The team

 

The team is constituted of 6 crew members with various experiences, bringing all the essential expertises necessary to make such a project successful: expeditions organization, diving in extreme environment and under-ice specialisation, walking and trekking on sea-ice, arctic and icefloe experience, professional image approach… Most of them have worked on different expeditions of the famous French explorer Jean-Louis Etienne.

 

A first training was organized on sea-ice in the north of the Baltic sea, in Finland, from February 19 to March 8, 2009. This experience helped validation of the project and in the same time precising its technical and material organisation. Two other trainings are planned in December 2009 and January 2010 in the Alpes.

French, 29 years old, mechanical engineer specialized in energy, graduated from the « Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne », diving instructor, professional diver, he has always been close to mountains and sea life. During two years he has been working closely with French explorer Jean-Louis Etienne as a logistician and a technical operator for the project « Total Pole Airship », an airship expedition above the Arctic Ocean, from Spitsberg to Alaska across North Pole and Canada. On this occasion, in April 2007, he organized a diving mission in the North Pole with a submersible robot and six divers. He dived as a cameraman assistant of Didier Noirot and photographer Stephane Compoint. He’s supervising "Deepsea Under The Pole by Rolex" and will be in charged of the submarine video.

French, 30 years old, diving and sailing instructor, skipper. After graduating at the National Sailing School, she has been working 5 years in the most famous nautical club of the Glénan islands. She was for two years Penfret Island manager. In 2004-2005, she took part in Clipperton expedition with Jean-Louis Etienne as co-manager of nautical activities. In 2006-2007, she sailed as first-mate in north Norway and Svalbard, on the 75 feet polar sailing boat « Southern Star ». Then she joined Jean-Louis Etienne’s team on « Total Pole Airship » expedition. On this occasion she went to the North Pole during spring 2008 in order to test ice measurement equipment. Her experience with collectivity and insular life will be very useful to deal with human relationships on "Deepsea Under The Pole by Rolex".

French, 32 years old, manager of under ice scubadiving school of Tignes (Alpes) diving instructor, professional diver, and undercaves diving instructor. He successfully developed his school in Tignes, making of it the first school of under ice scubadiving in Europe. He teaches this activity to many divers as well as to explorers preparing expeditions on sea ice. In the spring, once Tignes’lake has melt, he teaches undercaves diving in the center of France. During the expedition he will be in charge of the maintenance of the diving equipment.

French, 30 years old, diving and sailing instructor, professional diver, marine mechanic. He has been working 4 years in the nautical club of Glenan islands after graduating from the National Sailing School. In 2004-2005, he joined Jean-Louis Etienne’s team on Clipperton’s expedition as co-manager of nautical activities. In 2006-2008, he’s sailing on polar ship : « Tara » in South Georgia and then 8 months on sea ice in the arctic for the « Nansen’s drift ». In April 2007 he is part of Jean-Louis Etienne’s team who dived in North Pole. On "Deepsea Under The Pole by Rolex" expedition, he will be in charge of mechanic maintenance (generators, compressor).

French, 31 years old, technician in oceanographic engineer, graduate of INTECHMER (« Institut National des Sciences et Techniques de la Mer »), diving instructor, professional diver as well as passionate photographer. Fascinated by the sea, he started his career by spending 18 months in the Kerguelen Islands (part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands) managing a program in biological scuba diving. On his return, he ran a diving center in Corsica. He also worked in France and abroad as a technician in navigation, instrumentation, map-making and hydrography. During his various missions, he kept on taking pictures of both the marine and submarine environments in varied conditions. Logically, on “Under The Pole”, the picture will be under his responsibility.

French, 24 years old, he’s been practicing alpinism and climbing since childhood. Studying pharmacy in Grenoble, he is also a fire man and is preparing the mountain guide certificate. Climbing all the year long, he has also a passion for surf and body-board. He has practiced body-board in competition during 9 years and ski for the French championship during 4 years. He’s the youngest of the team, however best athlete. His knowledge about alpinism and his endurance are very necessary to the divers. He will also be responsible for the video in surface.

Français, 27 ans, après avoir passé cinq ans avec d’autres jeunes sur un bateau école de 13 à 18 ans où il apprend à naviguer mais aussi à filmer et monter des documentaires sur leurs aventures, il rentre en France pour intégrer une école d’audiovisuel pendant trois ans. Très vite, il se dirige vers le documentaire plutôt que le cinéma, qui lui correspond mieux et apprend sur tous les postes clefs : écriture, mise en scène, son et caméra. C’est cette expérience de la mer et de l’audiovisuel qui le font rejoindre Olivier Pitras sur Southern Star pendant son expédition Around North America. Pendant 8 mois, embarqué à plein temps, il assume presque seul le rôle de caméraman à bord et aux escales durant les nombreuses interviews. C’est cette passion et cette polyvalence qui lui permettent de rejoindre l’équipe de "Deepsea Under The Pole by Rolex" pour toute la durée de l’expédition comme caméraman et relais du réalisateur Thierry Robert.

