About Us

Captain Gregory Pogan grew up with a love of the water. From childhood his family owned a boat, and summer vacations were spent at Lake Cumberland, KY. At the tender age of five years old “Pogan” as he likes to be called, learned to help his dad steer the family pontoon boat.

Pogan first visited St Thomas in the summer of 1998, to witness a wedding. Falling in love with the islands, he did not waste any time, and moved to St Thomas in the fall of 1998. Originally from Ohio, Pogan studied Management and Marketing at Ashland University, but after working on land in St Thomas for two years, he realized that his passion was for boating and the sea. Pogan earned his USCG 100 Ton Captain’s License in 2001, and quickly set about trading his 9 to 5 job for a life of freedom and adventure on the sea.

Captain Pogan has spent the last 15 years exploring the waters of the Virgin Islands as a charter captain and rescue diver. Pogan loves nothing more than to be out on the water, with visitors and locals alike, sharing the beautiful sights, abundant nature, and amazing stories he has collected over the years about our local Caribbean islands. Laid back, professional, and knowledgeable are some terms frequently used to describe his personality. Captain Pogan looks forward to helping Safari’s guests have experiences and create memories that they will treasure for a lifetime!

Captain Gregory Pogan was Seas the Day Charters very first Captain in the USVI.  He was a friend and a colleague as well as our Captain.  In December of 2021, Captain Pogan set sail for Ultima Thule.  He is missed daily.

Captain Wallens is originally from Buffalo, New York but doesn’t enjoy snow and cold so he moved to South Florida in his early twenties after college. He began traveling back and forth between Nantucket, Massachusetts and Palm Beach seasonally. He had a natural passion for wine and studied to become a certified level 2 master sommelier and traveled all over the country designing wine lists and selling wine. He worked in Hawaii, Key West and Denver before he finally landed in St Thomas. Eventually he retired from the restaurant industry to pursue his true passion, boating. Captain Wallens now holds a USCG 100 ton masters license with sailing endorsement. He has worked on all different types of vessels from small powerboats, to 65 ft catamarans, to ferry boats. He loves sea life and snorkeling and is extremely knowledgeable about the coral throughout the USVI. Let him show you the best of the best here!

Born in Kennesaw, Georgia she found her love of the water at an early age. Alicia spent her summers on the water, either at Lake Wedowee, Alabama and/or in the beautiful Caribbean waters. As a teenager, Alicia worked as a lifeguard for local pools, as well as providing swim lessons for children. You will find that she enjoys spending time in the water snorkeling for starfish and octopus, and she never turns down an opportunity to free dive with an underwater camera. To say she is a mermaid, is an understatement. With her PADI Open Water certification, Alicia loves to dive and explore the underwater world. You may see her snorkeling and taking photos of guests enjoying their own underwater experience so they may have photos to look back on their memories made.

Captain Alex grew up very much in the outdoors of Wisconsin’s forests, lakes and marshlands. At one point in time his Dad was the president of Northland Cranberry Juice, and he helped flood the bogs and push the floating berries onto the conveyor to the waiting trucks. A dramatic turn in his life was the decision to decline his enrollment invitation to the Air Force Academy; all of his stacked cards fell to the ground. He moved to Alaska to attempt homesteading, failed, and then to Boston where he was cradled by the historic culture of sailing. Boats, boats, boats . . . His meandering path included Tall-Ship tenures along the Eastern Seaboard, the Florida Keys, Lake Michigan and whale watching in Whittier, Alaska. Now for more than 10 years, St. Thomas has been his home and is the birthplace of his four beautiful children. He’s proud to honor the tradition of our Islanders’ expectations of hospitality and allow his talents as a mariner and explorer to guide his guests’ experience to be one of awe.

Christy is originally from Houston, Texas. She learned to sail at the age of 11 down on Galveston Bay and has been sailing ever since with friends and family. She decided to move to the islands to get paid for her favorite hobby and is currently working on getting her captain’s license. She studied marine science in college, so be sure to ask her all of your fish identification questions!

One with the turtles, kin to the dolphins and forever courting whales; Captain AnneMarie is your mermaid from another hermaid! Hailing from Texas she’s naturally full-of-bull, but man she’s got some stories. Some of them are true. AnneMarie found herself marooned in the Caribbean twelve years ago and has been doing her best to entertain folks and keep her boat on the top side of the water ever since. Her tons of experience, and being a for-real pirate makes Captain AnneMarie a hoot and a half to go swashbuckling with.

JW moved to the Virgin Islands to try and find a better life after graduating college right when the economic recession hit in 2008. After working for several years he left to pursue his dream of working with exotic animals. In between stints of working with big cats and elephants, he would return to the VI to soak up the warm sun and cool vibes. The 2 category 5 hurricanes swept him off the island for a couple years. When he returned he got into marine salvage and from there, transitioned to working as crew for Seas the Day.

After years of searching the globe, Captain Bryan has found his happy place on the gorgeous waters of the Virgin Islands. His wanderlust led him through Mexico and Chile where he worked as a volunteer; England and Spain where he studied philosophy and law; the tundra of Chicago, Illinois where he endured a desk job for eleven years; and Alaska where he tried his hand as a commercial salmon fisherman. Two years after moving to St. Thomas, hurricanes Irma and Maria gave him his “category-5 nudge” to follow his dream of becoming a captain and he has not looked back. Let Captain Bryan show you why he has fallen in love with the Caribbean! Something you might not know about Bryan: While in Chicago, Bryan was an avid triathlete, competing in over 25 races, including 3 Ironman competitions (1.2 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run).

