The International Seakeepers Society has released a video below, with the highlights from this year’s DISCOVERY Yacht expeditions. These were hosted by such beautiful vessels as the 138′ luxury charter yacht Penny Mae (ex Keri Lee).
• January – SeaKeepers led an outreach program educating Bahamian school children about SeaKeepers Drifters on board charter yacht Defiance. Students learned about marine science and helped deploy a drifter into the Gulf Stream.
• SeaKeepers collaborated with researchers from University of Florida, Ocean Research Corporation, Florida Biodiversity Institute, and Life Technologies to examine marine genomes inside a custom-made mobile laboratory on board motor yacht Copasetic.
• May – SeaKeepers partnered with researchers from the University of Miami and Florida Biodiversity Institute to tag 13 female tiger sharks at Tiger Beach, Bahamas onboard charter yacht Penny Mae.
• August – SeaKeepers conducted an educational outreach program with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County on board Defiance to raise awareness about plastic pollution in the ocean.
• September – SeaKeepers worked with CARTHE researchers to test drifter designs and ocean monitoring devices offshore of Miami, Florida on board Shredder of Fleet Miami. Hundreds of these drifters will be used to study waterflow and currents in the Gulf of Mexico to better prepare us for future oil spills.
• Scientists from CARTHE led an educational outreach program teaching youth from StreetWaves about ocean monitoring devices and demonstrating how the devices operate.
• October – SeaKeepers partnered with Golden Gate Cetacean Research to examine marine mammal populations and the return of harbor porpoises to San Francisco Bay, California onboard E Cruz.
• November – SeaKeepers worked with National Geographic, the University of Miami and Florida Biodiversity Institute to tag tiger sharks and use “crittercams” to better understand shark behavior at Tiger Beach, Bahamas on board luxury yacht Qing and super yacht Fugitive.