Our principals and staff

A few words about the principals and senior staff at Shearwater:

Peter Kingsmill
Managing Director
Harbour Captain
Peter has been active in a variety of roles in the tourism and marine industries, both nationally and locally. He served as Editor of TOURISM magazine for the Canadian Tourism Commission between 2000 and 2008, and has been Mayor of his home community (Hafford) since 2006. He was awarded the Governor General of Canada's Conservation Award (1992) and Tourism Saskatchewan's Fred Heal Tourism Ambassador Award (2002). He is credited with bringing to fruition the designation (2000) of the Redberry Lake Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO) which includes the Town of Hafford, Redberry Lake, and the surrounding watershed.

Valerie Kingsmill
Director of Catering & Sales

British-born and Australia-raised, Valerie brings over thirty years of restaurant and service industry experience to Shearwater. In the 1980s she was the creative brains behind the small - but nationally recognized - tea-room franchise Emmett's Tea Room based at Ruddell, where the croissant-based full-course-meal menu was featured in Where to Eat in Canada for nine straight years. Valerie is Shearwater's "voice on the telephone" when clients call to book tours and dinner cruises.

Janelle Seaborg
Chief Steward and Captain, Saskatoon Princess

Janelle hails from Central Butte, Saskatchewan, and is studying kinesiology at the University of Saskatchewan. She joined the crew of the Saskatoon Princess in the spring of 2007 and now serves as Chief Steward for both the Meewasin Queen and the Saskatoon Princess. In 2009, Janelle was appointed Captain of the Saskatoon Princess in addition to her Chief Steward duties.

Tamara Sowellu

Captain, Meewasin Queen
Tamara, who was born and schooled in Saskatoon, joined Shearwater River Cruises as Captain in the spring of 2009. Her experience as a captain, tourist guide and boat operator is extensive, in particular in the sport and professional diving industry in the United States where she is a top-certified deep-dive specialist, a Master Diver, and an instructor. Tamara also has a Shamanic Healing practice in Saskatoon.

Calvin and Sarah LaFreniere
Mechanical and Operations

Sarah is Peter and Valerie's youngest daughter and a Director of the company. She has, to some extent, followed in the footsteps of her great grandfather Admiral Sir Charles Kingsmill (founder of the Canadian Navy in 1910). Sarah spent four years as an HMCS Jervis Bay Cadet (at Saskatoon's HMCS Unicorn) and finished her last year as a staff sailing instructor at Fort Qu'Apelle. She also sailed as a "Skip" in the Western Canada Summer Games.

Sarah's specialty with Shearwater is operating the company's service boats and serving as a rigger during launch and dry-docking procedures. Her husband Calvin is the company's go-to equipment mechanic; together Sarah and Calvin and their children raise cattle and grain on the third-generation LaFreniere family farm at Mayfair, northwest of Saskatoon.