Meet The Tiki Team

Chris is an extremely knowledgeable USCG certified captain who served our military as an avionics tech in the air force when he was younger. After he completed his time in the military he started to work as an air traffic control officer all throughout the country. Eventually he settled in Charlotte and became the manager of the entire air traffic control tower at the Charlotte Douglas airport. After retiring at the air traffic control tower, he decided to do the Great American Loop with his wife Angela and their son Sebastian. Chris is always looking for an adventure and can not wait to greet all the guests who get on board for their charter. If you ever have any question or need anything Chris will not hesitate to help. 

Paiten is our first mate in training. She is working hard in High School and also focuses on her passion of racing cross country ATVs. She helps her brother Austin when she can and plans to take on a bigger role into the family business with Austin, Jason , Lisa and Charlee. She is learning more and more every time she is on the boats, we love watching the kids expand their knwoledge of the water.

Austin is a full time student at UNCC studying business finance. Austin has a few roles on the Carolina Tiki, whether that be as a first mate, a captain or managing the social media accounts, he can do it all. When Carolina Tiki first started, Austin, and his father Jason were the ones who got to work remodeling. Once the boat was ready for captained charters he started as a first mate, doing charters with captain Chris or Jason. During the winter of 2022 he got his USCG Master captains license and has been captaining more and more charters. Austin will always greet guests with open arms and will not hesitate to help with anything you may need. 

Jason and his wife Lisa founded the Carolina Tiki and have grown it into what it is today. After purchasing the boat and remodeling it, Jason was the first master captain to take groups out on charters aboard the Carolina Tiki with his son, Austin as the first mate. Jason also owns and operates his own construction business called Kraft Construction as the general contractor. With this being said, Jason has taken a step back from captaining due to his trust in Austin and Chris and to focus more on Kraft Construction. However if you call over the phone Jason may be the one to answer and take care of all of your questions and needs. 

Lisa is part owner along with her husband Jason and handles all of our in house operations. This includes the booking process, sending emails and answering phone calls. Lisa also works as a 1st grade teacher at J.V. Washam, a school in the Lake Norman area. If you ever have any questions about how to book or anything specific before your charter Lisa will always be more than happy to help. 

Charlee is also our first mate in training like her big sister. She's in second grade right now at J.V. Washam and loves puppies. She is always practicing how to drive the boat with the supervision of her brother, Austin and she gets better every time. Be on the lookout because Charlee may be on a charter with you soon!