Connie Arias, 28, was born in Long Island, New York, but considers Melbourne Beach, Florida home. Growing up in a sleepy beach town and living just eight houses away from the ocean, she had no choice but to become a water baby. Her life revolved around boating, surfing, and fishing and it is still that way today. She started surfing at the age of seven, competing at age of 12 and then moved on to join the women’s World Qualifying Series of surfing. After years of competing she graduated from University of Central Florida with a degree in child development, but Connie wasn’t ready for a "normal" life. She wanted to travel the world and live on the water, so she put teaching on hold to pursue a career in yachting and began working on boats as a deckhand. Being able to explore the world has had Connie living a pretty surreal life and is looking forward to where yachting takes her.