Project Chairman & Arctic Leader
Earl de Blonville FRGS

Earl’s role, as the project’s creator, is to keep the vision pure and relevant to ensure that all of the project’s objectives are fully met and that the project provides a great experience for everyone involved.

He has a lifetime of adventure and a solid commitment to youth development and community service. As a professional mountaineering instructor in the UK and Australia, he taught a range of adventure activities to many ability levels. In 1986 he led Australia’s first Arctic expedition, with HRH The Prince of Wales as his patron. His internationally released film has been shown on the BBC, ABC and Discovery. Over several expeditions, Earl has explored half of Greenland’s navigable coast in his yacht and sea kayak.

In 1988, Earl was Director of the internationally televised Tall Ships 5-day event at which the Prime Minister officially opened Australia’s Bicentenary celebrations. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London, and has served as consultant to other Arctic and desert expeditions.

He has made first ascents and led many expeditions, including scientific exploration, to mountain, desert and Arctic regions. As a leadership mentor he works with senior executives. He is a writer with four children and interests that include gaff-rig sailing, Indian motorcycles and Middle Eastern history.

Garry has overall responsibility for the successful management of ACLC, covering financial, compliance, personnel, materiel and sub-projects.

Originally trained in Accounting, Statistics and IT, Garry has assisted many businesses in Australia and Asia to develop their revenues and broaden their markets. He has held senior roles within GE Information Services, Infosentials, e-Funds International, LearningStream International and Labtam. As General Manager of Labtam, Operational Development, he was responsible for taking internal client, AccessOne, from zero revenue to $30m in 2.5 years. He has public company experience including listing on the ASX.

Drawing on his wide business growth success, assisting business owners in surfwear, sailmaking, education and IP to achieve multi-millionaire status and larger banking and software enterprises within the Australian and Asian markets to achieve significant growth, Garry is now a guest lecturer on Entrepreneurship to MBA students at the Deakin University School of Business. He is also responsible for creating a community-based enterprise on the Mornington Peninsula, backed by Bendigo Bank, Community Development Australia and the local business community.

Garry competed in the 1984 World Orienteering Championships and today enjoys competitive sailing and motorbike sports touring. He is father to four teenage children and has a special interest in desert exploration.

Deputy Arctic Leader
Vonna Keller WMI NOLS

Vonna has responsibly for the operation of the whole field program, including overall logistics, adventure programs, science program, resupply and filming operations.

She is one of Australia’s most highly skilled outdoors professionals, with 13 years in Outdoor Education. Vonna holds leader’s qualifications in diving, skiing and cliff rescue, and is an instructor and senior practitioner in wilderness medicine with the internationally acclaimed NOLS.

As a Field Training Officer and Guide with the Australian Antarctic Division, Vonna has frontline responsibility for the field training of scientific and support personnel as well as large-scale supply logistics for Antarctic operations, including filming programs, aircraft and maritime logistics and overland track vehicles, as well as ongoing support for the extensive scientific programs.

Vonna has wide international experience including Canada, Switzerland, New Zealand, the US and Pakistan and is an experienced wilderness filmmaker, working on productions for Discovery, ABC, National Geographic and Australian television that include Getaway, Survivor and Baseclimb 2 (Glen Singleman’s famous jump from Great Trango).

Director: Arctic Leadership Program
Tyson Lehmann DipOR. BClinPrac. WMI NOLS

Tyson is responsible for development and operation of the adventure training component of the expedition. This will include skills training, mini adventures, exploratory treks inland and the famous Solo experience. He is also responsible for wilderness medicine and search and rescue.

He is an international adventure training professional, with extensive senior qualifications in experiential education, mountaineering, small boat handling, whitewater rescue and wilderness medicine and life support. Tyson’s leadership and management experience extends from special operations with the Department of Defence and Special Forces to Outward Bound in Canada and Australia, as well as Charles Sturt University and the University of NSW.

His expeditions have taken him on extended trips dogsledding, wilderness canoeing and mountaineering across Canada, New Zealand, Australia and recently on assignment to Africa.

Expedition Guide
Peter the Hunter

Peter is responsible for the procurement of fresh local Inuit food to feed the expedition. He draws on his many years experience living the traditional Inuit lifestyle as an East Greenland hunter. Peter is a highly experienced Arctic traveller with intimate knowledge of the East Greenland coast and its wide range of flora and fauna. As a hunter, he has a unique knowledge of the movement and peculiarities of the south-flowing East Greenland Polar Current, as well as the area’s unique seasonal weather and ice conditions.

He has a deep understanding of the local culture and is fluent in the Greenlandic language. He is committed to helping our Young Explorers understand Mankind’s roots and our common traditional values, and to developing their natural survival instincts. Today he works in the timber industry in Jutland and his daughter, born in Greenland, is a kindergarten teacher in Denmark.

Boat Manager
Jake Bloomfield

Jake is responsible for boat maintenance. He will be trained by Mercury Marine to service our Mercury Optimax fuel injected outboard engines, He will also train and supervise Young Explorers in rope warping and anchoring practices to ensure the safety of our boats against sea ice surge and waves from iceberg collapse.

He was born in the same ancient Viking manor house as John Hanning Speke, the English explorer who discovered the source of the Nile. Adventure is in Jake’s blood and his early years were spent sailing an 1890’s gaff cutter on the Devon coast, travelling to Turkey and bashing the bush tracks around Mt Buller. He currently studies at Gisborne College, Victoria, repairs computers, plays bass guitar and races his BMX bike on bush tracks around Mt Macedon.