Nuestro Equipo

Birgit loves being out and away – that is why her life has changed from award-winning writer to Arctic-addicted adventurer.

Working 15 years for the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, she reported in 2007 from a North Pole expedition aboard the icebreaker Yamal, where she was infected with the “Arctic virus.”

She then took up circumpolar studies at the Canadian University of the Arctic, and in 2010 and 2011 skied from the ice station Barneo to the North Pole. In 2013 she crossed Greenland and became a Fellow of the Explorers Club in New York.

Birgit has published two books, is often a guest speaker, and speaks several languages. She enjoys nature and silence, and lives beside an idyllic mountain lake in Bavaria.

Evgeny Levakov was born in a small village not far from Nerekhta, an ancient Russian town in the Kostroma region. The closest water to his village was a 15,000 square-meter pond.

His family had no relationship with the sea, but when his third grade teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, Evgeny’s answer was clear: “A sailor.”

The teacher replied that this profession did not exist in their area, but young Evgeny was unconvinced. After his mandatory time in the army, he enrolled in Murmansk’s Highest Engineering Marine School to start his naval career.

Evgeny went to sea after graduating, starting in 1984 as third officer on a fleet of fishing vessels in the city of Murmansk. During that time he sailed the waters of Antarctica, South Georgia, the Southern Orkneys, and Elephant Island.

From 1994 to 2000 he worked as chief officer on m/v Professor Molchanov for expedition cruise companies like Quark, Aurora, and Oceanwide. He was promoted to captain soon after.

In the fall of 2010, Evgeny started on m/v Plancius. His main navigational areas are the Arctic and Antarctica, including the Ross Sea and Dumont d’Urville Sea. He’s also sailed the islands of Papua New Guinea and the Amazon River between Belem and Iquitos.

Evgeny has been married since 1978 and considers this the best decision he’s ever made. He has two sons and is the proud grandfather of four grandchildren.