Onze vriendelijke en behulpzame collega's zijn u graag van dienst. Ze kunnen alle relevante vragen over onze reizen, de bestemmingen en de schepen van Oceanwide Expeditions beantwoorden. Ze werken allemaal reeds vele jaren met veel enthousiasme voor Oceanwide Expeditions en hebben ook allemaal één of meerdere expeditie reizen naar het Noordpoolgebied en Antarctica meegemaakt, waardoor ze de poolgebieden uit eerste hand kennen.
Philipp Schaudy holds a Master’s Degree in Physical Geography and has studied in Austria, Iceland, and Svalbard. A restless traveler, adventurer, and alpinist, he’s always loved the outdoors.
Doing the bulk of his travel by bicycle, Philipp has visited more than 80 countries and set foot on all seven continents. He earns a living in his homeland of Austria by giving talks about his long trips and expeditions.
Philipp first visited Svalbard in 1998, and from 2004 to 2006 he and his wife lived in Longyearbyen. There they experienced not only the midnight sun, but also the magic of the polar night.
It was during these years that Philipp started working as a tour guide. In the cold months he led snowmobile trips into the Svalbard wilderness, and during the summers he led guests on glacier hiking trips.
Since 2005 Philipp has worked for Oceanwide Expeditions as a guide, lecturer, and expedition leader, taking voyages to some of the wildest places on Earth.
He considers himself a victim of the polar virus and can attest that it’s highly contagious.
Born in Spain, Jordi Plana studied marine science in the Canary Islands before completing a master’s degree in the same field at the University of Magallanes.
Phil Wickens studied biology at Imperial College in London. After completing his PhD in plant pathology, he worked as a field guide for the British Antarctic Survey.
Andrey Zybin was born in Yeisk, a small, cozy resort town on the flat-sand coast of the Azov Sea.
Since childhood he dreamed of being a captain, and his favorite books during adolescence were all about the sea, marine adventures, and voyages to unexplored lands.
After high school, he started his naval career in the Rostov-on-Don Maritime College, graduating in 1982.
He then began work as a navigator for the Murmansk Shipping Company, transporting cargo across the Northern Sea Route and Northeast Passage to Dikson and Pevek.
After continuing his education at the Murmansk Highest Engineering Marine Academy, he became a captain, and in 2011 he started working for the Russian Institute of Oceanology.
It was there that he began captaining expedition cruises to the Arctic and Antarctica.
In 2011 he moved to Kaliningrad, where the climate is milder, and has worked as a flag state control officer for the port, monitoring the condition of the vessels.
Andrey married in 1985 and has a daughter, son-in-law, and grandson. During vacation, when he’s not playing chess or volleyball, he likes to travel to various historical parts of the world.
Mika Erik Appel was born and raised in the town of Vaasa, Finland, where cold weather and ice was just part of daily life.
Arthur Yakovlev was born in Petrozavodsk, the capital and largest city of the Republic of Karelia, in northwestern Russia.
