Growing up on Long Island, New York, Austen was a shoe in-for the sailing life. At the age of eight, he would sail across Northport Bay to visit the town’s general store as he was too young to drive. At the age of ten, he became involved with competitive sailboat racing and soon became an Optimist class national champion. Since then, he has gone on to many other classes of sailboats and filled skipper, crew and coaching roles. After graduating from Hobart William Smith College, where he captained the sailing team, he decided to work and live in the Virgin Islands for a year. There he learned the ins and outs of island life — as well as the best sailing, mooring and dining options. After a year learning the charter trade, he moved back to New York to work in his family’s tool manufacturing business. While running the company’s operations, he spent any extra time he had, including vacation days, professionally racing Etchells sailboats in all parts of the world. But his days in the Virgin Islands would stay with him, and the pristine beaches and eclectic life on the islands would always find a way back into his daydreams. Little did he expect, in 2018 the family would decide to move its business to Florida where he would meet Philomena, a happy go lucky water woman who also had dreams of island life. Philomena grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she spent her weekends cooking, snorkeling and learning to free dive with her father. At age seven, she was diving in the Bahamas for sunken airplane wrecks as deep as 60 feet. Eventually, she learned to surf overhead waves and became obsessed with being an all-around water woman. While in high school she became interested in photography and spent a good portion of four years in the dark room. She followed this with a semester working in a California color dark room, an education at Daytona State and internships with four very different photographers. During this time, she also became interested in where her food came from and arranged to spend her summers doing a work internship on a small organic farm in Colorado. As she became a passionate foodie, she experimented with all kinds of diets — from grass fed elk to raw vegan cuisine, she grew it, cooked it, photographed it, served it and lived it. In 2018 she moved to New Smyrna Beach to continue surfing and diving while also climbing the ladder from food prep cook to bartender. She also became a full time wedding and event photographer. Austen had tried asking her out one night while she was bartending, but was turned down — little did she know, almost a year later they would become a couple. Not only would Austen help convince her to go back to school for a culinary arts degree, but they would also agree to a life on the water showing guests the beauties of the ocean and food. Today, Austen and Philomena run the Charter Vicarious business together. Whether you want complete silence or an outgoing adventurous island experience, these two are your crew

Why the boat name: Vicarious- adj: experienced or realized through imaginative or sympathetic participation in the experience of another. We believe that aside from water, food, shelter, exercise, and nature the most important necessity in human existence is connection. On our boat we strive to not only provide the best water, food, and shelter but most importantly we love to build community and opportunities for you to connect with your loved ones and friends. When you join us on an adventure through the Caribbean you will experience storytelling between the crew, your guests, eat local food, and an eco-friendly off grid living experience. All of which is designed to bring you Vicariously closer to nature, yourself, and most importantly your loved ones. ***CREW IS FULLY VACCINATED FOR COVID-19****