The Cheeseman's expedition staff that were on board the Ortelius with us included:
Hugh brings to this expedition over 20 years of professional guiding experience in Antarctica and Alaska and has been a key member of our Antarctica staff since 1998. After a decade as a field geologist, Hugh changed course finding his calling as a naturalist, tour leader, and freelance photographer. The vast landscapes and incredible wildlife of the polar regions are his subject and passion, evident in his inspired expedition leadership and stunning photos as exhibited on Hugh Rose Photography. Hugh also leads our three Alaskan tours and receives unending praise for his amazing knowledge, delightful and accommodating personality, and attention to every trip detail. Hugh brings his expertise in geology to explain and discuss the many geological features encountered during the expedition, such as the rocks in Drygalski Fjord. Hugh also leads our three Alaskan tours and receives unending praise for his amazing knowledge, delightful and accommodating personality, and attention to every trip detail. Wow!
In addition to the extensive polar experience shared with Tim as explained below, Pauline will share her fervent interest in polar history during stories and anecdotes of the early polar explorers. Pauline has a delightful personality and furnishes an unparalleled, intimate knowledge of this very special place. She is an avid walker and will be leading wonderful hikes throughout the expedition, first in the Falklands, then at South Georgia and at landing sites along the Antarctic Peninsula.
Tim and Pauline spent fourteen years on South Georgia working for the South Georgia Museum, first as custodians and then as curators. Before becoming the sole resident human population on South Georgia, they spent 25 years circumnavigating the globe in Curlew, a 28-foot, engineless, wooden sailboat, built in 1898. Arriving at South Georgia in 1992, the Carrs were inspired by this incredible island and they published Antarctic Oasis in 1998. In addition to their sailing exploits around South Georgia, they have explored the inland extensively whilst camping in tents, bivouacs, and snow holes. Tim is a passionate explorer and seaman and will lead hikes and Zodiac cruising in this pristine environment.
Nan is a wildlife biologist who has worked professionally as a naturalist guide in the Yukon and Northwest Territories of Canada for seven years and has continued that work throughout her 20-plus years in Alaska. She resides in the Denali National Park area year round with her family, which includes a team of sled dogs. Nan works as the head naturalist and instructor for the Denali Education Center when she is not off birding, hiking, canoeing, dog sledding or conducting botanical surveys in the wilderness of Alaska. Her years of exploring the natural world has led to a deep appreciation of polar wilderness and its significance as the greatest wild regions remaining on Earth.
In the ten years she has been practicing medicine in South Africa, Lynne has dabbled in so many fields that you will find yourself asking her advice on a multitude of subjects besides medicine. Her combination of current research in many fields and experience from all sorts of unlikely places has made her an indispensable part of our staff. On our past few expeditions, she has added shore briefings, holding onto a Zodiac in surf and defending people from curious fur seals to her already full repertoire of skills, which included things like sorting wool (farmgirl), hanging out of helicopters (emergency/rescue services) and cooking the perfect koeksister (mom's a cook).
Joe has had a passion for natural history, especially birds, since childhood. An itinerant biologist at heart, Joe has worked and traveled extensively throughout the Americas, the Pacific, Australasia, and Madagascar, gaining a broad understanding of biology and conservation that he generously shares on our expedition. When not in the field, Joe can be found mending historic lighthouses, tending garden, or working to protect the land he calls home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Joe is a director and biologist for the non-profit organization Common Coast Research and Conservation. He is an expert on the birds that you will encounter on this expedition and will be on the bridge ready to identify the many exciting seabirds, as well as to talk about their fascinating biology.
In the past thirty years, Steve has traveled widely, photographing natural history around the world. A fascination for harsh environments and the ability of plants and animals to survive extreme conditions has shaped his photography considerably, with subjects ranging from arctic Alaska to the Judean desert of Israel. Steve's work has been featured in magazines and books around the world including Audubon, International Wildlife, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and BBC Wildlife. Steve combined talents with his father, "Yogi" Kaufman, to produce five coffee table books. On board he will be teaching a photo workshop with several sessions for anyone wanting to learn a bit more about photographing, including assisting with photography during landings and with photo critique sessions. See more of his photography at Kaufman Photography.
Marybee taught drawing and watercolor workshops and field drawing classes during the trip. See Marybee Kaufman's Gallery.
Greg's love of wilderness and the outdoors led him to Alaska where he has spent his adult life guiding, hosting, and flying travelers through Denali National Park and the subarctic. He owns and operates a flying business and lodge inside Denali, and this seasonal work has allowed ample time for his passion of world travel, exploration, and learning about the natural wonders of the world. A fascination of all things aquatic inspires Greg to spend most of the winter on the Hawaiian islands diving, snorkeling, and surfing the pristine waters of the Pacific. Greg was on our Antarctic Peninsula expedition in 2012. He will be on the bridge frequently during the time at sea searching for the marine mammals and seabirds that you would like to observe while at sea.
