Captain Red is the best of the best -- knows his stuff and obviously very committed to customer safety and experience.
James Palkovic
The Vessels
Blackbeard’s cruises are delivered on one of our two 65′ diving liveaboard sailboats, the Sea Explorer and the Morning Star.
- Exceptional oceanfront and island views
- Dining – picnic-style outdoors in the horseshoe or inside near the kitchen (galley)
- Bunks – beds come in doubles and singles as uppers or lowers
- Bathrooms (heads) – small and shared with your mates
- Showers – hot water and long showers are a luxury – enjoy them before you arrive
- Kitchen (galley) – yes, a compact space where all your meals are prepped. We’re serious.
Don’t pack tons of clothes. We’d rather have room to store all the food we’ll eat each trip.
Our dinghies are our transportation to and from islands.
Meet Our Crew
Chris
Captain
Chris Hales was born and raised in the cool waters of San Diego. Whether it was fishing, free diving, or surfing he could always be found on the Ocean in his free time. Working his way into the maritime industry he spent the rest of his time refurbishing small vessels till he had a ship large enough to travel the high seas. Chris spent many years chasing Tuna up and down the Northern Coast of Baja, Coronado Islands, and Channel Islands till he found his Pirate calling with Blackbeards Cruises. Trading his cold water fishing expeditions for warm crystal clear teal blue waters of the Bahamas, Chris started with the company as an Engineer. Eventually working his way to Captaincy and helping out his fellow crew members as Personnel Director.
Jen
Captain
Jen is originally from Germany and started of as a Carpenter for private Yachts. She fell in love with diving and has been traveling full time for 11 years. She has been with the company since 2019, starting off on Aqua Cat as Dive Instructor. After 2 years, she gave engineering a try on the mighty Cat Ppalu. Learning all the new things about Watermakers and Engines she figured she should go ahead and do her Captains license as well. After running the Mates role for a short time she got the opportunity to take over Sea Explorer as a full time Captain in 2023. Since then she has been running her and teaching the new crew Members how to find their way around the boat. 2024 she explored the wild white boat Yachting Industry as a second Engineer. But she realized that she misses the true Pirates life and joined us again in 2025 to train the new uprising Captains in the Company.
Tristan
Captain and First Mate
Tristan got his love for the ocean from growing up so close to the beautiful waters of South Africa near Durbin. He got into cooking when he took a job as a waiter during the summers. He started cooking for family and friends when not working and just grew to love it more and more. Eventually, he decided to combine the two things that he really liked to do, which was boating and cooking. When not in the kitchen he can be found blowing bubbles.
Kelton
Engineer
Kelton grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico- 800 miles of desert away from the nearest ocean. His love for the sea came from family trips to Barbados and California. At 21, he left home for sunny San Diego, where he took up surfing, sailing, paddle boarding, kite boarding, and eventually diving. He joined our Engineering team when he realized the only thing holding him back from more time on the water was having to go home at night to sleep in a bed on land! He can usually be coaxed out of the water with the promise of world travel, a good book, or trading stories with this week’s new batch of divers. His favorite aquatic animal is a balloonfish, because they always look like they’re smiling! Fun fact- his name is Scottish for “a place where ships are built”
Chris
Chef and Engineer
I grew up in Plettenberg Bay South Africa. As a kid I loved going to the beach with friends and playing soccer in the sand. The first sea creature I ever saw I jokingly called an Elephant Shark. I later came to find out that there actually was an elephant fish. I took a cooking class that was offered in high school and my life was forever changed. I fell in love with cooking and the joy that it spreads. After high school I went into hotel management and started cooking full time and have not looked back since. It gives me great joy to see the happiness that a good meal can bring someone!
Carson
Chef and Engineer
Carson joins us from Auburn, a college town in Alabama, home of the Auburn Tigers! Before finding a love for diving, he was a student at Auburn University bouncing around between majors starting with Horticulture and leaving from the Anthropology department He likes to spend time playing guitar, gardening, drafting architectural prints for the family business, or working on his 1984 Jeep CJ7. He has traveled around the states seeing both coasts and frequent beach towns throughout the state of Florida. His favorite journeys were spent in Honduras, Mexico, and the Bahamas. The porcupine puffer fish is his favorite critter and holds that spot because of one lucky dive in the Florida Keys. Me and this beautiful fish spent 45 minutes cruising until it circled back to its crevice on the reef. Quiz:
Two truths and a lie:
- He performed on the stage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
- He is related to one of the most prolific bank robbers in Alabama’s history.
