ASAE – The Crew

Born in 1954, is an archetype of a traveller and sportsman. In his early 20s, he bought himself an old Volkswagen van and travelled from Switzerland all the way down to South Africa where he worked and lived for one year. Another year he spent travelling in South America (Patagonia, the Andes, Amazon and Napo Rivers, just to name a few of the places visited). Extended travels in Southeast Asia, Polynesia/Pacific and trips through Northern America (West to East and from the Mississippi upwards to the Canadian border) followed.

Apart from land travel he has many years of experience as a professional cruising and racing skipper on traditional as well as modern sailing vessels and accomplished more than 100.000 nautical miles. In 1996 friends introduced him to his first Rib-Tour using a six-metre inflatable. They travelled along the pacific coast from Costa Rica to Panama poking into all the little rivers and creeks along the way. “That trip got me infected”, he says today. “Even for somebody like me who had been exploring the world for years on land and on water, this trip was a revelation. Suddenly a whole new world of possibilities opened up. From then on I have been concentrating on rivers and their systems, on the idea of taking one or two ribs and explore places well off the beaten track, on the possibility to enter into nearly unknown or almost forgotten territories.”

Since 2004 Andy, has organised and led source-to-mouth river expeditions on the Mekong, Zambezi, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Gomati, Kaladan, and Yukon rivers. Rib Expedition & Adventure, the company he founded in the beginning of 2004, is based in Palma de Majorca. Andy who successfully ran various ship chandleries on the island now brings his expertise to this new organization.

In his coming expedition, will first ever attempt to cross across the length of South America through different connecting rivers.


In charge of logistics and Instituto Sustentar, our NGO Partner. 
Douglas has been working in Brazil and the Pantanal for 37 years, and from 2005 he has been registering jaguars, giant river otters, and doing bird counts on a 350km stretch of the Paraguay River, from Cáceres south to Pacu Gordo. Douglas has registered 72 different jaguars and have more photos to analyse from this year’s cats and otters.
He is part of the IUCN Species Conservation Commission.

Apal is an independent cinematographer and still photographer based in Nainital, India. Born 1969, he has an interest in both documentary and fiction film formats and his body of work includes documentary films, features drama and wildlife. He is passionate about the outdoors and has worked on several extreme outdoor shoots. Mountain shoots for Gowarkar, Punjabi feature films. Doc and wildlife, etc. A chance meeting, during ‘Zambezi expedition’, with the Swiss adventurer and river expert, Andy Leemann, led Apal to rivers. Apal has been Co-Expedition Leader with Andy for six rivers in India and across the world, and qualifies as a ‘river addict’.

I was born in San Fernando, Buenos Aires 61 years ago, I lived my childhood and adolescence next to the River Plate and the Delta where my love for sailing was born.
I studied like tecnic and worked in the boats construction few years After having lived in Brazil and navigating many miles along the Atlantic, I have lived in Mallorca for 29 years. Together with Marina, my lifelong companion, here we form a family with our children Oliva and Luca.
Besides continuing to sail as a professional, I also work in solar thermal and biomass heating. This trip that we will undertake, through the rivers is something I have dreamed of many times.

 

Boating expert, founder and president of AB Inflatables. Ivor has done many Expeditions and is a winner of the world largest and hardest Boat race the Rally Orinoco.
He is a Pro when it comes to Ribs and Rivers also a Fishermen by passion.

I was a boat racer for over 10 years and did many world championships. My family was a historic Italian inflatable boat builder. I’m an adventurer and this Amazon Expedition is a dream I had all my live. I will join the entire journey and will make sur as an outboard mechanic that the engines and the boats will make the 6500km without troubles.

Steen was born in Denmark and was attracted to the sea from an early age evolving into extensively racing in international regattas. After 5 years in the Danish merchant navy as deck cadet went on to train as shipbroker in Copenhagen which later led to a new career as yacht broker in 1990 in Antibes.
Worked as officer and captain on motor and sailing yachts for 5 years and finally settled down on Mallorca in 1996 and went back to superyacht brokerage for some of the leading companies and is now senior sales broker at Fraser Yachts Spain. Steen’s interests spans from adventure traveling, sailing, photography to mountain biking and is co-founder of the HOPE Orphanage for 11 children in Myanmar run with a local couple where yachting helps securing the future for children with no families and enabling them to achieve the dreams of their own.

