YOUR ADVENTURE STARTS HERE. LIFE ACTIVATED TROPICAL MARINE COMMUNITY LAND & CULTURAL BIOLOGY SAILING WATER SPORTS SCUBA SERVICE EXPLORATIONS MEDITERRANEAN BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS ECUADOR GALAPAGOS AUSTRALIA & GREAT BARRIER REEF TAHITI & FRENCH POLYNESIA IT’S YOUR SUMMER. SPEND IT WHERE YOU’VE ALWAYS WANTED. ACTIVATE A WORLD OF DISCOVERY WHO WE ARE & WHAT WE DO. ActionQuest is an incredible adventure that is yours for the taking. For over 30 years, ActionQuest has consistently delivered high quality, expedition-based summer programs for teenagers. Through hands-on experiential learning and adventure travel throughout the world, we have successfully ignited the inherent leadership skills within thousands of young adults. You will leave your ActionQuest voyage with new skills, talents and independence. The AQ Whether you choose a three-week voyage to the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean’s Leeward path offers action-packed adventures that focus on sailing, scuba diving, cultural immersion, Islands, the Mediterranean, Galapagos, Australia or Tahiti and French Polynesia - you are in marine biology and global exploration – all in a ‘live-aboard’ environment unlike any other. for the adventure of a lifetime. Don’t take our word for it, speak to some of our alumni. Over 10,000 teenagers have taken the ActionQuest plunge. Go online, interact with past shipmates You will live on sailing yachts with a crew of 8 to 12 teens your age. Within this close-knit and discover what they took away from their ActionQuest journey. Time and time again, team, you develop strong friendships by conquering daily challenges. Everyone plays a shipmates recount their ActionQuest voyage as their single most memorable life experience. part in running the vessel, with roles and responsibilities shifting daily. One day you may be skipper, the next day chef, and perhaps, navigator the next. This active learning aids in Be prepared to be amazed by the places you will see, the people you will meet and the self- fostering accomplishment and self-reliance in a fun, interactive environment! The experience discovery you will find on an ActionQuest adventure. As Goethe said, “Whatever you can do, is complemented by a committed, professional staff whose main goal is to support your or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it!” discovery. The individual attention and camaraderie between staff and shipmates makes Make your step aboard ActionQuest the journey of your lifetime. each voyage unique, as the entire team unites to accomplish the AQ mission of high action, real-world learning. 2 ABOUT ACTIONQUEST OUR MISSION To guide diverse groups of young adults on exceptional global expeditions; challenging them with high action, life-changing adventures that promote personal growth, teamwork and leadership. OUR STORY SO Far… As a young man, Jim Stoll developed a passion for sailing. He turned the usually quiet Looking to give something back to the communities that had supported ActionQuest and summer season at his family’s boat yard into a thriving business by offering a sailing school Sea|mester for so long, in 2002, Jim and Mike created Lifeworks, a worldwide community for teenagers. In 1970, Jim expanded the concept, taking his school to the water full-time. service-learning program for teenagers. Lifeworks teams up with local, national and Jim sailed the Atlantic waters aboard 156’ Te Vega and 175’ Te Quest, enrolling 86 teenagers international organizations so students can embark on meaningful service projects around every year in a high school program of study and travel. Twelve years later, with children of the world. Throughout the program, students are encouraged to consider what contributions his own, Jim moved back ashore to develop his motivational programs for young adults. In the they want to make to the world during their lifetime. mid eighties he once again headed to the water and ActionQuest was born. The steady growth of Sea|mester has allowed one of our biggest goals to be realized. Summer In 1995, Jim was joined by Mike Meighan. A recent oceanography and marine biology graduate, 2006 saw the completion of a new 112-foot school ship, S/Y Argo. Since her launch she has Mike dreamed of creating a truly interactive educational experience. Using the principles of circumnavigated the globe, offering Sea|mester students the chance to cross oceans while ActionQuest, Mike developed Sea|mester – a live-aboard college accredited semester at sea furthering their educational and personal goals. Sea|mester plans to build additional vessels program. Sea|mester brings academics from the textbook into real-life application. Voyaging in the future, based on the model of Argo. throughout stimulating environments, the expedition becomes the vehicle for gaining Mike sails aboard with the British Virgin Island ActionQuest summer programs, preferring to knowledge, understanding, confidence and skills. Sea|mester acquired the 88-foot school maintain