Alaska Endeavour is a nonprofit organization, supporting science, education, conservation, and preservation.  We host natural history expeditions anywhere in maritime Alaska on our historic 72-foot research vessel the Endeavour.

We charter the Endeavour to archeologists, paleontologists, biologists, geologists, ornithologists, anthropologists, botanists, glaciologists, artists, film crews, historians, and other researchers from universities, museums, non-profits, and government agencies.  When feasible, we bring along high school students as interns, in mentorship with the professional researchers. 

​We also run 12-day expeditions for high school students in groups of six with a faculty member. On these trips, the student team does a benchmark study -- a census -- of a remote wilderness location. Afterward, they write and publish a professional paper. The scientific community and conservation organizations get the data, and the students get an author credit for their college applications. These expeditions change their lives.

Bill Urschel, our executive director and captain of the Endeavour, is a licensed US Coast Guard 100-ton Master with over 1,300 days at sea. He has run the Endeavour since 2007. He founded and sold five software companies, as well as The Narrative Press, publisher of 106 historical journals of exploration. He has also served on the boards of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the board of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. He is a National Fellow of the Explorers Club, and he holds a history degree from Princeton University.