Seit Geburt bin ich am Zürichsee wohnhaft. Kein Wunder also, dass das Element Wasser – egal ob See, Fluss oder Meer – mich immer interessiert und fasziniert hat. Und nun geht mein langjähriger Wunsch, den brasilianischen Urwald zu erleben, in Erfüllung. Ich bin bereit für Amazonien!

Lives on the shores of Lake Zurich, hangs around with Andy since almost 50 years, “brothers” you may call that. Travelled together through Africa, South America, Asia, Atlantic crossing, Caribbean Sea and so on. Knows mutually and visually about all former expeditions of RIBEX, this expedition will be the first he will participate physically.

I am Paul SCHNEIDER, 66 jears in September, my profession is hairdresser. I am happily married and have two miraculous children, doughter and son. My son Moritz is also present with our adventure tour. Beside my profession, i love the traveling round the world, often on my own risk and with backpack. I have got to know Andy on the Yukon River tour and from the kind like he handles with people, the nature and special situations, i am very inspired. A LEADER! I am glad to meet Apal again and to experiance the adventure South America with the new crew.
PS I like to kook in Nature and Wilderness.

Sijbrand “Brando” Booij has been involved in several related fields of this expedition.
“As the manager of Offshore Rib Events I have been boating on RIBs around the oceans for the last decade. Mainly on bigger RIBs, but a boat is a boat and that’s always good! Before that, my “backpacking year” after university graduation already brought me in the Brazilian and Columbian jungle in 2002 and 2003. The taste and desire for the Amazon was born at that trip, a feeling that since then has never left me. I was fortunate as well to become involved in the Dakar Rally, both as a navigator and crewmember. For the last 5 editions already it took me to the amazing continent of South America.
The Ascend of South America now gives me the opportunity to combine all the above in an unprecedented adventure!”

Hi my name is Moritz Schneider im 29 Years old and the son of Paul Schneider, who is also crewmember of this expedition. Right now I´m a student at the Universität of Hamburg and studying social economics in the third semester. Before that i was working as an examined Erzieher (Kindergardener) for three years. The one thing i like the most, is to ride my motorcycle to different places. On my motorcycletours I have been to Norway, Italy and a lot of other places too. I love to travel to rural areas, which have a lot of untouched nature. I´m glad to be part of the crew this year and full of expectations of what will happen on this expedition.

My first big travel adventure was in 1997 when I went back-packing through India. After that the travel bug never left me and I have been fortunate enough to see some very beautiful spots in the world.
In 2013 and 2014 I was a volunteer for the Orangutan Foundation International, building bridges through the swamps of Borneo. In my day to day life I work at ING, the global branding department.

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I choose to join Andy’s river trip, as a rare chance to go back to basics and share two weeks on the river with Andy and all the adventurers. I grew up with Andy and in fact he was first in my boy scout group, before he became leader of his own group.
I helped Andy to renovate his first wodden dinghy (Fireball) sailboat and we sailed together when strong wind came up. About 1985 I joined Andy and Paolo on their Maiden Light Charter turn in the Carribean (Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Tobago Keyes, Union Island, etc.) I am very excited about this new adventure and hope we will have a great time and good weather.

I’m a specialist and pionier in outdoor adventure trips with a holistic approach towards environmental and local cultures. While I traveled the world I got inspired by autentic people and beautiful virgin spots. I realised that it’s really important to adjust to the host and environment in a respectful and flexible manner. There is always a right flow in which the best necessary things in live come to you. Something between no worries and pura vida!

I was born in Buenos Aires, i’m 48 years old. I studied graphic design, photography and yoga. Currently, I am a full time photographer, working in tourism.
I grew up in Corrientes northest of Argentina next to the Parana river, one of the bigest branches of Amazon river. I have a long loving relationship with the Parana river because is the link to my childhood and my gurani roots.
I am very excited about this expedition. To get to know the power of the river and the life that grow in its bench’s.

As a young traveller I’ve always enjoyed experiencing and learning new things through a hands on approach. One of the most rewarding experiences for me so far was helping out in an orphanage in Kenya. I am now currently backpacking through South America where I look forward to joining the expedition and educating myself further through the professionals on board.

A kind and loving person very close to nature, especially the Pantanal. I am very happy to be a volunteer for the expedition of RIBEX WORLD EXPEDITION.

Miguel Caballero is an artist designer, programmer and musician. Founder of the company KUBACK STUDIO in 2006. He is in charge of the online coverage of the expeditions, as well as the corporate image and the official website of RIBEX WORLD WIDE EXPEDITIONS.