was 11, where he promptly fell in love with sailing and the ocean. Aden spent much of his teenage years racing various high-performance sailing dinghies and catamarans. Each year, when the racing season wrapped up, he would spend his summers using his U.S. Sailing Level One certification to coach a learn-to-sail class at a non-profit sailing program based in Sarasota. Last summer, Aden took on the exciting role of running ActionQuest’s sail-side support boat, Under Pressure! Here, he learned the ins and outs of the ActionQuest program, made great friends, and earned scuba certifications. This summer, Aden is stoked to be returning, having just gotten his Wilderness First Responder certification, and is looking forward to using his background in sailing to teach students how to sail. When not in a tropical paradise, Aden is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at Jacksonville University, and when he isn’t overwhelmed with school work, you can usually find him surfing with friends, in the gym, or sailing whatever boat he can get his hands on.
We are all stoked to get this session underway and get out on the water!