The Crew

After university and some boring jobs in business, David backpacked around New Zealand, Australia and S.E Asia for three years, exploring the world and learning that life is too short to spend in a cubicle.  Prompted by his love of the ocean and his experiences as a Dive Instructor, David decided to join the crew of a 90mt sailing yacht in 2012 and immediately became hooked on the nauti life.  Working his way up through the ranks and a couple of motor yachts over the past 4 years, David eventually gained his Officer of the Watch 3000t badge (Thank you FRED   www.fredsoralprep.com).  Realizing that the sea was his only real boss, Dave decided to cast off the shackles and bought his first boat, S.V. Gaia  in the fall of 2016.  The rest is history in the making, as Capt. Dave and his crew have prepared Gaia for open water cruising and set out on her voyage into the Caribbean.

Russ joined Gaia as official chronicler and unofficial bartender after returning from a Pacific cruise and crossing from Panama to Polynesia in early 2016 .  Following on a variegated career from booze to banking, Russ has opted for the unfettered life of an international adventurer and writer, preferring slow travel over more expedient means of circumnavigation.  Russ is approximately halfway to his target of covering 40,000 km by 'sails & rails' on his adventures, including a train trip across Canada and numerous rail kms accrued over three months in Japan.  His irreverent writing can be found at aChartOfDays.com as well as other, more respectable, travel outlets.

“College?”

“Enh, I don't wanna talk about it”

Liza's college years in the US led her to teaching pre-teens in Panama, which was very good preparation for dealing with the Captain and Rusty on board Gaia.  Familiar with Panama from her high-school years, Liza got bored eventually, like we all do, and moved back to Miami.  She spent her late twenties and early thirties in a marriage, 'nuf said about that.  During that time, though, she found herself traveling more and sitting still less – cars, clothes and consumption stopped being important to her, having been replaced by adventure, horizons and the ocean.  Advanced dive training and sailing in Mexico brought her to the yachting world, where she met Captain David.  With an iron will and infinite patience, Liza has brought order, cleanliness and a sassy wit to Gaia's adventures to date.