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For almost two years, Robert Brewin collected data\u00a0from the bow of a superyacht as it sailed pristine waters from the Caribbean Sea to the Antarctic Ocean.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Archimedes<\/em>, a 222-foot (68-meter) \u201cadventure\u201d yacht then\u00a0owned\u00a0by the late hedge funder James Simons, boasts a gym, a jacuzzi and an elevator. But between 2018 and 2020, Brewin was concerned only with the boat\u2019s Sea-Bird Scientific Solar Tracking Aiming System,\u00a0installed to measure light reflecting off of the water. A senior lecturer at the UK\u2019s University of Exeter, Brewin and his colleagues were analyzing microplankton \u2014 microscopic organisms at the base of the marine food chain \u2014 by studying the ocean\u2019s color. The Sea-Bird\u2019s readouts helped them verify satellite imagery.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brewin\u2019s was not your typical superyacht itinerary, but he is one of hundreds of\u00a0scientists to have used an adventure yacht \u2014 also known as expedition or explorer yachts \u2014 to conduct research on the ocean. In a\u00a0paper<\/a>\u00a0published in January, Brewin and his co-authors touted the potential of \u201charnessing superyachts\u201d for science, concluding that \u201creaching out to wealthy citizen scientists may help fill [research capability] gaps.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a view shared \u2014\u00a0and being pushed \u2014 by the Yacht Club of Monaco and the Explorers Club, a New York City-based organization focused on exploration and science (of which, full\u00a0disclosure, I am a member).\u00a0In March, the groups co-hosted an environmental symposium that included an\u00a0awards ceremony<\/a>\u00a0for yacht owners who \u201cstand out for their commitment to protecting the marine environment.\u201d The\u00a0Archimedes<\/em>\u00a0won a \u201cScience & Discovery\u201d award.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf a yacht is operating 365 days a year, rather than having it sit idle it\u2019d be much better for it to contribute a positive return through science and conservation,\u201d says Rob McCallum, an Explorers Club fellow and founder of US-based EYOS Expeditions, which runs adventure yacht voyages.\u00a0<\/p>\n EYOS charters yachts from private owners for its excursions, and is a founding member of\u00a0Yachts for Science, a four-year-old organization that matches privately owned yachts with scientists who need time at sea. (Other members include yacht builder Arksen, media firm BOAT International, and nonprofits Nekton Foundation and Ocean Family Foundation.)\u00a0Yachts for Science will enable about $1 million worth of donated yacht time this year, McCallum says, a figure he expects to hit $15 million by 2029.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a personal satisfaction that we are contributing to something that is bigger than us,\u201d says Tom Peterson, who co-owns an insurance underwriting company in California and has what he jokingly refers to as a \u201cmini superyacht.\u201d Every year for the past decade, Peterson has donated about 15 to 20 days of time and fuel on the 24-meter\u00a0Valkyrie<\/em>\u00a0to scientists, who he takes out himself as a licensed captain and former scuba dive operator. He often works with the Shark Lab at California State University Long Beach, and allows researchers to stay aboard for days at a time instead of having to constantly make the 1.5-hour trip to and from shore.\u00a0<\/p>\n To link up with scientists, Peterson works with the International SeaKeepers Society, a Florida-based nonprofit that engages the yachting community to support ocean conservation and research. \u201cThe more we understand things about the ocean in general, the better we all are in the long run,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n When \u201csuperyacht\u201d and \u201cthe environment\u201d appear in the same sentence, it\u2019s usually in a different context. In 2019,\u00a0one study estimated<\/a>\u00a0that a single 71-meter superyacht has the same annual carbon footprint as about 200 cars. In 2021, another\u00a0paper<\/a>\u00a0found that superyachts were the single greatest contributor to the carbon footprint of 20 of the world\u2019s most prominent billionaires, accounting for 64% of their combined emissions.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you really want to respect the environment, you can just go surf,\u201d says Gr\u00e9gory Salle, a senior researcher at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and author of the book\u00a0Superyachts: Luxury, Tranquility and Ecocide<\/em><\/a>. Salle is open to the idea that superyachts could be used to advance scientific research, but says it\u2019s contradictory for anyone to buy a superyacht and claim to be truly concerned about the environment.<\/p>\n McCallum says people who own adventure\u00a0yachts tend to be\u00a0younger than your standard superyacht owner, and have a particular\u00a0interest\u00a0in remote and pristine places. \u201cThey\u2019re not the sort of people that are content to just hang out in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean,\u201d\u00a0he says. \u201cAntarctica, the Arctic, the remote Indian Ocean, the remote Pacific Ocean, the Subantarctic islands\u2026 that\u2019s where you\u2019re going to find us delivering our services.\u201d<\/p>\n Explorer yachts aren\u2019t the only way scientists can reach those destinations, but demand for dedicated research vessels does outstrip available supply. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), arguably the world\u2019s greatest collector of oceanographic data, has a fleet of\u00a015 research and survey vessels<\/a>\u00a0for the use of its scientists. Academic researchers can also apply to use the fleet, often at a subsidized rate. But scientists request roughly 15,000 to 20,000 days of boat time every year. In 2019, NOAA was able to fill just 2,300 of them, according to an internal study.<\/p>\n That gap is particularly problematic as the planet warms. Oceans\u00a0provide services that scientists call \u201cexistentially important<\/a>,\u201d\u00a0producing more than\u00a0half of the oxygen we breathe<\/a>\u00a0and serving as the world\u2019s\u00a0largest carbon sink<\/a>. They also absorb\u00a030% of our carbon emissions<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a090% of the excess heat generated by them<\/a>.<\/p>\n G. Mark Miller, a retired NOAA Corps officer who was in charge of several of the agency\u2019s research vessels, has a different solution in mind when it comes to\u00a0bolstering ocean research: smaller boats, fit for purpose. Superyachts can cost north of $500 million, he says; \u201cwhy don\u2019t we build a hundred $5 million vessels and flood the ocean science community?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n After leaving NOAA, Miller in 2021 launched Virginia-based Greenwater Marine Sciences Offshore with a vision of building a global fleet of research vessels and offering their use at affordable prices. He says hiring a NOAA boat can cost scientists between $20,000 and $100,000 per day. GMSO plans to charge less than $10,000 a day for most missions. The company says it\u2019s close to acquiring its first three vessels.<\/p>\n Miller hopes his business model will help scientists conduct the work they need to \u2014 particularly in under-served regions like the Asia-Pacific \u2014 without worrying about getting a luxury yacht covered in \u201cmuddy worms, plankton goo, dead fish\u00a0[and] whale snot.\u201d He describes\u00a0yacht owners donating boat time to scientists as \u201cbetter than nothing,\u201d and says it can help get regular people interested in science and exploration.\u00a0<\/p>\n Christopher Walsh, captain of the\u00a0Archimedes<\/em>, says he and his crew love taking part in science initiatives, especially when there\u2019s an educational component. \u201cI get a real thrill when we can stream to the classrooms \u2014 you can\u2019t imagine the enthusiasm the kids display,\u201d Walsh says. \u201cThat gives me a lot of hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n