- His favorite snack at the gas station is a Honey Bun.
Gunnar
Chef
In his inaugural journey beyond South Africa, Gunnar navigates the vibrant landscapes of Florida, USA, and the captivating Bahamas. He finds joy in both the art of cooking and savoring prawns. On a more enchanting note, the graceful presence of sea turtles never ceases to captivate him. Additionally, Gunnar holds a profound respect for all species of sharks, recognizing them as the true alphas of the sea. Their assertiveness, heightened senses, and remarkable strength make these creatures truly awe-inspiring.
In a past life, Gunnar wore the hat of a Pro Bodyboarder in Ballito, KZN, South Africa. The journey since has seen him transition from the realms of IT to entrepreneurship and, currently, as sea crew, with aspirations to venture into the culinary world as a chef.
In the pursuit of personal growth and fulfillment, Gunnar has discovered that it’s never too late to reinvent oneself. His journey has been marked by challenges and life-changing experiences, yet he has conquered every obstacle life has thrown his way, and there have been many. Now, Gunnar is returning to his deep-rooted passion for the ocean, prepared to wholeheartedly dedicate himself to the new challenges that lie ahead.
Tyrone
Dive Instructor and Engineer
Tyron was raised and brought up in South Africa. He loves the ocean since he has been been a child and that’s what has brought him here. He has been diving since 2018 which has given him time for figuring out what his favourite aquatic animal is which is all the nudibranch in the world. His older brother Tristan has been working with Blackbeard’s already for a while as a cook and thought Tyron would be a great addition to the team. Fishing is one of his biggest passion and his favourite colour is green.
Sophia
Dive Instructor
Sophia, better known as Sophrita, is originally from Atlanta, Georgia and later moved to Auburn, Alabama to continue her studies. She found her love for the ocean and diving pretty young when her father first took her diving at age thirteen and has since become a PADI and SSI diving instructor sharing that passion with every person she encounters. Fish nerd and animal lover in general (especially when it comes to her dog Goose), you will most likely see her attached to a reef encyclopedia and gushing about all the animals you’ll get to see on the dive if you are ever lucky enough to have her as your dive master on board for the week.
Candela
Chef
Candela comes from one of the world’s famous and historic culinary regions, and lucky for us she’s here to cook! Her home in Galicia Spain lies near the fated “Costa del Muerte” or coast of death for those unfamiliar with the Spanish language. Believe it or not, the diving on the coast of death is quite difficult and dangerous. Because of this she moved to the lovely Mexican seaside and has dedicated her time to the education of others, as well as herself, within the dive industry. A welcome presence within the galley and soon to be PADI Instructor and Dive Master, Candela is a fantastic addition to the crew keep an eye out for her on your next Blackbeard’s Cruise.
Josh
Dive Instructor
My name is Josh Peters and I am originally from an island off the coast of Georgia called St. Simons but have lived all over the world. I originally went to college to be a literature teacher but life took me elsewhere career wise. I finally landed on being a diving instructor, which has been the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. I speak English, some Spanish and am fluent in southern. When I’m not diving I like to spend my time surfing, hiking, reading, traveling and spending time with my family. I have been all over the world both traveling and living. My favorite ocean animal is the manta ray because of how graceful they are in the water. Fun fact about me: my first language is German even though I can no longer speak it.
Tom
Dive Instructor and Engineer
Tom comes from the beautiful, but not always sunny, England. He craved some more sun and tropical waters so he picked up and left the UK, and travelled all the way to the Caribbean. He ended up settling down at a reef restoration program in Mahahual, Mexico. During his time there and many restoration projects, Tom found his love for the ocean and its creatures, especially the coral he spent years trying to protect and restore. He made a home there, met a girl and even adopted a few dogs. Eventually, he came out to Blackbeard’s as a guest, and realized life on island-time was not suiting him, he wanted a life at sea. The rest is history! Tom applied as a DM and was the lead DM on Sea Explorer for a year. He did amazing work during his time on deck, and trained the newer dive masters along the way. He has since moved on to learning the engineer’s role onboard! Tom is witty, very knowledgeable, a great teacher. He is well loved by his fellow crewmates. He visits home in Mahahual often, and also loves to travel to see his favorite bands play live, and to explore other oceans. His favorite marine animal is the Pillar Coral, and he is always a pleasure to chat with about its importance in our reef systems, and just in general!
We Are Now Hiring
We are always looking for adventurous
individuals to join the team.
Life on board is hard work but very rewarding-
send in your application today!
Dive instructors, chefs,
and engineer positions available.
