Meet the owners and staff onboard NAI'A as well as on shore in Fiji.
NAI'A is owned and managed by myself, Rob Barrel, and my sister and
brother-in-law, Alexx and Todd Edwards. Our formative years were spent
languishing amid Hawaii's island treasures before attending college
on the mainland. After two years on the pre-law track at Harvard,
a serendipitous confluence of coincidence led me to take a one-year
leave-of-absence to sail around the world. I didn't make it past the
South Pacific, the one-year leave stretched into 11 years as opportunities
more enticing than study and politics kept breezing in.
I finally returned to college in 1988, this time at the University
of California, Santa Cruz, where I studied dolphin behavior with Dr.
Ken Norris. Although my return to college was interrupted by several
6-month yacht deliveries, I eventually graduated with highest honors
in anthropology. NAI'A was conceived as part of that graduation thesis:
the ideal floating laboratory from which to apply anthropological
tools to observe and understand a community of wild dolphins, or other
cetaceans. There are many elements involved in making that dream come
true, only two of which are a University degree and a 120ft ship.
Meanwhile Todd and Alexx, married, built their home on an island in
a lake in the middle of nowhere and began raising two children, Brigg
and Wrenn. Thus perfectly suited for a hectic life in a third-world
country, Todd and Alexx came to Fiji shortly after NAI'A did in 1992
to help rebuild her. They have been running the shore side of the
project ever since our first charter in July 1993.
Next came the final ring-in for the NAI'A home team, Cat Holloway.
Originally an Aussie water-baby, Cat learned to scuba dive in PNG
when she was 17 and she has been working in or around the dive industry
ever since, previous to joining NAI'A, she was editor of the Scuba
Diver Australasia. After exploring many of the Asia-Pacific's hottest
destinations, including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Great Barrier
Reef, Vanuatu, Tonga, Thailand and the Solomon Islands, Cat finally
visited Fiji in January 1996 to write about NAI'A and the Fiji experience.
So taken with it all she never went home, except briefly to pack up
her dog, Levi, before returning to settle in Fiji with NAI'A, her
beloved marine creatures and me.
During the 10 years that Cat and I ran NAI'A, some said we were irreplaceable. Then we started a family and hired good people into our jobs on the boat and – what do you know – they did just fine! Even better in many ways, though I hate to admit it! We looked for the best cruise directors in the industry and found them. Sam and Brigitte have worked together in Indonesia, the Red Sea, are the Caribbean for many years and they bring a wealth of experience and excitement to the job. They tell me it is a special treat to work with a professional crew who know their jobs and don’t need to be constantly managed, which allows them to focus on the passengers and on finding new and interesting critters.
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Ship's crew |
The core of the NAI'A family is her Fijian crew. On each charter, you'll be cared for by the friendliest and most able sailors anywhere. Fijians are among the warmest, most welcoming people on earth, so it is no wonder that NAI'A's clients consistently rate the crew as the very best in the business. Crew members are John - Captain, Jioji - Chief Officer, Vanna - Cadet Engineer, Mo - Bosun, Ed - A.B., Richard - Divemaster, Rusi - Relieving Dive Guide, Peni - Chef, Sereana - Relieving Asst. Chef/Steward, Suliana - Asst. Chef/Steward. Check out the complete crew photo album.
Back on shore, our office staff keeps the business and travel logistics aspects of NAI'A running smoothly, ensuring NAI'A passengers are handled with care from start to finish along with the unpredictable details that crop up in between. When you contact us in Fiji, you'll likely first meet Mike - Sales and Administration Manager, Mua - Travel Manager, Joeli - Travel Coordinator or Roneel - Accountant. Behind every delicious meal, full SCUBA tank and flushing loo is our SOS ship maintenance and turn-around team consisting of John Gopal - Operations Supervisor, Hussain - Provisions and Purchasing Officer and Rakesh - Driver.
Finally, but just as crucially, are Jane Titley and Lisa Dunlop. Jane handles our booking payments through our US office in Arizona. While our webmaster Lisa, keeps this enormous and beautiful site in check as a resource for clients all over the world.
Center: Joeli, Hussain, Roneel.
Bottom: Mua
