Our Staff

WHALE & GRIZZLY VIEWING EXCURSIONS

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Overview Our Boats Our Staff How To Find Us Contact Us Events Media Room Olli the Mascot	Our Staff Ollie The Orca - Mascot Ollie is our newest team member; she joined our team just before Canada Day! She is a Resident Orca and loves to eat Salmon. Keep a look out for Ollie as she is roaming the docks and boats, you might even see her downtown Campbell River!! And by the way.....kids love to give Ollie a good whale hug! Heike Wieske – President & CEO I am excited about sharing with you the beauty and wildlife of our area. Having had 7 years of experience in the Marine Tourism industry I have a clear picture of what our visitors expect when they sign up for one of our safaris. I want you to really feel how dedicated we are right from the moment of your inquiries, your reservations, the check-in and then the actual tour. We have our hearts in what we are doing and our goal is to make this safari the highlight of your trip. We are organized and energetic and love dealing with tourists from all over the world. And I particularly enjoy greeting our guests when they step off the boat and listen to the excitement of their trip. Seeing a whale or Grizzly on a photo is nice but being close to them and seeing, listing or even smelling them in their natural habitat…. that’s an experience nobody can ever take away from you!!!! It’s my pleasure to help you with all the questions you may have and I hope to see you in the summer! Geord Dunstan - Captain and Owner Being born and raised in Campbell River has given me a very unique connection to our diverse marine ecosystem. With 19 years experience as a captain of fishing, whale watching, and freight vessels, I have an extensive marine background. I am very excited about being part of DMS, where sharing our passion for these beautiful and majestic creatures is truly what we are all about. Answering your questions and talking about the animals is something I thoroughly enjoy. It's not uncommon to see myself or my co-captain, Rick, bursting with excitement as a whale surfaces along side the boat. Everyday on the water is a blessing and I look forward to sharing this with you soon. Warren Schuh I grew up in Victoria up until the age of 12 and moved to Prince Rupert where I discovered my love for the ocean and all things to do with boats.. Over the last 30 some years I've worked on all types of fish boats, tug boats,as well as being in the coast guard for a number of years I've been running charter boats for the last few years before moving to Campbell River. I joined the Discovery Marine Safaris crew this summer and I'm completely stoked about my new position! From the boats to the coworkers everything here is top notch! I'm looking forward to many happy seasons watching the look of amazement when a customer sights their first whale or bear! Joel Bridle - Captain Over the last thirty years I’ve had the fortune of making a living on the sea. Sailing with a lot of great companies in my past, my good fortune has continued having joined the Discovery Marine Safaris team. I get to skipper the nicest small passenger vessels on the coast into the most beautiful waters to see incredible wildlife. At the same time meeting people from all over the world. Heike tells me that I don’t have to pay to come to work, but actually get paid!! I guess I’ll just keep pinching myself!! Mark Evans - Head Naturalist & Captain Eco tourism, wildlife and the sustainability of our natural environment is my passion. I have been blessed in my life having worked in some of our natural worlds most unique and stunning environments, from Australia, to Tanzania, Bolivia, Nepal, US and now beautiful Vancouver Island in BC. For me personally eco tourism is all about connecting people to our natural environment, for the connection breeds relevance and relevance breeds knowledge and most importantly care. I am very excited to be part of this dynamic team for this season and look forward to sharing our beautiful part of the world with you. Rick Douglas – Captain Rick has spent most of his life on the water, not just working for BC Ferries, but because he loves our coastal waters. He joined our team in 2009 and worked with us all winter for the water taxi service that we provide! During the summer Rick will be with us part time, he is going back to BC Ferries to do the Northern Routes and fill in with us as a guide when he’s got some time off. Tom Sewid - Native Legend Speaker Tom is a First Nations (Indian) who is from the Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl) Tribe of Northern Vancouver Island. He has been raised on the coast following in the footsteps of many of his family by being a commercial fisherman who worked his way up the ranks to be a captain of a fishing boat. In the mid 1990s when the commercial fishing industry of the coast had negatively changed, Tom would pursue a career in eco-cultural tourism where he shared as a gifted legend speaker and historian his rich culture and heritage with the world. By being raised to know the ancient ways and stories of his people you will experience this adventure tour like a journey back in time. Matt Friede – Captain / First Officer Tenacious III Acquired to our team during our 2009 season, Matt has found a new home on our boat Tenacious III. Matt brings a vast amount of knowledge and experience in the medical field as well as knowledge of marine wildlife and of our local ocean paradise. Working on Tenacious III as a First Officer, Matt insures your safety and is always willing to spark up a conversation about our local wildlife. Being a recreational diver Matt also has an understanding on what is going on beneath the surface of the ocean as well. "I have walked away from last season with the understanding how important conservation and protection of our beautiful coast is. Every time is like the first time when one of the magnificent mammals surfaces and takes a breath" Amanda Schmitke – Reservation/Service Agent ......simply loves our BC coast. As a fourth year Biology student from Ontario, Amanda has adapted very easily to our West Coast life style. Her uncle is a successful fishing guide in town, who taught her about our local wildlife and history. We are very happy to have Amanda back this season. She is very organized and loves to help our guests coming from all over the world, not just with booking a trip with us but also with other questions about their stay in our area. She also speaks fluent French for the convenience of all of our French speaking guests! Lucy Schoenfelder For those of you who met Lucy last season, she had her baby Jack on February 4th. Jack doesn’t want to share his mummy too much, so Lucy will help out in the office part time this season. Her fluent French helped many guests last year! Gaby Chaykowski - Marketing & Reservation Gaby promised to come up with more details just after she takes care of one more reservation and one more ad and one more... Dominik Friede – Marketing & IT Director I am very exited to be back for the 2010 Whale and Grizzly viewing season! Last year I had such a blast helping families have their first real Orca experience, just seeing their faces when they got of the boat made my day! Being born in Berlin, Germany, I fell in love with the great Canadian out-doors as soon as I got here. Almost thirteen years later, and I still get as excited about seeing Orcas and Grizzlies as I did for my first time!! It’s this excitement that I will bring back to this year’s season, and as I found out last season my German is still in excellent shape. Let’s make your dreams come true! Let’s go find us some Orcas!!