Hello, I am Gordon Bain. I was the Deputy Voyage Leader of the ship, Aurora Australis, during the 2000 voyage. In this role I handled most of the coordination of passenger movements and cargo, including considerable liaison with the crew. I also kept track of Berkley and OzGold's adventures on the ship and provided the information sheets found in the Information section of Bears On Ice. A couple of years before I 'met' Betty Trummel, I did another series involving a soft/stuffed toy on a voyage. This toy was not tied to a school/class (more to a particular student and family and friends). I did extensive writing and took a zillion pictures. In 1999, Betty asked me to take her class' GeoBear, Brownie, on a voyage. This resulted in even more pictures and information and it seemed that the students really enjoyed them. So in 2000, I volunteered to take Berkley and OzGold. The adventures of Berkley and OzGold are what is captured in Bears on Ice, along with a few of the information sheets I developed for Brownie's voyage.

Just to give you a little more information about the management structure of the Voyage, Suzanne Stallman was the Voyage Leader - she took overall responsibility for the voyage program and ensuring meeting all its programs and objectives. The management of the ship itself is of course under the Master (or Captain if your prefer)and their management structure involves a Chief Mate (or First Officer) and other mates, a Chief Engineer and other engineers, and other crew covering ships operations and household (catering etc.).

Hope you enjoy the adventures of Berkley and OzGold.

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