Founders 2017 Honours the Discovery Yacht Fleet
SeaKeepers hosts its Founders 2017 Event to honour vessels that participated in the 2016-2017 Discovery Yacht Program.
Founders will be held at a private waterfront residence in Fort Lauderdale on the night of 2 November during the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. SeaKeepers will honour the Advisors Alliance, Asean Lady, Exuma, Harle, Lady Olivia, LoJo, Luzerne, Paraffin, Sam, Shredder, The Admiral, Timely Sale, and World Odyssey for their generous contribution to the Discovery Yachts Program.
This past year, SeaKeepers has conducted nineteen missions through the Discovery Yachts Program that have included nine scientist-led expeditions, six educational outreach expeditions, and four instrument deployment expeditions. Additionally, participating vessels have deployed 103 oceanographic instruments thus far.
In April, two SeaKeepers vessels simultaneously supported scientists from the University of Florida’s Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience conducting genome sequencing on marine plankton. One vessel, D/Y Sam, traveled through the Pacific from La Paz, Mexico to Oahu, Hawaii while D/Y Harle of Fleet Miami traversed the Atlantic from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to the Azores.
In July, SeaKeepers Asia conducted three ‘floating classroom’ experiences aboard vessels in Singapore. Students learned about marine biodiversity and conservation efforts from scientists and participated in research activities including collecting samples, working with microscopes, and learning about scuba diving. The Discovery Yachts Program has also included eight citizen-science expeditions this year. These small-scale projects depend on local community members volunteering their time to support environmental initiatives.
Scientific expeditions conducted by SeaKeepers give yacht owners, guests, and crew the opportunity to participate in ongoing research while engaging with influential, well-known marine scientists. Using member yachts, SeaKeepers promotes and facilitates ground-breaking research in the fields of marine science and oceanography.
Guests at Founders will enjoy a video highlighting the 2016-2017 missions. A silent auction, featuring artistic creations from SeaKeepers 2017 Artist of the Year, Xavier Cortada, will take place during the event.