Crew Profile
| Captain Name:
|
Kyle Billik |
| Number of Crew: |
2 |
Crew Profile:
Dropping everything in your life and sailing away to a distant exotic paradise is a thought many people have from time to time; Vivo's Captain Kyle took an idyllic daydream and made it a reality. After purchasing a classic sailboat, Summerwind, in New York he took on the arduous and extensive task of repairs and restorations. Waving good-bye to his home port of Charleston, South Carolina his expedition to explore the Caribbean and the world began; but he decided to compete for the Guinness record for the slowest trip around the world so they are in no rush!
Captain Kyle grew up on boats and the nautical life became his passion. His mother is a hundred ton masters captain as is Kyle's grandfather. He comes from a long lineage of sea-faring folk and spent the majority of his childhood and teenage years apprenticing aboard various vessels. Sailing the Bahamas in his teenage years Kyle quickly became aware that he wanted to make sailing and traveling his life ambition.
Leaving Charleston in March of 2014, he sailed extensively throughout the Bahamas and spent a good bit of time in the out islands before exploring the Providenciales of the picturesque Turks and Caicos. The next stop on his unbeknownst path was the Dominican Republic; he lived in Luperon for a year and ventured through a majority of the country via motorcycle and Jeep. As charming as the DR was, Summerwind was not ready to grow an eco system on her hull, so Puerto Rico was next! Sailing the south shore brought some fantastic fishing and beautiful sights.
Throughout his travels he has made friends, sampled interesting cuisines, and partaken in cultural celebrations. Realizing he had some substantial repairs to attend to on Summerwind, St Croix, USVI became their place of residence for six months until he could sail to their next island St. John, USVI. It is at this point that Kyle was hired to be the next crew of Vivo, as his knowledge of the islands, adventurous spirits were considered to be the ideal assets for a captain serving charter guests.
Katie comes from the Chicago area in the Midwest with a great passion for food, travel and an active lifestyle. She grew up near the lake and would spend summers on the Illinois River and Lake Michigan. She spent a year studying abroad in France, where she truly developed a love of cooking and French wine. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a BA in French and Francophone studies. After college, she spent her time teaching yoga and fitness classes in Chicago as a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher as well as a Personal Trainer. Katie yearned for more travel in her life though, so she moved to NYC in 2013 to work as a flight attendant for a major global airline. Traveling the world has allowed her to experience many flavors and cultures all across the globe. Katie speaks French, Spanish, Italian and Brazilian Portuguese. She enjoys creating dishes that are both flavorful, unique and healthy, by using fresh, local ingredients whenever possible. Katie is delighted to share her passions with guests to create an unforgettable adventure aboard Vivo.
