Alaska Expedition Team

By the age of thirteen, Seán had already spent a quarter of his life sailing around the world with his mother, father, and two sisters on a 38-foot ketch. The 3½-year circumnavigation encompassed 37,404 miles and 248 ports-of-call in 28 countries. From that sailing foundation, Seán studied Civil Engineering at Northwestern University. Commissioned as a U.S. Naval Officer, Seán’s service included training with the Navy SEALs, a deterrence cruise aboard a submarine, and a year overseas in Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean. Upon leaving the Navy, Sean earned a Master’s in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island.

Although he has over 199,000 miles under sail, Seán considers himself a teacher first and sailor second. Teaching courses ranging from Celestial Navigation to Environmental Awareness, he has worked over thirty years as captain and faculty member for a university sea semester program on journeys throughout the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. In addition to these oceanographic tall ship voyages, Seán was instrumental in captaining the Freedom Schooner Amistad into Havana, Cuba, in 2010, fulfilling the vessel’s ambassadorial mission.

Seán continues to explore new venues in the maritime environmental world. Scientific forays include working as the ROV navigator aboard the E/V Nautilus for deep ocean exploration and as the Marine Projects Coordinator aboard the two U.S. Antarctic Program Research Vessels. In that role, he facilitated numerous research expeditions to Antarctica. Seán joined Seabourn’s Expedition Teams in 2019 and began working as an Expedition Leader in 2022.

As a young lad, Seán began the tradition of launching messages in bottles on the high seas. To date, he has set over 300 bottles adrift and has received more than sixty responses. He has corresponded with bottle-finders from ages seven to seventy on five different continents. Whatever role he plays on the water, Seán remains steadfast to two missions: to connect people with the sea and to connect with people through the sea.

Adam began sailing as a boy on the Salish Sea of Washington State, acquired his USCG Master license at 19 years old, Adam began working as a yacht captain aboard Puget Sound charter yachts.

After attending the University of Washington, Adam embarked on a single-handed voyage down the Pacific Coast aboard Saint Brendan, his 27-foot sloop. On this voyage, he explored the Sea of Cortez, Central America, transited the Panama Canal, circumnavigated the Caribbean Sea and explored the Eastern seaboard from Florida to Nova Scotia. During this four-year voyage, Adam made a living as a professional sailor, sailing as Master aboard various vessels in the Caribbean Sea and lived aboard his boat in Guatemala and Belize for a year. Other global adventures include traveling the length of Pakistan by train and four-wheel drive truck, trekking in the Hindu Kush, exploring Patagonia and climbing in Torres Del Paine National Park. As skipper of the expedition yacht MV Peregrine Adam explored the off-the-beaten-path anchorages in Southeast Alaska and British Columbia, including Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands BC).

For 25 years Adam was a field biologist for NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service and the US Antarctic Program as an expedition leader and science project manager supporting marine mammal and ecosystem researchers in Antarctica, and the coastal waters of the Eastern Pacific from Alaska to Cape Horn. Adam holds NOAA Master Diver and Dive Master certifications. When not at sea on an expedition vessel, Adam owns a yacht delivery company, Yachtlogic, and can be found at sea delivering a yacht as a professional sailor.

Through these adventures, Adam developed a passion for leading expeditions and working with adventure travelers and scientists. Adam loves to set out in small boats and get up close to nature. Hobbies include writing for sailing magazines, cooking, and sailing with his daughter Sophia aboard their 35-foot sloop based in the Sea of Cortez. Adam’s goal as your Expedition Leader is to make sure guests have a true adventure they will never forget.

Kirstie grew up hiking throughout the wilderness and playing in the rivers of Western Pennsylvania. At the age of 18, she moved to Hawai’i and began a 20+ year career studying and working in natural resource management and wildlife research. While exploring the Hawaiian Islands, she earned a BA in Biology from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Additionally, during her undergraduate career, Kirstie completed a study abroad in Nepal studying the impacts of tourism on the environment and Sherpa culture in the Mt. Everest region. She also earned an MS in Ecology from Colorado State University, while developing a noninvasive-sampling method for mountain lions.

Throughout her career, Kirstie has ventured to some of the most beautiful and remote places on the planet further inspiring the passion for her work. She has worked with endangered fish in the upper Colorado River system; ungulates and mountain lions in Colorado; grizzly bears in Montana; Steller sea lions in Alaska; Hawaiian monk seals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; and several Antarctic species at McMurdo and Palmer Stations. When not on the ship, Kirstie works as a wildlife manager for a state agency where she manages several charismatic species and multiple wildlife management areas. Though she finds herself landlocked most of the time, Kirstie’s passion for polar regions will always draw her back to the sea. 

