Meet Our 2018 Early Foxtrot & Early Sierra Adventures Leadership Team
Curtis Crooke
Program Director
Curtis graduated from Georgetown University in 2017 and began work as a Legislative Correspondent for the Congresswoman to the US Virgin Islands. But nothing can keep him away from Sail Caribbean. He is returning for his fourth year as a staff member after sailing for four years as a student and intern, attaining his Divemaster along the way. In addition to diving and sailing, Curtis enjoys traveling (he has been to all fifty state capitals!), watching sports, and hanging out outdoors in warm weather with flip flops and a pair of Chubbies.
Mark Kennedy
Fleet Captain
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, 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 experience as a captain at Sail Caribbean in 2016 and fleet captain in 2017, 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 2017-2018 year, he worked with an Irish based company called Irish commercial charter boats where he crewed and skippered various boats of all shapes and sizes throughout the Irish Sea.
Garrett McQuiston
Captain of Salome
Garrett is a student at the University of Michigan where he studies Industrial Operations Engineering and is a member of the Michigan sailing team. Garrett taught himself how to sail when he was 11 years old, and quickly convinced his entire family to join him. He grew up sailing catamarans and small keelboats all over the great lakes. Garrett loves all things outdoors, including fly fishing, paddle boarding, backpacking, and is NAUI scuba certified. In high school, Garrett taught woodworking skills to younger students as an assistant woodshop teacher; and he spent his last summer working as the first mate aboard a charter sailboat on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. In his free time, Garrett loves to test his free-diving skills and building custom longboard skateboards. Garrett loves teaching others fun knots and sailing tactics, and is excited to share his passion for the water this season!
Luka Walshe
Captain of Grenade
Luka is joining us for his second year at Sail Caribbean, having completed a three year Higher National Diploma in Outdoor Adventure Management, in 2017 where he learned to teach sailing, windsurfing and whitewater kayaking from some of Ireland’s most experienced outdoor leaders. Luka has a wealth of experience teaching and instructing in many outdoor sports, including leading wilderness canoe trips in Canada, raft guiding and kayaking on Irish rivers and seas, sailing and windsurfing in Corsica and up and down Ireland’s west coast. Luka is a big believer in self-development and experiential learning, and has a passion for teaching and sharing outdoor sports with others.
Lindsay Walsh
Mate of Salome
Growing up on Long Island, Lindsay has spent a majority of her time on the water. She joined Sail Caribbean as a student on the Alpha, Charlie, and Echo programs, then became a part of the staff for the past two summers, working her way from a Mate-in-training, to a Mate, to then become a Captain. Lindsay just completed her third year at Siena College studying Sports Marketing and spent the past fall studying in Salzburg, Austria!
Keiley James
Mate of Salome
Keiley is originally from Atlanta, GA, but has lived on Tybee Island for a lot of her life, where she developed a passion for marine biology, conservation, and of course, sailing! Currently, Keiley is a student at the University of Georgia, where she majors in Marine Biology, and is a member of the school’s sailing team. She recently went on a program where she sailed a tall ship in the Caribbean, and conducted marine biological research. Keiley is a very friendly and understanding shipmate, and is very excited to spend the summer sailing with some really awesome individuals!
Emily Graf
Mate of Grenade
Emily started diving in 2013 and quickly developed a passion for marine life. She is currently living on Tortola working as a PADI Scuba Instructor year round for Sail Caribbean Divers. 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.
Keegan Whitehair
Mate of Grenade
Keegan grew up on the water in Beverly, MA and has been sailing her whole life. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in May 2018 with a degree in Socioeconomic Data Science. Keegan has been coaching sailing for seven years and loves to scuba dive, hike, and travel. She has spent time traveling in Europe, Central America, and South America and one of her favorite recent adventures was diving in the Galapagos Islands in July 2017. After this summer, Keegan plans to live on the North Shore of Massachusetts and teach high school math.
