Expedition Team

Silver medalist in the 2017 World Guide Awards, Hayley has spent 13 years adventuring in Antarctica, and still feels privileged to walk amongst the penguins, float on a sea of bergy bits, or await the surface of a Humpback while surrounded by glaciers, icebergs and rugged mountain peaks. Hayley’s motto is, “Live your dreams, follow your passions.”

In BC, Canada, Hayley keeps in the company of Orca and Humpback whales, Grizzly and Black bears. She relishes in the Polar bear and Beluga whale capital of the world working as a guide in Churchill, Manitoba.  Originally from the Kapiti Coast in New Zealand, she now calls Vancouver Island home.  In her spare time, Hayley likes to take extended sea kayaking adventures around Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. She once attempted the world’s first solo sea kayak journey around South Georgia Island to help raise awareness for the Albatross, about which a book and documentary were made.

Hayley looks forward to sharing with you her passion, admiration and respect for this polar region. It will change you. Are you ready?

Dr Shawna Laursen grew up in Barrow, Alaska, and has degrees in both Marine Biology and Psychology. Before medical school, Shawna worked as a Marine Biologist in Prince William Sound, Alaska. She completed medical school and residency training at the University of Washington, with specialty training in Emergency, Addiction, and Family Medicine. She is currently practicing full time Emergency Medicine in Washington State.

When not in the ER, she enjoys participating in a variety of activities…hiking, SCUBA diving, kayaking, traveling, and reading. Working with Polar Latitudes has allowed Shawna to combine her love of medicine, marine life, and adventure.

Every Polar Latitudes voyage has a currently-practicing and English-speaking doctor experienced in Emergency medicine. Medical services are available 24 hours a day, and a doctor accompanies passengers on all shore landings.

Born in Germany, Annette studied Marine Biology and obtained a Masters in Marine Conservation in New Zealand. There, she had the once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit Antarctica as part of a postgraduate certificate offered by the University in Christchurch. Camping at the base of Mount Erebus – the same region used as base camp by early explorers such as Scott and Shackleton – Annette caught the “polar bug”. Returning from New Zealand, she conducted her PhD at the German Polar Research Institute. Here, she studied the habitat suitability of Antarctic whales and participated in several multi-week expeditions to the Southern Ocean on board the German research icebreaker RV Polarstern.

Annette has been working on various expedition cruises to Svalbard, Greenland, the North Pole, the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica. For Annette, visiting South Georgia is one of the very special moments in life, given its history of whaling and polar exploration. Annette speaks German and English and is looking forward to spending her Antarctic summer with you, sharing her passion for marine mammals day and night.

Hannah has a particular love of birdlife and marine mammals and has been sharing her thrill for the natural world working aboard Expedition Ships in remote regions since 1999.
A zoology student at the University of Liverpool, England, Hannah changed direction after graduation and worked as a wildlife artist and mural painter in Africa for several years. On her return to the UK she gained a Masters in Natural History Illustration from the Royal College of Art in London. During her student years she spent her time doing practical conservation projects as a leader with British Trust for Conservation Volunteers.

She is now able to divide her time between doing artwork from her studio in England and working as a wildlife guide, zodiac driver and expedition leader. She visits the Antarctic peninsula and South Georgia annually in the Austral summer and then heads north to cruise the shoreline of the UK, Norway and the Arctic, swapping penguin sightings for polar bears, and sketching, photographing and learning about the lives of the creatures she sees along the way.

Her passion for the outdoors and mountains have taken her around the world personally and professionally for the past 30 years. Originally from the maritime province of Newfoundland, Maria has a degree in Geology from the University of Calgary, and is a member of the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides.

Safety is top priority for Maria, and she has picked up many skills, qualifications and experiences from her professional outdoor background and personal endeavors. In 2012, she welcomed the opportunity to combine her guiding skills and geology background to begin working in the polar expedition industry as a guide and geology lecturer in Antarctica and the Arctic. She truly enjoys sharing her enthusiasm for the outdoors and her fascination with natural history.

For the past few years he has been immersed in the polar world.  He makes his annual migration between Antarctica and the Arctic, following the arctic terns around the world every year.  Having done nearly 70 trips (and still counting) in the Polar Regions, he is always grateful to be discovering the last vast wildernesses left on this planet and is passionate to share the experience with you.  He is enthusiastic about all sorts of wildlife, though is convinced that he has close relatives that are whales, and his third cousin happens to be in the auk family.

