Meet Our Foxtrot 1 & Sierra 1 Adventures' Leadership Team
Will Steward
Program Director
Haslemere, United Kingdom
Having just completed his Master’s degree in Marine Biology from the University of Southampton, Will has a passion for anything to do with the ocean. Be it sailing, scuba diving or trying to find his favorite underwater creature (nudibranchs!), it’s safe to say Will is in his element working with Sail Caribbean! Having gained his Divemaster qualification in Fiji, he went on to work in Zanzibar before coming to the BVI where he gained his Instructor qualification with Sail Caribbean Divers.
Mark Kennedy
Fleet Captain
Dublin, Ireland
Mark is a professionally trained instructor and tutor in many adventure activities, achieving a Higher National Diploma in Outdoor Adventure Management during his 3 years in college. This is where he trained as a powerboat, sailing, kayaking, windsurfing, climbing and mountaineering instructor. He has worked in the Desolation Wilderness in Eldorado County, California, where he lived in a tent for three months and delivered leadership programs to students of all ages through the medium of true wilderness. This was a life changing experience for him — it is where he developed his love for sharing his skills and knowledge with his students and learned how to develop their true potential. After having an amazing summer as a captain at Sail Caribbean in 2016, Mark is extremely excited to get back at it this season. In the times Mark was not out teaching and adventuring over the remainder of the 2016-2017 year, he worked as a Data technician in Dublin airport installing and maintaining the extremely complex network of communications and security equipment.
Liz Deveau
Captain of Hully Gully
Winthrop, MA
Liz grew up in a small town on the North shore of Massachusetts where she began sailing at 8 years old at the local yacht club. She was on the sailing team at the University of New Hampshire where she earned degrees in Marine Biology and English Literature. Liz is joining us for a third summer, escaping the bitter cold, rough seas, and southward migrating floating ice packs of the Bering Sea where she works during the rest of the year in fisheries management data collection through NOAA. Liz is a fish lover and karaoke enthusiast who can’t wait to find out what kinds of laughs and adventures this summer will bring!
Lauren Rowsey
Captain of Paso Doble
Austin, TX
Lauren (aka Rowsey) graduated from the University of Texas at Austin last fall with a major in Marine and Freshwater Biology and a minor in Russian and Eastern European studies. She has loved the ocean since infancy and currently lives in a small Texas beach town researching how fish breathe and swim after exposure to oil. Rowsey loves to travel anywhere with a beach and play in the water with all types of sea life including her spirit animal – the California sea lion. She plans to attend graduate school to pursue a Master’s degree in Fish Physiology and Ecology, but only after spending more time in outdoor education teaching others how awesome the ocean is!
Paul McCormack
Mate of Hully Gully
Dublin, Ireland
Paul has been studying Outdoor Adventure Management for the last three years, training in sailing, windsurfing, whitewater kayaking, powerboating, mountaineering and rock climbing. Last summer, Paul spent three months in the backcountry of California and the Sierra Nevada mountains. While working in California, Paul taught sailing, windsurfing, and kayaking to campers from all over the United States, and was also involved with backpacking trips into Desolation Wilderness. Paul also worked around the island of Ireland and the French Island of Corsica. He is very excited to have a great summer of sailing with all!
Emily Graf
Mate of Hully Gully
Dive Coordinator
Albuquerque, NM
Emily started diving in 2013 and quickly developed a passion for marine life. She is currently living in Tortola working as a PADI Scuba Instructor year round. Growing up in New Mexico (a state with no oceans), she is grateful to have been introduced to the ocean in such an exhilarating way! Emily obtained her B.A. in Environmental Studies at the University of Redlands in California, and worked as an environmental scientist for many years before she discovered her affection for scuba diving and marine life. She loves to travel, experience new cultures, observe wildlife, and laugh a lot! Scuba diving has become one of her biggest passions along with yoga, mountain biking, and bird watching. Emily hopes to inspire people to love and conserve our oceans by sharing what she has learned about the magical underwater world.
Kyra Benforte
Mate of Paso Doble
New York City, NY
Kyra grew up in New York City and currently attends the University of Richmond in Virginia. She joined us as a student on the Bravo, Delta, and Foxtrot adventures and last summer as a Mate, after completing the Echo college program. Kyra is majoring in Leadership Studies and Italian Studies and is studying abroad in Perugia, Italy in the fall! She has sailed extensively throughout the BVI and Italy, and is an expert snorkeler!
Addie Benthien
Provisions Manager
Basking Ridge, NJ
Addie grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Elon University in 2014. She has spent her post-graduate life pursing her biggest passions: health & wellness and the great outdoors. Addie is a certified Wilderness First Responder and has been an Adventure Guide for the Philadelphia Outward Bound School and Frost Valley, YMCA. She is also a certified Personal Trainer and is excited about the challenge of staying active while living on a boat. Time to get creative!
Ellie Honan Drogheda, Ireland First Year
Ellie has just finished up at the University College Cork, Ireland after 4 years with a degree in Geology. She grew up hopping between the East and West coasts of Ireland, spending a lot of time in the very, very cold waters of the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, where she developed a love of diving and windsurfing. Her main passions are fossils, climate and crafts, and especially working with young people in the outdoors. Ellie spent last summer traversing the trans-boundary Juneau Icefield of Alaska and Canada, studying the glacial climate and completing a glaciology field skills program where she learned a huge amount about expedition provisioning and scientific communication. The summer before that she was down a cave system in Western Ireland working as a spelunking guide, so she’s exited to spend a summer outside in the sunny(!) Caribbean with enthusiastic young people!
Julia Malone
Mate-In-Training
Winter Springs, FL
Having been raised in New York, California, Georgia, and Florida, Julia grew up loving the adventure of discovering new places and grew accustomed to the thrill of seeking new and different lifestyles. Having lived in Florida for thirteen years now, Julia has found catharsis in being by the sea and has fallen in love with the outdoors. Whether it be hiking, mountain biking, snorkeling, cliff jumping, camping, SCUBA diving, sailing, or just being around great people in great places, Julia loves discovering new passions in the adventure of traveling the great outdoors! Now entering her junior year at the University of Florida, Julia is completing her bachelor’s degrees in both Environmental Science and Neuroscience. After spending part of the summer sailing the beautiful islands of the BVI several years ago, Julia has come back to join Sail Caribbean as a staff member this summer. Julia is so stoked to embark upon another great adventure with the lovely staff of Sail Caribbean and all the wonderful people who she’ll meet along the way!
Meredith Davies
Mate-In-Training
Plainsboro, NJ
Meredith grew up in New Jersey and just completed her freshman year at Rhodes College. She studies Environmental Studies with hopes of becoming an environmental lawyer. Meredith found her passion for the ocean, sailing, and scuba diving during her summers as a Sail Caribbean student in 2014 and 2015. She recently interned at Cape Eleuthera Institute at the Island School studying southern stingrays in the Bahamas. She has returned to Sail Caribbean as a student on the Ocean program and as a Mate in Training for the 2017 season. She is excited to be back in the BVI for another summer of adventures!
Quinton “Q” Cirko
Mate-In-Training
Huntington, NY
Meet Q soon!