Français, 35 ans, infirmier urgentiste. Après quelques années comme Sapeur Pompier de Paris, cordiste ou maitre nageur, il devient infirmier en 2006 et exerce depuis au SMUR ou en réanimation. Côté outdoor et outre un très bon niveau de plongée en apnée, il pratique une multitude de sports de montagne : le paralpinisme, le parapente, le ski de randonnée, l’escalade, le canyoning, la spéléologie et son sport de prédilection le base-jump. Pascal est l’ainé de l’équipe et sans aucun doute le plus physique avec Clément. Il aura donc pour mission de « tirer » l’équipe vers la côte dans les moments difficile et sera bien entendu le responsable médical du groupe.

Siberian Husky, né le 8 février 2009, de son vrai nom Amarok Ermak Kayak. Il est né à Quimper chez les « Amarok » (« esprit du loup » en langue inuit) dans une meute de 80 autres chiens de traineaux. La meute passe l’été en bretagne, l’hiver dans le jura où ils s’adonnent à leur activité de prédilection : le traineau! Kayak est encore trop jeune mais il à déjà très envie de tirer quand on lui met son harnais. A partir d’octobre il pourra doucement être attelé au VTT. Pendant l’expédition, son rôle sera de nous prévenir de l'approche d'ours polaires. Sur la fin de l'expédition, il sera peut-être accompagné d’un autre chien nordique que nous recruterons à notre arrivée à Resolute Bay.

French, Quebec resident, 29 years old, logistic manager. After graduating with a Master's in International Affairs and working two years as an auditor for a major financial company, she chose to follow her passion. She worked as a crew member on the “Fleur de Lampaul” for the “Nicolas Hulot” foundation and as an experienced observer for the cetaceans study missions done in partnership with WWF. She then left for Quebec to continue her work in the Mingan Islands Archipelago for 5 years where she was alternately a research captain, logistic manager, observer…training every year new recruits. She will spend her summer in 2009 as a co-first-mate in Svalbard, on the 75 feet polar sailing boat « Southern Star », before joining the expedition's team for the last trainings in December. During the expedition, she will be based in Resolute Bay, where she will be in charge of logistics and will act as primary contact with the team on the ice.

French, 45 years old, graphic designer and webmaster. After a postgraduate degree in Marketing, she worked for 17 years in this field before becoming a logistic manager for a Management and team-building company. Her passion of the sea made her travel and sail all around the world on different boats as a crew member, from Patagonia to Spitzbergen, from Vanuatu Islands to the Caribbean and the Red Sea. In 2008, she head back to school to become a computer graphics designer and a webdesigner which enabled her to work on many different websites, always in link with her passion for adventure and travel. Therefore, she created the expedition internet website, our logos and other graphic tools. Responsive, creative and very efficient, she works behind the scenes to keep the project going.

French, 29 years, lawyer.

German, 42 years old, he is a sea ice specialist and works in Canada at Alberta university where he’s giving courses and running a research laboratory about polar environment and climate. He is a geophysical Doctor and has also been working for many years at the German polar institute « Alfred Wegener Institute » as a researcher. His work in the arctic, especially during the International Polar Year, contributes to European scientific programs « DAMOCLES » devoted to climate studies in the arctic.

French, 40 years old, specialized in hyperbaritic medicine, general surgeon of the navy scuba-diving school, mine-clearing diver, professional diver, urgency and sport doctor. PhD in physiology and extreme environment, he’s running pilot programs about the decompression problematic.

French, 41 years old, specialized in subaquatic medicine, mine-clearing diver, diving instructor, urgency and sport doctor. He’s working at the hyperbaric medicine department of Sainte-Anne’s hospital in Toulon where he coordinates works on biochemical mechanism of the decompression sickness.

 

French, 42 years, director, independent chief cameraman. He worked for the main French and foreign TV productions, on all the grounds of adventure of the planet. He realized numerous widely rewarded documentaries, in particular in the pole "La Grande Traversée", "Voyage au Tibet Interdit" or still the series "Carnets de Plongée" and more recently " The Climatic Odyssey of Southern Star ". Profoundly humanist, he decided to join the expedition for the tremendous human adventure which it represents!