Our Story
THE SEAFORTH DIFFERENCE
Our intimate knowledge of the local wildlife and landscape allows us to tailor your trip to your photo/film goals.
We look forward to hearing what you hope to achieve!
Seaforth Expeditions is built on the desire to be in nature and share amazing wildlife encounters with likeminded people. Our hope is that by sharing our in-depth knowledge, filmmakers, photographers, and nature lovers will produce works and stories that inspire and educate the world about the fragility and beauty of the Pacific Northwest eco-systems.
ABout SEAFORTH
COMMITTED TO NATURE
Our Ethics
Through film and photography we aim to share stories and moments that inspire people to develop a deep love and understanding of the importance of nature, in particular sea wolves.
Sea wolves are highly misunderstood, and our overarching goal is to see them protected and appreciated for the important role they play in the near coastal ecosystem.
We consider our impact in all we do, and maintain a gentle respectful approach, both coming and going.
We don’t share locations or images that could put wildlife at risk.
We never use bait or scents to attract wildlife.
We keep our group size small. Maximum 6 clients.
We stay inconspicuous and do our best to blend in with our surroundings dressing in earth tones, using camouflage, and blinds to hide our presence. We keep our volume low, and avoid fast movements. We avoid strong smells, including bug spray.
We set up in familiar places, so the animals know what to expect, and regarding wolves, we split our time between different packs to reduce our impact.
We pull back when possible: If we have had a good view and moment with an animal, or if we notice our presence is causing an animal stress, we will gently remove ourselves from that animal so it may can carry on with what it was doing when we found it.
We predominantly use long lenses to achieve the look and feel of being close.
We use camera traps or remote cameras to reduce human interaction.
We work with leading scientists, filmmakers, photographers, and conservation groups for the betterment of the animals and environment.
Crew
Director/captain Sea Wolf Guide
Tom McPherson
Founder of Seaforth Expeditions
His career as a mariner began in 2001 working offshore on a commercial trawler fishing tuna. He has also spent time abroad sailing Tall Ships, and since 2005 Tom has guided thousands of people throughout Coastal BC and Alaska.
At Capilano University he studied Outdoor Recreation Management and later obtained his Canadian Coast Guard Masters Certificate from BCIT's Pacific Marine Training Center. He has built and rebuilt a number of small vessels, including a vintage racing yacht from the 1956 Olympics, In 2019, after a 2,500hrs of labour he launched his 35’ aluminum schooner Fast Eddy.
His passion is exploring our incredible coast and sharing amazing wildlife experiences with others. His broad range of coastal knowledge spans from the intertidal zone to mega fauna, and he is an expert at spotting wildlife. Founding Seaforth Expeditions is the culmination of his skills and passions as an explorer, photographer, outdoor educator, wilderness lover, builder, and sea wolf guide. Tom is the most experienced wolf guide in the Pacific Northwest.
Job Opportunities
Lead Guide
Are you a highly skilled and certified boat handler with excellent tracking and people skills? This position requires a diverse background of coastal wilderness experience, an artistic eye, grit, mechanical aptitude and patience. If your an expert at managing people and wildlife interactions, in remote settings we’d love to hear from you.
Cook/Crew
All positions are currently full, however we’d love to hear from you and we keep a roster of candidates as positions become available.
If you love locally sourced West coast cooking, boating and sharing amazing experiences with likeminded people we would love to hear from you. The candidate for this position must be able to create delicious food in a camp setting, cooking over fires or propane appliances. This person should also have experience sailing and handling small boats, or a strong desire to develop those skills. Please email your resume to tom@seaforthexpeditions.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Featured in
The Boat
Riptide is setup to be an excellent platform for Film and Photography tours all while allowing us to safely access the wildest places.
Riptide started out as a whale watching boat certified for 12 passengers, however, we generally only take 4 - 6 passengers, ensuring our clients the space for an exclusive experience.
For film work we can remove all the seats making room for Shot Over and Cineflex systems. With a 10.5’ beam, twin 200 horsepower, and heavy aluminum construction, Riptide is the perfect West Coast boat to safely get us into some of the wildest places. You’ll notice the RCMP and Coast Guard use very similar boats for their safety, and reliability.
Our History:
Seaforth Expeditions originally started out with dream of running wind and human powered expeditions throughout coastal BC. It was a tumultuous path to design and build Fast Eddy, but in spring of 2019, we launched her just in time to compete in the Race to Alaska. A 700 mile wind and human powered race from Port Townsend to Ketchikan, without an engine. It was a wonderful/hell of a maiden voyage, and we were one of a handful of contestants to successfully complete the journey!
If you’d like to use or purchase Fast Eddy, we are open to offers.
In 2017, working with Dearden Marine and Dudley Dix Yacht Design, Tom commissioned the design for Fast Eddy, a classically inspired schooner to be built in aluminum.
Characteristics
Spared Length 41’
LOD 35’3”
DWL 33’5”
Beam 8’3”
Displ 5532lb
Draft 5’7” Keel down/1’8” Keel up!
Sail Area 605 sq/ft
Fast Eddy has many unique safety features built in. Under the cockpit sole, there are ice boxes for cold food storage, water tanks, and enough foam to make the boat inherently buoyant. She has massive water clearing capabilities in the self-draining cockpit through the swing keel slot and a large drainage channel running into the motor well. For emergency situations we carry an auxillary outboard motor. In the cabin there is a toilet, holding tank, sink, stove, v-birth and more storage space. It has 8 rowing stations and each seat doubles as a watertight compartment and storage space for personal gear.
