Our Field Staff

Keith Thompson
sea kayak guide/adventure concierge

 Keith is a Scorpio. His hobbies include: sea kayaking, snowboarding, hiking, running jumping and photography. Keith is the Massage Therapist on board as well as one of our finest Adventure Concierges. Originally from Pennsylvania, Keith spent the early years of his life exploring the wooded lots of his home-town. As a young adult he was sucked up into the corporate world of pharmaceutical research. With a strong passion for the out-doors, Keith spent all of his free time exploring the steepest environments of the east coast as a rock and ice climber. His interest in personal health and fitness and his love for the kinetic esthetics of climbing guided him to the world of massage therapy. Inevitably Keith had to travel. He quit his corporate life, traded his house for a pick up truck and took his show on the road. He roamed the country exploring, climbing, and massaging his way through the USA, Mexico and Central and South America. His wanderings lead him over seas to exotic destination such as Nepal, Laos, Thailand and eventually Alaska. It was in Alaska that a new love for sea kayaking blossomed and guiding people into the wilderness became a way to continue exploring and learning. Keith now resides in Juneau, Alaska. He works as a sea kayak expedition leader in the summer and a massage therapist all year round. He is also a student of marine biology at the University of Alaska.

Dick Filby
ornithologist/presenter

 Dick has been leading birding trips for over 20 years in the Polar Regions, Oceania, Alaska, the Russian Far East, Spitsbergen, Galapagos, Colorado and Poland. Born in Surrey U.K., Dick was a birder even before he went to school, his ‘learn to read books’ were bird books!  At just 6years he was allowed to walk home unaccompanied from school, so he took the bus to the other end of the local Country Park and birded his way home, keeping a daily list of species seen.  In the late 1970’s he drove to India from England and was so taken by Asian birds that he made repeated visits to the Orient and was one of the co-founders of the Oriental Bird Club.  He has since birded on every continent, but alongside this worldwide passion, he remains very active on the UK birding scene.  In 1991 he founded the U.K.’s premier Rare Bird Alert news service which now provides up to 500 or more updates a day on all the scarce and rare bird sightings in the UK. In recent years he’s worked closely with the Aspen Skiing Company in Snowmass, Colorado to set up a winter bird interpretation programme on the ski slopes. He first visited Antarctica in 1990, immediately fell in love with it, and has been back almost every season since.  His favourite things to do include camping with Emperor Penguins, travelling on an ocean filled with albatrosses , petrels and cetaceans, and being onshore at vast penguin colonies. Dick is passionate about all aspects of Antarctica, its birds, wildlife and conservation.  His favourite possessions are his Swarovski binoculars, spotting scope and tripod, and he is happiest when he’s sharing great sightings of birds and wildlife with guests, friends and family.

Derek Kyostia
naturalist/presenter

Raised along the wild shores of Lake Superior, it was at an early age that Derek Kyostia first became fascinated by the natural world around him and began to develop a deep-seated curiosity for wildlife. Not surprisingly, Derek went on to earn a degree in biology some years later and while still hot from the press, he pursued his destiny and migrated westward. Derek dabbled in fisheries for nearly a decade, serving remote postings up and down the coast of British Columbia in the absence of contemporary entertainment or modern conveniences and with only the seasonal cycles of the temperate rainforest to ponder.

In the interim, Derek sought channels through which to combine his insatiable intrigue for wildlife with opportunities to explore exotic landscapes abroad. He has been fortunate enough to have participated in avian and wildlife research projects in Australia, Mexico and all of the western provinces of Canada.

Currently, Derek is a fulltime Interpretative Guide, dedicating his time between the grizzly bears of coastal British Columbia, the polar bears of Churchill, Manitoba and the marine life of Antarctica.

In addition to his Bachelor of Science degree in biology, Derek also possesses a Masters Limited Captains License as well as a number of other pertinent certifications, all backed by several years of both direct and indirect experience. Furthermore, both his professional and personal pursuits, including rock climbing, mountaineering and back country skiing have given him invaluable practical skills acquired by extensive periods spent in the field.

Boris Wise
assistant expedition leader/expedition leader

Boris is a natural leader, demonstrated by decades of experience both on and off the water.  As an avid outdoorsman, Boris has filled many shoes with aplume and wide ranging success.  With his ready smile and logistical ability Boris plays an integral part in our shipboard team. 

Ray McMahon
polar historian/presenter

 
An Australian hailing from the city of Melbourne, Ray began his career in the Antarctic with the 1963 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE) as the Expedition Leader at Mawson Base in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

During his year "on ice", he spent a 3 month period 'mushing' a team of huskies on a traverse of over 1,500 kilometres exploring in the region of the Amery Ice Shelf. Ray was awarded the British Polar Medal for his expeditionary activities, and has a mountain named for him on the Antarctic continent.

He has been involved in polar tourism for several years having participated in voyages to the Antarctic and Arctic as an expedition guide, historian and wildlife interpreter. In his role as historian, his presentations provide a fascinating insight into the exploits of some famous polar explorers of the 20th century, in addition to his own Antarctic exploits.

You may want to ask Ray about a 1963 VW Beetle dubbed the "Red Terror" and how well it performed at Mawson Base.

Ray has sailed to South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula on numerous voyages and has also transited the Northwest Passage in the Canadian High Arctic.

Andrew Prossin
expedition leader

Andrew is the Managing Director of One Ocean Expeditions Inc. and brings his passion for polar regions and their conservation into any discussion he can. 

An adventurer in his own right, Andrew is an accomplished ocean racing sailor. He led a team that won a race across the Atlantic Ocean in a 30-foot sailboat; he has sailed around Cape Horn in a Southern Ocean gale and competitively raced yachts and high performance dinghies all over the world. Andrew is also a published photographer and an avid snowboarder, spending his quiet time in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 

Andrew grew up on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada and has brought his East Coast sense of humor with him all along the way. After earning a degree from Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, he played a strategic planning role for a major Canadian player in the transportation industry. With around five years in the corporate world under his belt but searching for a life of meaning, Andrew decided to "run away to sea". What started as a three-month commitment to manage a ship transformed itself into a very successful entrepreneurial career in expedition cruising where he could apply his experience and his passion. 

With a reputation for innovation and attention to detail, Andrew has become well known in the expedition cruise industry for the high quality expedition cruise programs he develops. He is also noted for his attention to vital areas of safety and his commitment to environmental protection.