When he’s not gallivanting near the poles, you will probably find him wandering the warmer climes of the planet (15 Celsius being plenty warm), seeking out more adventures and playing with light in photography.

In 2003 Danny grew tired of earning a living building databases and living in central London and since then he’s worked as a photographer, diver, travel writer and Expedition Leader in some of the most undeveloped and remote parts of the world. He’s driven Zodiacs in all the oceans on the planet, radio-tracked Spectacled Bears in the Ecuadorian Andes, surveyed horse-mussel beds off the Llyn peninsula in north Wales and updated the Bradt Guides to Mozambique and Spitsbergen.

Danny spent 16 months living south of the Antarctic Circle, working as the Boating Officer at Rothera, the British Antarctic Survey base down on the Antarctic Peninsula, and has a further twelve seasons experience working on ships in the Southern Ocean. He is a BSAC Diving Instructor and has worked in East Africa, Wales, Gibraltar, the Isles of Scilly and Antarctica on marine monitoring projects. He is based in Shropshire in the UK, a place he loves because of its lack of a coastline.

He is proud to have one scientific paper to his name, a 5-page note on the presence of Seagrass beds in the waters of Gibraltar which can be summed up in one short sentence: “There are none.”

Lori Gross loves the diversity of her work, which allows her to split her time between photography, guest speaking, and guiding on small expedition ships. Having worked on all seven continents in both the tropics and poles, Lori is particularly inspired by Antarctica.

With over two decades working in sustainable tourism and education, with a focus on marine and environmental science, Lori’s accomplishments include securing over $25 million in grant funding for magnet schools, working with over 500 teachers to help them write and implement engaging curricula, designing over $1 million worth of interactive interpretive exhibits for nature centers and museums, developing international field study trips for teens, and being recognized multiple times by the Lucie Foundation and the International Photography Awards for her nature, wildlife, and pet photography.

Changed by spending over a decade on the ice, Lori founded The Antarctic Experience so that like-minded travelers can connect, share their stories, support conservation, and seek out ways to live every day inspired by Antarctica.

Conny has been an outdoors person all of her life growing up at the feet of the German Alps. Having spent her childhood skiing and mountaineering in local regions it was the crucial adventures across the neighboring borders that indoctrinated her great love of travel. This deep passion led Conny abroad at the youthful age of 16 where she would complete her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Business in the U.S. and Hong Kong respectively. From there, Conny has followed a successful career in Sales & Marketing within international luxury hotels, living and working in Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

Conny’s enthusiasm and passion for Antarctica was born after embarking on her first expedition cruise, aboard our very own Hebridean Sky. Witnessing Antarctica’s breathtaking majesty and untouched beauty first-hand, as well as experiencing close encounters with Antarctica’s wildlife, changed her profoundly as a person – a change that has led her to seek a new career within this precious and humbling part of the world. With her bubbly personality, abundant energy and her infectious nature as a people-person she is looking forward to making every future passenger’s journey their “trip of a lifetime”.

Now in her fifth Antarctic season, Mariela spends her winters in her home town of Ushuaia teaching alpine skiing and snowboarding, guiding snowmobile excursions, and leading snowshoeing and cross-country skiing adventures.

In her spare time, she likes to sing, dance, and read about the earliest explorers to this land.  Mariela is dedicated to ensuring that clients have the best combination of service and fun!

Grace is a passionate adventurer and outdoorsman who is thrilled to be a part of the Polar Latitudes family.

Since graduating from Princeton University with a degree in Art and Archeology, Grace has traveled extensively and worked on expedition vessels both as a staff member and researcher. Her research, written work, and photography examines cuisine as an art form and manifestation of cultural heritage. Her passion for food and the environment led her to co-found a sustainable energy bar company which she ran for two years before moving on to other projects.

When she is not working, Grace is a dedicated trail runner, avid hiker, and competitive rower whose boat placed second in the United States at the IRA National Championships in 2019. In addition to athletics, she has a love for photography, cooking, and camping with friends.

Jeannine grew up running wild in a small town on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada.

She spent much of her  childhood on boats of various kinds and feels most at home on or near the ocean, especially on grey drizzly days.

After completing a degree in wildlife biology, she started working in environmental education, teaching everyone from toddlers to tourists about the natural world. That eventually led to a career in wildlife guiding where she combines all of her skills and interests in one job.

