Our Crew

We feel quite fortunate to have such great crew members on our team! Here is a little more about them:

Carl Williams
Captain

Carl brings over 20 years of experience on the water to Island Adventures. He has Captained whale watching boats in Hawaii, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest. His passion and enthusiasm for the whales and wildlife shows through on every tour! When Carl is not running a tour, or making sure the Island Explorer 3 is absolutely spotless, he spends time with his wife and son (Captain-in-training seen in photo) and also enjoys hiking!

Michael Colahan
Captain         

Michael loves to be on the water!

His favorite boat to drive is the

Island Explorer 3 - but he was

recently seen driving an

Elephant somewhere in

Southeast Asia! Michael brings

a great amount of local experience to Island Adventures from running high-end tours through the Inside Passage and he is an excellent host of your tour! He spends his free time travelling the World and camping with his wife who studies marine biology!

 

James Aggergaard
Captain

Captain Jim has lived in the Anacortes/San Juan Island area most of his life. After serving in the Navy, he started his 30-year career as a Fish & Wildlife Officer with the Department of Fish and Wildlife in Washington State. Most of his work was based in the San Juan Islands and surrounding areas which gave him an extensive knowledge of this area and of the local wildlife. Jim welcomes challenging questions and loves to share his knowledge with others.

Jim is an active grandfather of seven. When he isn’t with the kids you can usually find him out on the water in his boat the Trophy Hunter. He also runs his own fishing charter company, Catchmore Charters, out of Anacortes.

Jami Nagel
Naturalist

Jami grew up in western Washington and has developed an extreme love for the area and it’s wildlife, especially Orca whales. She holds a degree in Biology with a marine emphasis from Western Washington University. Jami has volunteered for the Orca Adoption Program and the Soundwatch Boater Education Program for the Whale Museum on San Juan Island. Jami has also participated in Minke whale research here in the islands. You’ll see Jami helping guests in our store and on the boat as a naturalist and crew. She can also be seen with her camera near by as she is a budding photographer. www.northwestwhalephotography.com

Bart Rulon
Naturalist & Professional Photographer

Professional wildlife artist and photographer, Bart Rulon, has been a part time naturalist for Island Adventures since the year 2000. It only took Bart one trip as a customer of Island Adventures to know that he wanted to work with them as a naturalist in order to see more of the whales. His first experience with wild orcas came on a sea kayak trip he took in the 1990’s with two friends. Bart recalled “ We circumnavigated the San Juan Islands and spent two days with the orcas. I was totally in awe, and knew that I had to spend more time with the orcas in the future. Island Adventures gave me that opportunity, and I’m out here because I love it.”

Bart’s interest in wildlife started as a child, and he knew early on that he wanted to work with wild animals in some way as an adult. Typically Bart travels on several extended adventures per year to research and photograph wild animals for his realistic paintings, including places like Africa, India, South America, and Alaska. Bart says “I’ve come face to face with wild tigers in India, lions, leopards, and Cheetahs in Africa, Grizzly bears and wolves in Alaska, but seeing orcas on a daily basis will always be a thrill for me.”

Bart’s award winning artwork and photography has been exhibited in over 45 of the finest museums and galleries in the United States, Canada, Sweden, England, and Japan. He has written and illustrated 5 books about wildlife art and photography. Bart is a faculty member of the University of Washington and he teaches in their Scientific Illustration program. His artwork, photography, and books can be found in the Island Adventure Center and online at www.bartrulon.com.

Sam Cole
Office Manager & Reservations

Sam brings a world of experience to Island Adventures! He fills every role necessary and is a real team player. Sam is originally from Bainbridge Island and lived in California while attending USC. He has spent most of his life working as a pilot and enjoying the outdoors in his free time. His love for boating and whales brought him back to the northwest and he has found a new passion for our local wildlife.

Tracy Cole
Retail/Office Manager & Reservations

Tracy has been with Island Adventures for 7 years now and is an integral part of the team. She brings her creativity to life as our merchandiser and introduces new items to the gift shop regularly. In her free time she enjoys jewelry and bead work, which is top quality and highly sought after! Yoga and her German Shepherd take up much of her free time.

Becky Aggergaard
Reservations

After a 25-year career as a Human Resources and Customer Service Manager, Becky tries to get out of the office and enjoy the whales as much as possible. She has been studying the genealogy of the orcas, and enjoys all the San Juan Islands have to offer. Becky and her husband Jim enjoy traveling and visit Hawaii almost every year and work on their tans. She has lived in the northwest for about 35 years now and thus has extensive knowledge of the area. When you call, she can give you tips about that special restaurant you are looking for or can tell you about her favorite hideaway beach. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and would be glad to help with hotel/motel suggestions and other tourist information.

Vicki Kirkland
Naturalist

Drew Kelly
Naturalist and Crew

Drew has lived in Anacortes most of his life. He fell in love with the San Juan Islands and all the wildlife after joining Island Adventures in 2005. He attended Eastern Washington University this past year, but missed the islands and the area too much. He now attends Whatcom College in Bellingham where he will study physical therapy while continuing to work for Island Adventures. Drew loves to hike, camp, hunt, fish and play sports.

Kate Janes
Naturalist and Crew

Kate is a recent transplant to the Pacific Northwest from Minnesota. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in natural resources with an emphasis in fish and wildlife ecology & management from Northland College in Wisconsin. New to the wonderful world of whales, Kate has a strong background in the lower rings of the food chain from her time spent with the Indiana DNR, Wisconsin DNR, Idaho Fish & Game, USGS and Underwater Adventures Aquarium. This student of life now finds herself an addict to the wildlife, the landscape and the people of this place.

Julie VanQuickenborne
Office/Reservations

Julie is a Skagit Valley native but has lived in Japan, Maryland, California and Argentina. After all of her travels though, she chose to settle back here in Anacortes because she believes the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest cannot be rivaled. Julie has a degree in Youth Ministry. When she’s not helping people at Island Adventures’ gift shop or serving as crew on the boats, Julie enjoys hiking, gardening and spending time with her family.

Brooke McKinley
Crew and Office

Brooke has lived in Anacortes for the past 8 years and has loved living here amongst these beautiful islands brimming with wildlife. Brooke graduated with a BA in Sociology and a minor in French from Western Washington University in March. She plans to go the south of France to teach English for 7 months this fall and return just in time for next season. She is also a barista at a local coffee shop. Brooke’s interests include: photography, volleyball, reading and traveling. She loves boating with her family and spending time with the whales. She can’t wait for you to experience our beautiful corner of the world!

Amanda Kelly
Crew and Office

This is Amanda’s first year at Island Adventures and she is very excited! She is going into her senior year at Anacortes High School and is the youngest member of the Island Adventures staff. She has been a basketball player all her life and still loves going out and playing one on one against her big brother Drew who also works at Island Adventures. Amanda loves to have fun and is excited to learn more exciting things about the wildlife. She also loves to meet new people. She is glad to be apart of the Island Adventures family.

Caitlin Schegel
Crew and Office

Caitlin was introduced to Island Adventures about 10 years ago, and is excited to be a part of the crew as of this spring. She is currently attending Carson-Newman College in Tennessee to study exercise science and play volleyball, but is happy to be back in her hometown of Anacortes for the summer. She enjoys the outdoors and is very excited to learn more about the whales and local wildlife as the summer goes on.

Mark Kratzer
Crew

Mark moved from Oregon to open an espresso shop with his wife. He loves the outdoors, so is elated to be working with Island Adventures. His hobbies are fishing, hunting, racquetball, handball, bowling, golfing and flying.