On all expeditions you’ll find a team of experts travelling with you, all selected for their knowledge and practical experience in fields like botany, marine biology, anthropology and history. You are not only invited to enjoy their informative and entertaining presentations in the Cosmos Lecture Theatre and Leda Lounge; you might venture ashore with them or reflect on the day’s shared highlights over a drink before dinner.
Below are some members of Orion's Expedition Team, please note that the expedition teams may vary for each voyage.
Expedition Team Members
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Grace Sherwood Winer |
Grace, a Geologist and naturalist, has sailed since 2005 as an educator, travelling from the Pacific Northwest to Alaska, the Bering Sea region, the Russian Far East, and Japan and throughout the northern Ring of Fire. Grace earned both her BS and MS degrees in Earth Sciences from Montana State University. Funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society, she pursued her Master’s degree in Alaska’s remote Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea, investigating the volcanic evolution of St. Paul Island. Her knowledge of the Pribilofs and the Bering Sea led to her work as a consulting geologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration doing further field work in the Pribilof Islands.
As a young RN Grace studied midwifery at Queen Charlotte’s Maternity Hospital in London and later served as an officer in the US Air Force Nurse Corps. She lived in Alaska’s interior for several years where she was an avid birder, wilderness camper, marathon runner, and sled dog racer. She has participated in several geological expeditions to the Cascade Mountains volcanoes, including a trip into Mount St. Helens’ crater. Grace now lives in Seattle, Washington, where she teaches geology at South Seattle Community College.
We welcome Grace onboard Orion II.
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Wayne Brown |
Wayne is a marine biologist with a degree in ecology and environmental biology from the University of California at Irvine. Wayne is also a professional underwater photographer/videographer, scuba diving instructor, writer, and lecturer. Over 40 years of diving experiences have taken him around the world studying and documenting the earth’s marine environments and the creatures that inhabit them. He has been privileged to work with many respected institutions and individuals, including the Russian Academy of Sciences, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Aquarium of the Pacific, and the late Jacques Cousteau. In over 6,000 scuba dives he has dived with whales, dolphins, manatees, stingrays, moray eels, and great white sharks.
Wayne is an expert on the Russian Kuril Islands having been the first Westerner to explore and dive the Russian Kuril Islands as a guest of the Russian Academy of Sciences onboard the first international expedition to the Kuril Islands in 1991.
Wayne has been working onboard small ship expedition cruises as an onboard marine biologist/naturalist for over 14 years, throughout the world, including Alaska, Russian and Japan. When not underwater or expedition cruising Wayne, and his wife, Karen, visit schools, libraries and museums across the U.S. presenting their fun and fascinating multi-media underwater presentations to audiences of all ages.
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Alastair Newton |
Alastair offers Orion nearly 10 years of experience leading expedition voyages around the world.
Although British, Alastair graduated with a degree in Biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, having spent 7 years living in Alaska and discovering a love of Arctic wildlife and people. He spent 4 years living and working with captive Alaskan wildlife, in the form of Reindeer, Caribou and Muskoxen. This starting point led to him becoming a wilderness guide in Denali National Park, taking clients out to discover the wildlife for themselves. This turned out to be the start of his career in tourism and it was in 2004 that he made his switch to working on the water. Since 2004, Alastair has led over 100 cruises in 45 countries covering from the Arctic to the Antarctic and including unusual countries, such as the outer islands of Micronesia and the Marquesas, the Russian Far East and Japan and even Iran and Myanmar.
In addition to leading expedition cruises around the world, Alastair has a passion for flying, having had his pilot's license for 2 years and is currently learning to fly a 1939 Tiger Moth. Alastair is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
At any time during your voyage, feel free to grab Alastair for a meal or a drink and ask him to regale you with tales of of his travels all over the world and what it is really like to live through winters of -40C in Alaska. |
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Mayumi Kunamura |
Mayumi was born and educated in Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island. She studied Japanese Literature at college, but is also interested in film and contemporary culture. She has travelled to North America, Europe, South Asia, East Asia and New Zealand, and enjoys cross-cultural experiences and explaining her own culture to others.
She has worked onboard expedition cruise ships for various companies around Japan and South Korea in various roles including lecturer. Since 2009, she has worked as a fixer and an interpreter, travelling throughout Japan with families and groups of photographers, sight-seekers and naturalists. Mayumi has visited all of the key locations on our Japan itineraries multiple times.
Mayumi is a trained Reflexologist too and hobbies include: mountain hiking, snowshoeing, cross-country and downhill skiing, and nature watching.
We look forward to gaining an insight into Japanese culture from Mayumi. |
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