Dexter grew up in England where a love for exploring the pastoral countryside of East Anglia ignited a lifelong passion for discovering natural history and embarking on adventure. His International travel started early with trips to India which sparked a deep fascination with the insect realm and a desire to share a “hidden” macro world ignited. He developed a popular insect website and delved into how humans relate to the natural world.

Moving to the United States in 1982, his first multimedia production, entitled Pure Muir Madness, employed a bank of projectors to document a 230-mile backpack through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was at that point, Dexter discovered the power of a well-crafted production to move and motivate an audience.

After graduating from UC Davis with a focus on computer graphic design, Dexter has enjoyed over 30 years of creative media collaborations with a broad spectrum of projects and clients in print, web and photography.

For many years, his travel was insect-inspired, traveling to lush rainforests of South America and Indonesia but slowly this morphed into more adventure-inspired trips to Nepal, Peru and extensively in the Western US.  During downtime, he is most at home exploring Southern Utah’s geological wonders.

Ten years ago, Dexter discovered a perfect career fit within the blossoming expedition travel industry and since has travelled worldwide filming and producing over 150 films from The Arctic to Antarctica and many choice locations between.

Finding and sharing the absolute beauty of the natural world is his unquenchable passion.

Born in Kenya, Ian’s family moved to South Africa and settled in the town of Empangeni on the North Coast. It was here that his passion for the sea was ignited and he immersed himself in all the activities available, in particular deep sea fishing, diving and ocean paddling. At the age of 15 he joined the national Sea Rescue Institute and obtained his skippers license a year later. Following his schooling and military service, he joined the merchant navy and sailed on foreign going vessels for a number of years, as well as yachting on the South African coast on a variety of vessels.

After leaving SAFMarine, he remained in the port city of Durban and eventually settled in the hamlet of Winklespruit on the Natal south coast. Although working in business, owning and running a number of successful companies, Ian maintained his interest in the outdoors and instilled his passion for the sea and outdoors in his two sons. Whilst in Durban, he was actively involved in surf lifesaving for 22 years, effecting rescues and training junior lifesavers. He continued to kayak in the rivers and the sea, competing in many ultra-marathons such as the Dusi and long distance ocean races. He has kayaked many of the countries rivers and particularly enjoys white water kayaking.

In 2004, he and his family relocated to the Limpopo town of Phalaborwa, bordering the Kruger National Park. It was here that he pursued his love of the bush. Phalaborwa offered him all the outdoor adventure he sought from the vast variety of game to the solitude and peace of the bush. He is a member of the SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association and a certified dedicated hunter and sport shooter. He acquired a professional hunter’s qualification and is a licensed professional hunter. After the sale of his business in 2017 he worked as a professional hunter and currently still does.

In his pursuit of adventure he has micro lighted over vast areas of bush, fly fished in remote areas and shared bass fishing spots with the crocodiles and hippos. He has travelled most of his home country on a motorcycle and has spent much time in neighboring countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

Ian has recently joined Seabourn and is excited about sharing his passion for the outdoors with others in the most beautiful locations on earth. He has a wealth of knowledge and experience gained over years of various activities. Ian is a dedicated conservationist and has a deep respect for nature.

Nathan was born and raised in northern Maine.  A graduate of Maine Maritime Academy, Nathan spent the first few years after graduating working as an environmental engineer on cruise ships.  He then went on to apprentice at the Maine Primitive Skills school where he learned a variety of wilderness skills.  Nathan continues teaching outdoor skills, including bow and arrow making to adults and children. For the last seven years he has been voyaging the Pacific Ocean with Sea Education Association, helping bring groups of university students out to sea.  Nathan is also a Registered Maine Guide, leading canoe trips.  He is also an avid Chi Gong practitioner, which he loves to share with anyone and everyone.

Megan has spent the last 10 years at sea, primarily sailing and teaching on traditionally rigged vessels all over the world. 

Her love for foreign cultures and sailing has led Megan to pursue her dream of connecting people from around the world to explore and understand that we all have important lessons to teach one another.

When asked why Megan chose to pursue sailing for a career, she responded "Going to sea gives me a sense of freedom and expansion that speaks to me, speaks to my core."