Captain Tom hails from Norfolk, England
although he holds joint US and UK citizenship. He attended
a traditional English boarding school which gave him
the opportunity to take part in an expedition to the
Himalayas, through Nepal, China and Tibet, culminating
in the exciting challenge of climbing to Mt Everest
base camp, and beyond to a height of 5,600 m. However,
climbing in the Himalayas is not Tom’s only achievement.
As well as qualifying in Canada as a level 1 ski instructor,
he is also a dingy instructor and has been Fleet Captain
at his local sailing club. Tom was one of the youngest
to pass through the British Off Shore Sailing School
and to qualify as a Yacht Master and a Cruising Instructor.
He has worked on yachts based in Greece, Turkey, Croatia,
Italy and the British Virgin Islands and has cruised
the English Channel, the Normandy Coast of France, the
Channel and Scilly Islands and the Irish Sea. It was
during his first position in Turkey that he met Polly,
and they began working together. Tom’s passion
for water sports does not stop at sailing. He enjoys
snorkelling, windsurfing, wake boarding and being a
Padi Dive master, he particularly loves diving.
Polly also grew up in England in the Sussex
countryside. After leaving college, Polly’s bubbly
personality took her to work in a sailing resort in
Turkey where her great love of water sports introduced
her to Tom, and the perfect partnership was formed.
On returning to England she followed a specialist course
to become a yacht chef and she has now combined her
passion for good food with her enthusiasm for sailing.
Polly strives for perfection every time
she's in the galley. She is happy to learn new dishes
and create culinary delights to make your stay on her
yacht nothing but memorable. As well as being an excellent
chef and hostess, Polly also has sailing qualifications
that enable her to teamwork with Tom. Polly loves all
water sports particularly kayaking and snorkeling.
While working in the British Virgin Islands,
Polly learned to dive and this soon became another of
her favorite sports. She too is a Padi Dive Master and
together with Tom she looks forward to share the underwater
world with you. When on land, Tom and Polly enjoy playing
volleyball, mountain-boarding and sometimes just relaxing!
Tom and Polly enjoy an adventure. Together they have
sailed in the Mediterranean, Aegean, Ionian and Adriatic
seas. They have recently traveled 4000km around India
staying in the Kanha Tiger Reserve, where they experienced
the jungle by ‘elephantback’, then traveled
north to Jaipur, Delhi and Agra, to see the Taj Mahal,
and finally south along the west coast to Goa and Mumbai.
Tom and Polly have been working together
on boats as flotilla captain and hostess in The Mediterranean
since 2006 and also in British Virgin Island where they
have also been running a term charter catamaran together
for more than a year, prior to crewing on Quest. Tom
and Polly look forward to welcoming you aboard Quest
for an exciting and relaxing vacation that you will
never forget.