Elise was introduced to the world of interpreting nature through her degree in environmental studies, which evolved into both a passion and profession. She started in 1993 as a resident naturalist at remote jungle lodges, then has spent the last 13 years working in Alaska both on land and sea and as a member of expedition teams traveling the length of the Russian Far East coast, from the volcanoes of Kamchatka, to the Sakhalin Islands and the Sea of Japan. She also leads polar bear trips in Churchill, Canada. There is nothing she enjoys more than integrating biological, cultural, and historical information and sharing that with intrepid travelers. Her lectures are wonderful. When she is not working or traveling, Elise resides near the entrance of Denali National Park in Alaska.
Bill is an exceptional naturalist, educator and Zodiac driver, who has been guiding tours since 1989. During our voyage he will be eager to spend time with you on the ship's open bridge and during landings identifying and discussing the seabirds, penguins, marine mammals, and other animals that we encounter. Bill is co-owner of Arctic Wild, a wilderness guiding company based in Alaska. In his spare time, he is active in protecting Alaska's Arctic Refuge coastal plain from development and other conservation issues. During the Alaskan winter, he now joins us again to help get you immersed in Antarctica's summertime glory as one of our expert guides and lecturers.
Nick has been involved in studying and managing Tasmania's wildlife for over 30 years. Starting as a raptor specialist doing peregrine surveys, he diversified into seabird research, marsupial carnivores and invasive species, plus whale rescues. He is best known for his work with the Tasmanian Devil, but he is also an expert on Antarctica. Nick is a keen educator and hopes to increase public appreciation of wildlife through training and guiding. In doing so he has done a number of expeditions, including studies on Macquarie Island in Antarctic waters, and for many years lecturing on marine mammals and seabirds while guiding in Antarctica. He has led the Tasmania week on our wildlife tours to Australia since we began offering them back in the 80's. He assists with all the challenges of making many landings on this top notch expedition and will often be on the bridge to point out what you might miss. *aka world famous Nick Mooney
Ron finds the ordinary and mixes it with beautiful natural light to create the extraordinary in his inspiring photography. He contributes greatly to the success of this expedition through his wonderful friendliness and the expert advice he gives to both beginning and seasoned photographers throughout the trip both on the bridge and leading photo workshops on shore during landings. His images have caught the attention of many including impressive clients such as National Geographic, Smithsonian, National Park Service, and lots more advertising agencies. When not shooting stock photos, Ron keeps busy leading many photo tours and traveling on assignment in Alaska. He will be assisting in the photo critique sessions during crossings that members of our Antarctica staff do so well. He has lived in and explored all aspects of nature in Alaska since the age of twelve and has now settled in Seward, the gateway to Kenai Fjords National Park. See his work at Niebrugge Images.
Marco is a wildlife ecologist specializing in birds of prey, mostly eagles and owls. His research in western North America, Greenland, and Australia focuses on conservation, migration, and predator-prey interactions. Marco splits his time between university teaching at St. Cloud State in Minnesota and a hideaway in Montana with his wife, Julianne. He teaches courses in wildlife conservation, population ecology, and ornithology and gives excellent lectures onboard on bird biology and one on climate. Marco made his first visit to Antarctica as a member of our expedition staff in 2011 and has continued last season and this season. He handles many of the landing logistics as Assistant Expedition Leader to Hugh Rose making this expedition the best possibly experience for everyone onboard. Marco also has a longtime friendship with Nick doing research in Australia together and working together on our Antarctica staff.
Tom, trained as engineer and biologist, loves all things related to wildlife imaging and sharing both with people. As well as being great at photography, he owns and operates a grizzly bear-viewing lodge on the central coast of British Columbia, see his website Great Bear Nature Tours. As one of three certified bear guide instructors in BC he trains bear guides for many lodges and is also the president of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC. He has led tours to China to see giant pandas, Svalbard for polar bears, and India to see snow leopards, and is part of an ongoing project to photograph all eight species of bears in the wild. Along the way he worked as a sea kayak guide in Canada and Mexico as a procrastination technique instead of writing his master's thesis. He claims he "never had a bad day in the field". Hugh has asked Tom to be one of our four staff conducting the photo critique sessions with Steve, Hugh and Ron, which are very popular.
Sadie's passion for the outdoors and wildlife was cultivated throughout her life and professional work. For the past fourteen years she concentrated her efforts on the shores of Alaska, building her extensive knowledge of marine mammals and ecology. Her wide-ranging field research includes aquatic monitoring, plant ecology, recreational use in a national forest, population studies and photographic identification of cetaceans and sea lions. Whether for pleasure or work, Sadie can be found on or near the water nine months out of the year. She has over a decade of seamanship experience, holds a United States Coast Guard Master's license and is trained in wilderness first aid, marine safety instruction and rescue. This will be her second season with us giving excellent marine mammal, food web and whale lectures and guiding on shore during landings, as well as doing a great job for your pleasure Zodiac cruising.
We also had two researchers from Oceanites, Inc., Maureen (Mo) Lynch and Catie Foley. Oceanites is a nonprofit, science and educational foundation, which intends to foster the conservation of the world's oceans, islands, and their wildlife, as well as a better appreciation of the sensitive connections we humans have to our watery globe. At our landing sites we would drop Catie and Mo off to count penguins and they would share their findings and knowledge with us during lectures.