Seatrade Cruise News is part of the Informa Markets Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them. Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

Seabourn names large, seasoned Antarctica expedition team

Seabourn names large, seasoned Antarctica expedition team
Seabourn assembled a whopping 17-member expedition team for its 2014/15 'Ultimate Antarctica & Patagonia' voyages beginning in November. Seabourn Quest will operate the four 21- to 24-day programs.

The newly appointed expedition team consists of naturalists, scientists, cultural and historical experts, among others, and includes many individuals who participated Seabourn's inaugural 2013/14 Antarctic season.

They were selected and again will be led by Seabourn expedition program manager Robin West, a veteran of more than 40 Antarctic voyages.

Among the team members are three assistant expedition leaders, all veteran Antarctica hands, including naturalist Chris Srigley, a Canadian; ecologist and small boat expert Ignacio Rojas, a Chilean; and biologist and penguin researcher Dr. Klements Putz, a German.

Other expedition members are digital photography coaches Pat and Rosemarie Keough, award-winning nature photographers.

Lecturers include Dr. Juan Pablo Seco Pon, an Argentine biologist with expertise in marine mammals and seabirds; Dr. Sean Todd, a marine mammal researcher with a special interest in whales, and Dr. David Walton, a UK professor and expert on Antarctic politics and science.

Further lecturers include Dr. John Ford, a Canadian professor and expert in killer whales; John Fonseca, who has wintered at the South Pole and led ocean search and rescues in Antarctica, and Dr. Catherine Hickson, one of Canada's best known geologists.

Naturalist/lecturer Dr. Brent Houston is an expert in wildlife ecology, and Denver-based Dr. Jason Hicks is a geologist and museum research associate.

Further team members include naturalists and Zodiac drivers. A full list is here.

Beginning Nov. 29, Seabourn Quest will sail between Valparaíso and Buenos Aires, exploring the Chilean coast and fjords, Beagle Channel, Glacier Alley, Torres del Paine National Park, the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, Montevideo and spending six days of cruising and landings in Antarctica.

A 24-day holiday version, departing Dec. 20, will include two days exploring sub-Antarctic South Georgia, renowned for its beauty and vast rookeries of king penguins and other seabirds, as well as breeding elephant and fur seals.