Born and raised on this beautiful island known as St.Thomas, USVI, Nate is free spirited, super cool and down to earth. Nate has worked as an audio engineer throughout Central Florida and has a background in high-voltage electrical work on our sister island, St. Croix, USVI. However, nothing can compare to the special love that he has in his heart for jet skis and life on the water, which led him to begin this journey as your crew and soon-to-be captain. He enjoys the island breeze, snorkeling and witnessing the islands’ sea life. He values making every encounter a great one and enjoys seeing everyone around him happy, he is excited to welcome you to Seas the Day.

Captain Greg has been in the Virgin Islands for over a decade. Marketing and HR Consulting was not his passion, so as a hobby, he became a SCUBA Instructor which opened a desire to be on the ocean. This passion is what motivated him to relocate to the islands and start working in the dive industry. In 2017, he earned his Masters Mariner Credential and recently he completed his STCW II/3 which is an international endorsement. Captain Greg and his wife, Amari, call St. Thomas their island home and love to introduce guests to the island way of life. Welcome to our islands!

McKenna has a degree in Social Work and Psychology but has always had a love for being on the water. After she graduated she moved to the USVI to escape the cold and quickly fell in love with being in the ocean and on boats. Even on her days off you can usually find her at the beach or on hikes around the islands. She has been with Seas the Day since the summer of 2022 and plans to continue crewing until eventually obtaining her Captain’s license.

Captain Hillary grew up in Richmond, Virginia. After graduating from George Mason University she travelled throughout South Africa and Southeast Asia and later lived in Thailand working as a divemaster. After Thailand, she lived in Europe before returning to America and attending graduate school at the Monterey Institute of International Studies. In 2002, she received a Master’s of International Environmental Policy with a concentration on small island developing countries. This led her to the United States Virgin Islands where she worked on island-specific environmental issues. Her interest in the marine environment led to her career on boats and sharing her knowledge of the marine environment. Hillary holds a 100T USCG Captain’s license and after almost two decades serving as both captain and crew, the yachting industry is her career. When she is not working she enjoys international travel, gardening, ethnic cooking and working with rescue animals.

Sonni spent her young years in the farmlands of Upstate New York. The cold winters and name “Sonni” never seemed to align, so she followed her dreams and the setting sun to the West Coast, landing in San Diego, California. There, she felt the Pacific was too cold and menacing so again she followed her sun, this time to the Caribbean. After she arrived, she spent too many hours sitting at her desk-job, arguing about the color blue and staring at the sea. She quickly left the marketing world behind and found her passion on the water. Every day is an adventure and another chance to search for the elusive octopus.

Captain Jason grew up on the Gulf Coast of Florida and spent 12 years traveling around the world. After all that exploring, he moved back to St. Thomas because it’s hard to find water like this anywhere else. If he’s not working on the water, you will find him enjoying it on his days off. Once you get salt water in your blood it never comes out.

Captain Maddy spent 10 years of her childhood living on a 50 ft sailboat in the BVI and is always on, or in, the water! Her professional career started in 2011 as a deckhand/ dive instructor. She has traveled all over the world and has captained 50-60 ft catamarans, monohulls and powerboats. She also worked as a deckhand and mate on super yachts for about 4 years in the waters everywhere from Spain to Abu Dhabi. If she’s not at work sailing around you can find her free diving, hiking or at the bar!

Captain Ralph is a lifelong sailor and has spent the last 25 years as a professional captain. He holds a Master 500 ton rating, with sailing, domestic and international STCW endorsements. His greatest pleasure is at the helm of the 148 ft tall ship, Windy, sailing the Inland Sea off the coast of Chicago, IL. Over the last 22 years, he has spent each winter sailing in the Bahamas, and now it is the time for new adventures in the USVI. Carpe diem!

Coming straight outta St. John, Valekai, commonly known as “Vall-e”, will man the helm, and will also be your personal lifeguard and DJ combo-pack. Born and raised in the VI, his knowledge of the islands is extensive, his party playlist expansive and his Rum Punch is slightly aggressive. All the things you’ll need for the best day of your vacation.

Pat was born in Western New York and majored in Hospitality at Broward College in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He has spent almost 50 years in the restaurant business, starting out as a bartender working in many positions and then worked his way up to V.P. of Operations for Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He retired from the hospitality business in December 2019 and then started with Seas the Day in January of 2020. Pat and his wife enjoy traveling and boating and have owned five of their own boats.

Year round warm weather, tasty island drinks and the clear, turquoise water inspired Hope to make St. Thomas her permanent home after only one week on vacation to the Virgin Islands. Since leaving California in 2017, Hope has spent her time honing her bartending skills, earning her Master Captain’s license and spending hundreds of days on the water learning about exactly what it takes to show guests the BEST day of their vacation! In early 2022, Hope joined Seas the Day’s “behind-the-scenes” team and now serves as our Director of Guest Services. She now spends her time working with guests before their vacation to ensure a perfect day! Her tan might be fading, but her passion for the marine industry and creating lifelong memories is unwavering. Call Hope to plan the amazing boat day you’ve always dreamed about!