1
Location: West End, Tortola
Hello to everyone tuning in! From the entire staff team on Hagan Time, we are extremely excited to have our next round of students ready to come on board. Our schedule is made, our lists checked and rechecked, gear loaded, and staff reinvigorated for another session. While there are many questions out there(how much food will we all eat, how can we all learn to live together, what is preserving paradise all about, how many bags of Goldfish will we finish), we are ready and prepared for anything that may come our way. Please check back in over the next 17 days to keep track of our journey. Below is a brief introduction to our staff team.
Riley Baugh Skipper and Program Director Riley 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 yacht master 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.
Heloise Mate and Chief Vibes Officer Heloise grew up in Concord, MA, but spent many months SCUBA diving in Bonaire throughout high school. In Bonaire, she fell in love with coral restoration and ended up studying environmental science and government in college. She is hoping to use her degrees to pursue environmental/ocean law. Heloise has always loved boats and anything ocean-related and was lucky to sail from Fiji to Bali aboard S/Y Vela in 2023. Heloise also loves to surf (even though she’s not the best at it), waterski, and snow ski, and she adores being outside with her friends!
Siena Mate and Medic Living in Northern California, Siena grew up an ocean lover. When she’s not taking her dog to the beach, she reads a good book with a cup of green tea. She started sailing and diving as a summer camp student and was lucky enough to join Seamester on S/Y Vela, sailing from Bali to Cape Town. This year, Siena is studying Biology and Biomedical Sciences at Trinity College Dublin, intending to enter the field of marine biology and reef conservation. She can’t wait to spend the summer aboard a boat, sailing and swimming alongside all of the incredible sea creatures of the Caribbean!