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Get to Know Us Captain and Crew

Chuck

Chuck has been a captain since 1983. His hobbies include weekly motorcycle rides around the island, fishing off boats or kayaks, and enjoying a drink while relaxing with MacNut, his parrot, on the lanai. His passions revolve around his Harley Davidson motorcycle and all the island rides he can squeeze into his daily routine. He has ridden to Sturgis six times in 1989, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2021. 

Rick

Rick is from Chicago and has been a captain since 2003. Rick truly enjoys working full time as a captain and is our master of maintenance. His hobbies include diving and running while listening to Hip Hop Kidz Bop. He loves eating a good gyro, caffeine and you will most likely see him on the boat with a fresh, cold Diet Coke in hand. He enjoys being on the ocean more than being on land.

DeVanté

DeVanté is our one and only rockstar from New York. He has been crewing for Captain Zodiac for 10 years. His hobbies include fitness and eating right – meaning you won’t see him snacking on any chips or cookies, but he does enjoy a good tequila to relax with as well as scuba diving. If you think he looks familiar then you might have seen him on an episode of Buying Hawaii, where it highlighted his move from the Big Apple to the Big Island. He’s passionate about the ocean and how we can change our plastic awareness now to help change the future for marine mammals. 

Dre

Dre is from a galaxy far, far away. She has been a captain since 2008 and is our do-it-all-except-mechanic. Her hobbies include hiking, camping, farming, surfing, sunsets and BBQs. She loves hanging out with her daughters. She enjoys each day she gets on the water, stays mindful of our impact on the planet and the marine life she gets to be blessed with on each trip. She has been taking photos of marine life and continuously submits them to Cascadia Research collective which helps with their citizen science photo ID log for all marine mammal species in Hawaii.

Aryn

Aryn is from Seattle, Washington. She loves lilikoi, talking to whales and playing with any dog she sees. She is a die-hard water girl spending most of her time on one of Zodiac’s rafts, on her sailboat or scuba diving for the lost city of Atlantis. The sea in her hair makes it sit so perfectly in her bun/visor combo. She’s a true pirate, ready to search for hidden treasure or many pints of rum! Be careful or she might just throw you overboard so she gets the full share of the booty!

Marco

Marco (polo) – yeah, he has heard that joke before. He grew up in Anacortes, driving a 18 foot RIB between Anacortes, Lopez Island and Orcas Island which was the perfect start to his captain life style. Now he is legally a captain! When he’s not working you can catch him skateboarding on the side of the highway to jiu jitsu or snuggling into a soft blanket with a James Nester book. He enjoys his life on island and finding new ways to create meaning.

Lafferty

Lafferty is a Cali In-N-Out drop out who found his way across the ocean to make a life of resin art and paint and sip classes. Catch him on his days off in a hammock reading Nora Roberts and dining on carne asada burritos. Some of his favorite things are cuddle parties with pit bulls and tinkering on anything mechanical. He hopes to sell his photos online soon but for now you can catch him at @Aliveunderwater.

Kalia

Kalia is usually spotted jetting around town with her 8-year-old red golden retriever, Denali. She’s a skilled seamstress, sailor, a fierce paddler, a Sriracha lover and lives a life sponsored by fly fishing. Before returning back home to Hawaii, she lived on a sailboat in Washington state. She’s not superstitious, but she is a little stitious so you would not have found any live plants on her sailboat.

Shaggy

Don’t let Shaggy’s low tones and silky-smooth voice fool you, he’s as grizzly as they come. He’s master of sails, knots and weird conspiracy theories. He can cut a pineapple as graceful as he can cut air during his competitive air guitar matches around town. If you don’t catch him on your night out then he’s most likely at home reading about Blackbeard in “The Black Flag” or fawning over his missed chance as Kurt Russell in Captain Ron.

Former Crew

JC

JC, long ago in the days of the buffalo, he grew up working as a lifeguard until he made his way to Hawaii. JC is the son of Retired Newport Beach Lifeguard Battalion Chief Jim Turner in California. He enjoys hobbies like guerilla gardening, swimming, underwater basket weaving, cross stitch, running so he can curl 12oz cans. He is the grand poobah of the loyal order of the water buffalo, and he is seriously addicted to scrapbooking. 

Steve

Steve has been a captain since 2017, when he’s not working he enjoys a quiet life with his dogs and watching Netflix. He has had a very colorful resume with working on two Jackie Chan movies while spending most of his life in SE Asia. He likes empowering others to be better for tomorrow’s future. 

Jennifer

Jennifer grew up with a passion for being in the water and spending her days at the beach in San Diego, California. She joined us as a crew member, also working a few days in the office until she became our office manager. She enjoys a variety of hobbies such as snorkeling, singing, hiking, all outdoor activities, cooking and making unhealthy dishes healthy. She starred in an independent short horror film called “A Bloody Good Deed”.  Her passion is for life and the connections made between people as well as all living beings. 

Amanda

Amanda is from Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, after graduation she moved to Hawaii with Elliott and her cat Larrie.  Her hobbies include all ocean activities, marine life, hiking, and embroidery. She is our sustainability director and is working hard to reduce our carbon footprint with our boats, vehicles, plastic waste and setting up composting with a local public charter school.  She is passionate about the environment and reducing plastic pollution with more bar based soaps. 

Bhodi

Bhodi is from the Honolulu zoo and has grown up on lake boats, tubing, and grilling on his grandpa pontoon. His favorite color is rain and he enjoys a long drive with the top down of his convertible. His hobbies include daily surf sessions and diving, as well as annoying Captain Rick. He loves his mother so much that nothing on this planet can keep him from arriving on time to take her to dinner on mother’s day. He strongly believes that we all need to be aware of ocean conservation and the health and sustainability of society with their relationship to mother earth.

Will

Will is from Florida and his family life revolves around the Gators football team. He is a graduate of The University of Florida with a degree in Philosophy.  Living so close to the water allowed him to start boating at 6 years old, which led to fishing and diving hobbies. He enjoys fishing in Florida and Hawaii but surprisingly he doesn’t like eating fish. He is a great golfer and barefoot basketball player. He enjoys backyard games, beach bbqs and relaxing in hammocks with friends.

Ziggy

Ziggy is a 9 year old, his mom is full golden and his dad is german shepherd black lab mix. He is a retriever that doesn’t retrieve on land. He loves people, sleeping, being adorable, long walks, car rides and all the raw fish he can eat. He loves being in the office and meeting new people to show off his tricks to while soliciting heavy petting.

Miranda

Miranda moved from the sunshine state to the state that gets the most sunshine. She is still picky about her orange juice though. She has a blackbelt in gift wrapping, is an aspiring stamp collector and a hot sauce enthusiast. When not in the office she’s either camping, at the beach, baking bread or busy in the garden.

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