During the northern summers, she works as a skipper and a guide showing guests the grizzly bears, orca, humpback whales and plethora of bird life that call northern Vancouver Island home.

She loves sharing her passion for wildlife and wild places – so much so that she’s been known to deliver impromptu naturalist talks about sea lions in pubs, and about barn owls on busy city streets to unwitting passers-by. At home on her tiny island off the coast of British Columbia, she enjoys watercolour painting, sewing, and visiting with the resident humpbacks.

For the last 15 years Zack has worked all over the world as an outdoor wilderness guide and experiential education instructor. Zack is very passionate about sea kayaking, sailing and mountaineering.

Since graduating from Lakehead University with an Honors Bachelor degree in Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism he sought out amazing job opportunities and experiences in the farthest corners of the world. He lived on a sailboat traveling the remote islands in the central and south pacific for over a year, then lived in Australia, worked as a free-lance outdoor educator and completed a big road trip with his folding kayak paddling and exploring some of the more hostile and hard to get to places. Soon enough he missed the snow and ice of his home country of Canada. Upon his return Zack was out on Lake Superior year round paddling amongst the ice, wind, sun, snow and rain enjoying every minute of it! He has now started his own paddling business (Such A Nice Day Adventures) operating seasonally along the Canadian north shore of Lake Superior near Thunder Bay Ontario.

Zack is a certified Paddle Canada Instructor and experienced sea kayak Guide. He is an accomplished writer, photographer and expedition leader. He is over the moon excited to bring his plethora of experience to the team at Polar Latitudes in Antarctica.

Santiago is very passionate about his work, which is guiding and teaching in the outdoors. He has been a professional guide since 2003, when he was certified by the Argentina Mountain Guides Association, and later on, as a sea kayaking guide by the American Canoe Association.

His work has taken him not only to the Antarctic but to Nepal, Brazil, Peru, the United States and Patagonia in both Chile and Argentina. Santiago holds a degree (B.Sc.) in Biology from the University of Buenos Aires, where he worked extensively in wildlife ecology, researching from the tropics to the Antarctic for more than a decade.

In his academic capacity, he was professor of the University of Córdoba, where he trained Argentina Mountain Guides Association professional guides; he instructed guides of the Argentina Kayaking Guides and Instructors Association; and he also led courses in wilderness emergency care to local National Park Service Rangers.

He is fluent in English, Portuguese and Spanish (his mother tongue). When not on ships he lives in a cosy cottage in the delta of the Parana River, surrounded by wildlife and pristine nature.

Marty was born and raised in New Brunswick, Canada where he fell in love with the ocean at a very young age. Working with the Canadian Armed Forces for 7 years brought him to the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island, where he decided to take a different path and pursue a career that would allow him to be one with the ocean. Since 2019, Marty has taken great pleasure in showing clients from all corners of the world the beauty of various regions of the Pacific Northwest near Vancouver Island. Always looking to broaden his horizons, Marty is excited to embark on his second season to the Antarctic Region as a sea kayak guide with Polar Latitudes.

Besides ensuring guests have a remarkable and safe experience on the water, Marty is deeply passionate about educating people on the impacts of climate change and how our everyday choices affect the environment around us.

He is looking forward to seeing you on the water on your next adventure!

Thérèse discovered her passion for marine mammals when she first came to Svalbard in 2010. Born and raised in Switzerland, she was until then rather more familiar with mountains than ocean. She acquired a master degree in media and communication, and when she was studying at university, she started to travel to Scandinavia. She then visited Svalbard and – caught by the polar bug – changed direction. The following summer she returned and worked as a trekking guide and lived three months in tents. 2012 she left Switzerland and moved to Longyearbyen where she studied to become an Arctic Nature Guide. Since then she works all-year-round as a Wildlife Guide, Lecturer and Zodiac driver on expedition cruise boats in Antarctica, the Falklands, South Georgia, Svalbard, Greenland and Iceland. She also spent a winter as a Snowmobile Guide in Swedish Lapland where she took her guests out on Northern Light Safaris.

Thérèse loves all kind of outdoor activities from Via Ferrata, Hiking, Snowboarding – and working on expedition cruises. She always has a happy smile on her face and is looking forward to sharing her knowledge and passion for the marine wildlife with you.

