Our staff

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. 

Henrik is an experienced dive leader, rebreather instructor trainer, and one of the first dive masters to bring tourists diving in Antarctica.

Henrik has been diving for over 25 years and teaches all levels of recreational and technical diving up to Advanced Trimix CCR.

He runs the IART (International Association of Rebreather Trainers) Regional Office for Northern Europe and is a member of the IART Board of Advisors.

Henrik is a keen wreck diver and has been involved in deep-wreck expeditions all over the world. Some of the interesting wrecks he has visited are the WW2 disasters General von Steuben and Wilhelm Gustloff in the Baltic as well as the HMS Victoria ("the vertical wreck") at 145 meters (475 feet) off the Lebanese coast.

His interest in both the ocean and space has engaged him in projects with the European Space Agency (Mars500 Project) and SeaSpace Exploration and Research Society (Project Poseidon), among others.

He has a military background, having served in peace keeping and enforcing missions in the Middle East and former Yugoslavia.

He has been leading dive expeditions in Antarctica and the Arctic for almost 20 years in remote and challenging waters, many of which have never been dived before.

Henrik holds an M.Sc. Degree in Electrical Engineering and works in the automotive industry when not traveling the polar regions.

He has lived and worked in Tokyo for two years but currently lives in India with his wife, three teenage daughters, and five-year-old son.

Ernesto Barria was born in Santiago, Chile, into a family with strong bonds to the sea: His father, grandfather, and several uncles all share a love of the ocean.

A beach guard by the age of 16, Ernesto’s favorite sport when he was young was swimming. When he finished high school, he moved to Puerto Montt, one of the most important ports in Chile. There he started his studies to become a merchant marine officer.

By his graduation in 1991, he’d already begun to sail on different vessels around Puerto Montt.

Ernesto became first officer of Antarctic Dream in 2005, beginning by navigating in Antarctica and later the Arctic. In 2011 he obtained the rank of captain, and in 2015 he was chosen as the best officer of the Chilean merchant navy.

Ernesto became a captain for Oceanwide Expeditions on Ortelius in 2013.

When he’s not working, Ernesto loves to travel around Chile with his family. He enjoys scuba diving, swimming, cycling, and photography, which has become his favorite hobby.