his active role as director. Today, ActionQuest, Sea|mester and Lifeworks programs ship, S/Y Ocean Star, in 1998. After an extensive re-fit, she headed for the Caribbean and span the world and have changed the lives of thousands of teenagers. continues to ply the waters of the Lesser Antilles today. During Sea|mester’s infancy, Jim helped his teenage son, Jason, achieve a life goal - sailing around the world. Between 1997 and 1999, Jim joined his son for parts of the voyage. Their travels led to the creation of new AQ programs in the Galapagos, Tahiti, Fiji and Australia. This has been the experience of a lifetime; one I will not soon forget. You ” have truly made my summer and signiicantly impacted all of our lives. We learned things here that we could never have learned back home. I’ll remember the people I met and how wonderful it was to be in a place where you were judged not by what you had but by who you were. CHRIS NORMAN ” SCOTTSDALE, AZ TABLE OF CONTENTS ADVENTURE YOUR ACTIONQUESTYOUR ABOUT ACTIONQUEST YOUR AQ ADVENTURE WHO WE ARE ACTIVITIES 6 WHAT WE DO 2 DESTINATIONS 8 OUR MISSION 3 VIDEO CLIP VIDEO CLIP click to watch click to watch THE AQ DIFFERENCE 14 & UNDER PROGRAMS WHY ACTIONQUEST BRITISH VIRGIN STANDS OUT 10 ISLANDS 18 SAFETY & STAFF 12 VIDEO CLIP click to watch 15 & 16 PROGRAMS 17 & OVER PROGRAMS BRITISH VIRGIN BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS 22 ISLANDS 30 GLOBAL GLOBAL ADVENTURES 26 ADVENTURES 35 FOR PARENTS THE NEXT STEPS PERSPECTIVES 40 HOW TO ENROLL 44 FAQs 41 TRAVEL INFORMATION 44 VIDEO CLIP VIDEO CLIP click to watch click to watch 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS YOUR ACTIONQUEST ADVENTURE YOUR ACTIONQUEST ADVENTURE (STARTS HERE!) YOUR AQ ADVENTURE AQ YOUR From introductory to advanced sailing and scuba, tropical marine biology, water ADVENTURE sports, land excursions, cultural immersion and community service – there is YOUR ACTIONQUESTYOUR something for every experience level and adventurer. From trekking through rainforest jungles to night sailing under a blanket of stars, expect to see sights beyond imagination and gain skills beyond expectations on every AQ journey! SAILING SCUBA Just you, your shipmates and the power of the wind. You knew nothing Submerged in a completely different world - a world where ‘exotic’ doesn’t about harnessing that power 10 days ago. Now, with the breeze in begin to describe what’s in front of your eyes, that’s AQ scuba. Through your hair and the helm in your hands, you realize how far you and your crystal blue waters with incredible visibility, you come face-to-face with teammates have come. No longer passengers, you are crew – shipmates, spectacular marine life like hawksbill turtles, queen angelfish and schools staff and adventurers united for this awesome voyage. of mirror-like silver sides. Incredible. At ActionQuest, we know sailing and so do our shipmates. Whether a novice or seasoned ActionQuest dives in the world’s hottest diving spots. Sites like the wreck of the RMS Rhone, sailor, you will advance your skills on the world’s most beautiful waters under the guidance voted the best wreck dive in all of the Caribbean and Cod Hole on the Great Barrier Reef. of ActionQuest’s knowledgeable staff. Our licensed, certified instructors teach shipmates Night dives, naturalist dives, wreck dives – they are all within your reach. internationally recognized sailing courses. Many of them were ActionQuest shipmates when AQ has been teaching scuba longer than any other teen program and we have one of the they were teenagers, so they can relate to the power of extreme adventure and discovery highest ratios of continuing education of any dive school. Just like our sailing certs, there is while under sail. a clear progression in the scuba certifications from the Introductory Open Water all the way AQ offers International Yacht Training (IYT) certifications so you can build on your sailing skills through to Professional Divemaster. With over 12 scuba specialties, you can continue to build through increasingly challenging courses. Whether your goal is to gain basic, advanced or your skills with each new program. even professional sailing certifications, we have the program for you. YOUR ACTIONQUEST ADVENTURE YOUR ACTIONQUESTYOUR ADVENTURE WATER SPORTS COMMUNITY SERVICE So you couldn’t picture yourself actually skiing. Think again! As you carve It has been a 10-minute chase through the water and finally you have caught through the water behind the ski boat, you feel the speed, the wind, him. You and your shipmates measure, tag and take a DNA sample from the exhilaration and the accomplishment of doing something you never the baby hawksbill turtle. He needs a name too. Within minutes, you are thought you could. You lean back and grin. What an extreme ride! releasing “Rapido” back into his home waters to grow. At ActionQuest you will find yourself learning and loving a variety of Many ActionQuest voyages incorporate community service so shipmates can give back to the water sports.