Ruth is a wildlife film maker, who has spent more than 13 years working on documentaries for the BBC’s Natural History Unit, PBS, National Geographic and Discovery, as well as personal projects focusing on birds and conservation issues. Her portfolio includes Planet Earth II, Life in the Air and Natural World, and her work has taken her all over the world, filming a whole variety of wildlife.

In 2013-14, Ruth spent five months filming the penguin colony at Port Lockroy where she was able to combine her love of cold remote adventure with penguins to produce an hour-long documentary, Penguin Post Office, for the BBC and PBS. Her adventure began by sailing the Drake Passage in a 54ft yacht in 67 knot winds, arriving at the Peninsula ahead of any other vessel that season. As well as witnessing the entire breeding season of gentoo penguins, she travelled to other sites around the Peninsula and explored different locations, landings and wildlife.

Ruth has just back from a month sailing around the South Sandwich Islands filming for a new project called Expedition Penguin. She looks forward to sharing tales of this adventure on board ship!

She studied zoology and science communication and is a passionate bird watcher. She was awarded Birdwatch Magazine’s Conservation Hero of the Year in December 2017.

Paul has a wide and varied background that usually involves adventures – something that culminated in writing about adventure travel for the Telegraph newspaper.

Paul is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and regularly travels on expeditions that have an exploration and scientific basis. In 2012, Paul led a small team on the first crossing of the Antarctic Peninsula by man-haul to conduct cutting edge science. This project was in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of his boyhood hero and fellow naval officer, Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaching the South Pole. This project drew on Paul’s original science degree in Oceanography, Meteorology and Geology, gained at Plymouth University. Paul’s extensive travels have alerted him to the issue surrounding global climate change and the 2012 project was focused on providing evidence to reveal the reasons why the Antarctic Peninsula is the fastest warming part of the planet.

Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nicole has always had a deep love for the outdoors, nature and a huge interest of the environment.  This explains her passions – rock climbing, mountaineering, kayaking and travel.

She has a bachelor’s degree in tourism and hospitality from the University of Salvador in Buenos Aires.
Having started her outdoor career in Patagonia as a kayak guide and tour leader in hiking trips, she was drawn to the Canadian Pacific West Coast where she trained as a kayak guide with the Sea Kayak Guide Alliance from British Columbia.

Nicole also works for a mountaineering non-profit organization as an outdoor educator in Patagonia; running climbing courses, kids’ climbing classes and organizing bouldering competitions for the southern Patagonia region with Argentine ski and Mountaineering federation (FASA).

In 2018 the Antarctic Peninsula called her and she has been returning year after year.

In 1998, Mattias started his career in Sweden as a dive instructor and has since then worked in several places where the underwater world is as fabulous as it gets such as the Great Barrier Reef, Thailand, Fiji and the Red Sea among others.

In 2012 Mattias got the chance to work as an expedition guide in the Polar regions and he was immediately stunned by the grandeur and the wildlife that Antarctica and the Arctic had to offer. Being kind of a “jack of all trades”, birds and kayaking is of great interests.

You usually find Mattias in Antarctica during the Austral summer, but he has also worked as a snowmobile guide in the Swedish Lapland and Svalbard as well, where he took his guests into its vast landscapes to view the Northern Light, and in the Boreal summer you find Mattias guiding and scouting the shorelines of Svalbard. This line of work also brought him to other places like the Falklands Islands, South Georgia, North Atlantic Islands, Galapagos and New Zealand and since he visits all these beautiful places on earth, he wants to capture these impressions with his camera, and therefor photography is another passion of his.

It’s fair to say that Kalle’s life has been a wild and colorful journey so far, considering it all started in grey and dying mining town in Germany’s industrial heartland, where he was born back in the summer of ’69.

After 2 years in the Armed Forces he completed an apprenticeship as a journalist and photographer in 1990 and then set off to report about untold wars and unique cultures across Central / South America, Africa, New Guinea, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.  Five years later he went to study filmmaking in the UK & US. Upon completion, Kalle took up a job with the BBC as one of the few guys and gals who where on stand-by 24/7, shooting films literally all over the world.  In 2002 Moscow became his base for many years covering the entire former Soviet Union, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq.

As a result Kalle has over the past 28 years seen more than 140 countries. In between he has taught filmmaking at his former University in England and scuba diving as a hobby. Kayaking, scuba, skydiving and sailing are his favorite past-times.  Filming in Greenland for several weeks and sailing from Tromsø to and around Spitzbergen in a wee 30’ Optima 101, scraping past the 80th latitude, whilst shooting an environmental adventure documentary, really whet his appetite for the icy fringes of our planet. He now calls Canada’s West Coast his home away from his German home in Hamburg.

