ISBJORN

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Emma Garschagen // First Mate & Podcast Host (USA)

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Emma Garschagen // First Mate & Podcast Host (USA)

Emma is 59º North’s Chief Mate. She joined the 59º North team in 2019 after graduating from Kenyon College where she studied environmental science. Emma has logged over 25,000 ocean miles in the past three years. She has crossed the Atlantic twice, and recently sailed up to 80° North on ISBJØRN in Svalbard. Emma has also sailed as a student and deckhand on tall ships, worked on traditional wooden boats, driven launch boats, and recently skippered a Broadreach voyage with high schoolers in the Caribbean.

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Jon Amtrup // ISBJØRN Skipper (NOR)

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Jon Amtrup // ISBJØRN Skipper (NOR)

Jon Amtrup is a Norwegian sailor, captain, author, and Arctic explorer. Of his sailing accomplishments, Jon has sailed the entire coast of Norway several times in both winter and summer, circumnavigated Svalbard, crossed the Atlantic, explored Greenland, crossed the North Sea many times, and raced in several national and international double-handed and single-handed regattas. Jon runs his own business consulting with high latitude sailing expeditions on planning, weather, and routing assistance. A member of the The Explorers Club, Jon is the author of several maritime books. Encouraged by Andy, he also hosts his own sailing podcast in Norway. Jon skippered ISBJØRN in the high latitudes in 2022, and returns for more in 2023.

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Ben Soofer // Relief Mate (USA)

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Ben Soofer // Relief Mate (USA)

Ben Soofer is a sailor and an outdoor educator. Ben first joined the 59 North team in 2018 (making him the very first addition to the team!) as the resident "Public Relations & Media Guru" while attending the University of Denver. Ben grew up sailing on the sandy banks of the Neuse River in North Carolina but was convinced that his destiny lay in the professional world. After Andy invited him to step aboard for a passage south, everything changed. 

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Mia Karlsson // CREW Liasion, FALKEN Mate (SWE/USA)

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Mia Karlsson // CREW Liasion, FALKEN Mate (SWE/USA)

Mia grew up in the countryside in Sweden a non-sailor until meeting Andy in New Zealand in 2006. Her first sailing trip was aboard SOUTHERN ENDURANCE, a 28-foot charter boat in the Marlboro Sounds on NZ’s South Island. Since then she’s sailed over 50,000 miles offshore, crossed the Atlantic 7 times (on 4 different boats), & sailed ISBJORN to 80º North.

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August Sandberg // QUARTERDECK Editor, ISBJØRN Skipper (NOR)

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August Sandberg // QUARTERDECK Editor, ISBJØRN Skipper (NOR)

After serving a year in the army as an Arctic Jaeger on the Norwegian-Russian border, he started film studies in Bergen. While studying film production, August renovated an old Baltic 37, and then proceeded to circumnavigate the Atlantic with her after he got his degree. August became a dad in 2021 and lives with his son Amund and his partner Karolina in the fjords outside of Bergen, Norway.

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Lee Cumberland // Podcast Producer, Relief Mate (USA)

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Lee Cumberland // Podcast Producer, Relief Mate (USA)

Lee and Andy have been friends since 2012 when Lee first started doing deliveries and long before the business started. Since then, Lee has helped out in all aspects of 59º North, but most recently has been dubbed ‘ship’s engineer’ for his work on the big boat ICEBEAR in the Caribbean. Lee sailed on ISBJORN with us in the 2019 Caribbean 600 race, and with his wife Rachel, owns a Tayana 37 called SATORI, on which they sailed to the Panama Canal and back. Lee is also a producer for the On the Wind podcast.