SYL
Superyachts on voyages of scientific discovery
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he says. “You can’t stop watching because so much action is happening around you. You think you’ve seen everything and then, wow, another huge whale appears!” Alexei loaned Papillion – one of Bering’s sturdy explorers – for the four-day expedition via Yachts for Science, a not-for-profit platform that matches marine scientists with private vessels to carry out marine research.
“Our boats are designed to go off-the-beaten-path, so if you’re capable of doing that, why not bring some meaning to it?” says Alexei. “In most cases this stuff is underfinanced and it’s hard for scientists to find a decent platform.” Rosie O’Donnell, project lead at Yachts for Science agrees. “The most significant challenge for marine scientists is access to the sea,” she says. “There is a huge lack of vessels available to marine researchers. By using superyachts that are already sailing, we can increase the amount of research being conducted today.”