Echo graduated from University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in the major of Restoration Ecology. From 2005, she has been focusing on and engaged in researches related to the restoration ecology, animal behaviors and environmental education in different eco-environments.

She has written many popular science books, such as Hulun Buir Grassland Food Chain and Natural History of Palace Museum: Children’s Hai Cuo Tu (marine animals), translated books, such as BBC: Life on Earth, and published a lot of popular science books as an editor.

Over the past decade, she conducted a series of environmental education activities and citizen science projects. She hopes to share the science with the public by interesting and effective ways helping them understand our environment and discover the impact they can have on their world and their communities.

As Captain Scott’s only grandson and the son of Sir Peter Scott, well-known wildlife conservationist, founder of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and co-founder of the WWF, Falcon was brought up at the Slimbridge Wildfowl Trust with his two sisters. As a child, he traveled widely with his parents during holidays, including expeditions to Africa and to the Arctic.

As a young man, Falcon took up a career in civil engineering. Later a passion for architecture and art took him into building unusual and creative projects in the domestic sector, and building many unique houses, a vocation he still loves to indulge in. He built his own stone house in Argyll, Scotland where he now lives with his wife and family, and
runs a self-catering holiday business renting luxury log cabins which he also built himself. Falcon has always loved being outdoors and exploring wild places, and between building things has traveled to many places. He especially loves the remote parts of Scotland near his home, and has explored the mountains and sea lochs over many years using his own small motor boat, sailing with friends, and on foot climbing most of the mountains.

In 2012 Falcon joined the international team to work as a Heritage Carpenter on the conservation of his Grandfather’s iconic Terra Nova Hut at Cape Evans for the NZ Antarctic Heritage Trust. The experience was deeply moving for him, and re-vitalized his interest in the family connection to Antarctica. The beauty of Antarctica has inspired him to develop his artistic flair and he now loves to paint the wildlife and landscapes.

Tracy is deeply passionate about learning, teaching, and educational travel. He believes that isolated, hostile, and largely uninhabited Antarctica is central to understanding how the world works and our impact upon it.

A Professor of Environmental Science and Physical Geography at the State University of New York, College at Oneonta, Tracy’s research interests are focused on rivers, lakes, glaciers, geomorphology, and environmental change. His love for cold climates grew out of investigation and exploration in Arctic and mountain environments. He has spent summers working and teaching on the Bering Glacier in Alaska and has canoed thousands of miles on Arctic rivers.

Synonymous with education, adventure travel is a means to achieve personal and professional growth. From an early age, Tracy would strike out from the Blue Ridge of Virginia to discover nature, mountains, and, eventually, other countries. Since then, he has backpacked throughout nearly all countries on Earth – from Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to Mount Everest in Tibet and Nepal and from Machu Picchu in Peru to Pagan in Myanmar. At each location, he explores natural processes and human/environment relations. Tracy travels simply, with backpack, tent, and sleeping bag. When asked about his wanderlust, various intellectual motivations surface, but the deep-seated reality is that he has an adventurous spirit.

A current graduate professor in photography, Will has been teaching and showing professionally for over 15 years. He is excited to bring his love of nature, adventure, and photography to Antarctica.

His photography career has taken him to numerous places around the world including Hiroshima, Columbia, Taiwan, Paris and Antwerp. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally. He currently shows with galleries in San Francisco and Tokyo, and lives on a boat in the San Francisco Bay with his wife and two daughters.

Will has walked slacklines over the Grand Canyon, trad climbed around the High Sierras, and backpacked extensively with his family around the Western US.

Lisa grew up in Michigan and Ohio, spending summers on and around the Great Lakes. Influenced by an upbringing immersed in woods and water, she completed a BS degree in Biology at the University of Michigan in 2001. Since then, she has lived, worked, and travelled on all seven continents, finding special connection with Antarctica.

In 2013, Lisa began working on board ships, first as a naturalist guide on a dive boat in the Dominican Republic, then later as captain in southeast Alaska and southern California. She has also spent considerable time on expedition teams, from Iceland to Madagascar, and throughout the polar regions. Thousands of days at sea have nourished a passion for the marine environment, and a love for sharing it with others. She currently holds a USCG 200 ton license.

