A Voyage from Montreal to New England

Study Leaders

Onboard Sept. 6 – 18
Dan Conlin
Dan Conlin’s first career was as a journalist for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. After returning to school and writing a MA thesis on privateering, he became Curator of Marine History at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Canada’s oldest and largest maritime museum. He has written most of the exhibits at the museum in the last ten years, covering topics from tugboats to the Titanic.

Ron Edsforth
Ron Edsforth is Distinguished Senior Lecturer in History and Chair of Globalization Studies in the Masters in Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program at Dartmouth. Ron has written extensively on the Industrial Revolution and the significance of the automobile industry in the Great Lakes region. He established his reputation in American history with a book titled Class Conflict and Cultural Consensus: The Making of a Mass Consumer Society in Flint, Michigan; and in documentary films including PBS’s America on Wheels.

John B. Heiser
John "JB" Heiser, Cornell Ph.D. ’81 and richly-informed naturalist, is co-author of Vertebrate Life, in its ninth edition, a textbook that integrates anatomy, paleontology, behavior, and physiology. From 1979-1994, JB was director of Cornell’s Shoals Marine Laboratory on Appledore Island in the Gulf of Maine. There, he exponentially expanded the lab’s curriculum and faculty and oversaw the launching of its offshore research and educational vessel. During this voyage, JB will talk about a number of issues related to the health of the world’s oceans and the life they sustain.

Wayne C. Thompson
Wayne C. Thompson teaches politics at Washington and Lee University.
The Canadian government awarded him a Faculty Enrichment Grant to do research for his book, Canada 2012. He has been a Fulbright Professor in Estonia and at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium, and a visiting professor at the Air War College in Montgomery, Alabama. He is a prolific author and editor on politics, history, and political theory. He is currently series editor for The World Today Series, Rowman & Littlefield, and is writing a book on General George C. Marshall as Secretary of Defense.

Miles Hearn
Miles Hearn is a nature lover who has led over 100 walks a year in the Toronto area, and runs breeding bird surveys for the Canadian Wildlife Research Centre. Miles has also worked as an educator and adult nature walk leader for the Toronto District School Board. As a professional orchestral musician, he has devoted considerable time to the identification of birds by song.

Onboard Sept. 30 – Oct. 12
Eliot Cohen
Eliot Cohen is the Robert E. Osgood Professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and is the author several books on military history including Conquered into Liberty: Two Centuries of Battles along the Great Warpath and How They Made the American Way of War, which focuses on the origins of the American way of war during two centuries of conflict with Canada. His articles and reviews have appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Times of London and more.

Donald Grady Shomette
Donald Grady Shomette is a maritime historian and pre-eminent maritime archaeologist who has regularly appeared on the History Channel and Discovery Channel. He has worked with the U.S. Navy to carry out the largest federal historic shipwreck inventory to date and has surveyed some of the oldest shipwreck fleets along the Atlantic coast. As you cruise, Don will discuss the exciting maritime archeology all along this rugged coastal region.

Onboard June 10 - 22
Anna Holloway
Anna Holloway is the Archer M. Huntington Chair for the Study of Maritime History and Curator of the USS Monitor Center at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia. Before coming to the Mariners’ Museum, she served in a variety of curatorial and interpretive roles at the Jamestown Settlement and Colonial Williamsburg. Dr. Holloway looks forward to sharing her love of maritime history and culture through images, words, and music.

Ken Knowles
Ken Knowles is a birder, naturalist, historian and avid photographer. He is a frequent guest on CBC Radio, speaking on bird-related topics and has served as provincial coordinator for the International Important Bird Areas Project and representative to the American Birding Association.

Bill Messenger
Teacher, composer, historian, music critic, author, pianist, and lecturer, Bill Messenger will entertain you with the wit and whimsy of 20th century popular American music and regale you with stories of Fred and Ginger, the enigma of Frank Sinatra, and other intriguing insights into classic popular songs. Mr. Messenger holds two Masters Degrees from Johns Hopkins University and has done additional graduate work in musicology at the University of Maryland.

Onboard all cruises
John Frick
Expedition Leader John Frick has been an active traveler for the past 30 years. Among the places he has called home are Alaska and the village of Tansen in Nepal, where he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in science and math education. For over 15 years, he has led voyages throughout New England and the Canadian Maritime Provinces, among other places. He especially enjoys sharing his expertise in stargazing and astronomy with fellow travelers.