Descended from the Jardim's of Madeira via Guyana and the Grimes-Graeme's from England via Canada, Roddy is an island boy through and through with 3 generations of family history in Antigua. His Gradfather, John Jardim first came to the island in the 1940's to run Antigua Distillery, which at that time still grew and pressed its own sugarcane, fermented the cane juice, aged it in oak barrels made at the estate and then distributed the resulting Cavalier Rum throughout the island and the region.
Roddy's mom was born in St. John's during this posting and when his parents left Guyana in 1978, Antigua was the natural place for the young family to emigrate. So at age 4, with parents, Grandparents and younger brother John, his Antiguan Adventure began. The clear seawater immediately made an impression - the swimming creeks and rivers in Guyana had been brown and murky, so seeing their own toes through blue seawater was the first of many thrills the young brothers enjoyed in Antigua's waters.
The family started a business selling Yamaha outboard engines, motorbikes and other goods. Naturally, the business needed an outboard boat to inspire confidence in their customers so with their dad, the boys had an early and comprehensive introduction to the waters around Antigua on camping and fishing trips. Marine life and ecosystems held an immediate attraction and Roddy started early to learn all he could about the rich array of wildlife on and around Antigua. Working at a dive shop provided him with a wealth of underwater experience at an early age and complemented what he'd learned from camping, diving and fishing since he was young.
During his High School years, windsurfing became a veritable addiction and he quickly lost interest in such mundane pursuits as soccer, tennis, squash and doing well in school. With Eli and the rest of the windsurfing crew, the freedom of cruising at dolphin speeds over turqoise waters to deserted islands, the exhilaration of jumping from and riding huge atlantic swells and the camaraderie of sharing it all with friends became the focus of teenage life. The same rythms later extended to surfing, wakeboarading, kitesurfing and more as new avenues of exploration presented themselves. During these years, he developed a sense of the value being able to share experiences with people.
After graduating with the class of 1989 at St Joseph's academy Roddy furthered his secondary education at the Millbrook boarding school in upstate New York where he continued to learn about the natural world through the school's excellent biology courses, on campus zoo and birdbanding program. It was also the place where he first nurtured his interest in photography and started his collection of images. With its demanding academics, Millbrook helped make up the grade deficit incurred in Antiguan high school and Roddy was accepted to the Marine Biology program at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia in eastern Canada. Adjusting to these cold climates where the ocean was not as accessible took a bit of getting used to and Mountain Biking and snowboarding became the sports of choice. Eventually though, the sea's call became too strong and he started surfing the varied breaks near Halifax year round, blizzards and all! Seriously character building for a tropical island boy.
Photography grew as a passion during the university experience and he developed his interest in wildlife by photographing birds during Ornithology courses. As his photographic ability developed it became a more powerful tool to share knowledge, experiences, places and points of view with people. During his time at Dalhousie, he saw the internet appear and the computers rise as everyday tools and developed a strong conviction that their incredible potential as a communications tool was something he wanted to be part of. After a well rounded degree program, he graduated with an advanced major in Marine Biology and a minor in oceanography (mainly in meteorology which has proved useful in forecasting wind and surf!)
After university, a longtime interest in sailboat racing led to the English Harbour area where the private yachting industry has a huge foothold in Antigua. Roddy competed in many local regatta's including the massive Antigua Sailing Week and worked as crew on several charter yachts. This interest was later to find him behind a camera recording some of the world's most impressive modern and classic sailing yachts racing under full sail in Antiguas lively trade winds.
After six months of odd jobs and travelling in England and Europe, he returned to Antigua and made good on his conviction about the importance of the internet and his passion for photography by working at Tropical Studios, the long established leader of photography, video and multimedia in Antigua. After a fruitful 3 years with Tropical Studios, he decided to go it alone and set up his own multimedia operation which focuses on building websites and photography. Antigua Adventures is the result of his internet and photography experience combined with a lifelong desire to share his experiences and knowledge.