In addition to lecturing and serving as a naturalist, Lisa is a professional photographer and photography instructor, and leads photographic workshops to destinations around the world. When not working, Lisa can generally be found in the backcountry, exploring wild places from her Southern California home.

In 2007, Ben was overall winner of the “Wildlife Photographer of the Year” competition and won the “Creative Visions of Nature” category. His work was recognized by the Royal Photographic Society in 2008 through the award of an Honorary Fellowship.

With two zoology degrees, Ben initially worked as a scientist before switching to full-time photography. He spent 18 months working for the British Antarctic Survey on Bird Island (South Georgia) researching wandering albatrosses and monitoring major seabird and mammal populations. Two years later he spent 9 months on a yacht surveying wildlife on South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. These experiences (and a career change) culminated with a 4-month commission from National Geographic magazine shooting images for a major feature about Antarctica.

Following a chance conversation on a sacred mountain in China, Ben became involved in the ground-breaking BBC series about Antarctica, “Life in the Freezer”. He shot editorial stills for the series book and photographed the presenter Sir David Attenborough on location. Since then Ben has worked regularly with BBC film crews, shooting publicity and editorial stills for major wildlife series including “Blue Planet” and “Planet Earth”.

From his early years growing up on the edge of the Atlantic in rural Newfoundland, Philip has had a keen sense of adventure and a love of wild places. He studied Biology and Environmental Sciences before shifting gears to pursue a growing passion for mountaineering.  For 10 years he worked as an instructor in mountain skills in the Vancouver Island Alps.

Philip blends his love of the outdoors, adventure, and photography in his work instructing, guiding and collaborating with several adventure tourism businesses. So it’s no surprise that Philip joins Polar Latitudes as one of our Expedition Photographers. Philip has a knack for explaining some of the more technical aspects of digital photography in plain terms and is always happy to share tricks and tips, or just talking camera-shop! When asked about his favorite thing about the Antarctic he says “it’s the light, there’s so much of it, and it’s so beautiful and clear”.

Born in Sydney, Australia, Marty’s love of the ocean led him to a degree in Marine Science, extensive SCUBA qualifications, and a very hands-on job as Head Penguin Keeper at the Sydney Aquarium.   While he did have some very unique experiences (try being a foster parent to penguin chicks!) seeing penguins in their natural environment is his ultimate thrill.  He will never forget being greeted by a party of King Penguins at the largest colony in the world on the shores of South Georgia Island.

As a marine biologist Marty’s passion for ocean animals extends beyond the polar regions having worked with a wide range of sharks, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals. Coming from Australia this also means he has worked directly with the most venomous snake, spider, octopus and fish on the planet. Marty practices free diving in an attempt to spend as long underwater in one breath as the penguins do.

Over the last fifteen years, Seb has worked at the sharp end of maritime aviation with previous jobs spanning half the globe. The Royal Navy exposed him to some of the most inhospitable regions of the world. In 2009, Seb landed on the shores of South Georgia for the first time and stood before the grave of his personal hero: Sir Ernest Shackleton.

In January 2013, he joined the ‘Shackleton Epic’ team, which became the first expedition in history to faithfully recreate Sir Ernest Shackleton’s small boat voyage across the Southern Ocean – with precisely the same equipment as Shackleton himself. From the clothing to the boat, the sextant, the reindeer skin blankets, and of course the starvation diet.

When he is not onboard ship lecturing, or climbing a mountain, he can be found in Scotland with his wife and children sailing the world’s most faithful seaworthy replica of Shackleton’s lifeboat. The boat was built with the sole purpose of keeping the great polar explorers legacy alive though adventure sailing excursions.

Seb is an accomplished aeronautical engineer, Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, former GB Chapter Chair for The Explorers Club, joint recipient of the Royal Institute of Navigation Certificate of Achievement, and a joint Royal Yachting Association and Union Internationale Motonautique  powerboat world record holder.

During childhood, Randy learned how to play various instruments and how to conduct orchestras. At Brno University he studied engineering but quickly discovered music was the only thing he was interested in.

As a One Man Band, Randy worked in German, Swiss and Austrian Spa Hotels & Alpine Ski resorts. During his off time, he developed a passion for skiing and became a certified ski instructor.

Since 2006 Randy has been working aboard the finest European River Cruise vessels on Rhine, Main and Danube, entertaining his passengers with a wide repertoire of Jazz, Rock & Roll, Blues, Oldies and the Best of the Top Charts.