To Boost Ocean Research, Some Scientists Are Turning to Superyachts
Demand for maritime research vessels outstrips supply, a gap that some “adventure” yacht owners are filling by donating free boat time.
For almost two years, Robert Brewin collected data from the bow of a superyacht as it sailed pristine waters from the Caribbean Sea to the Antarctic Ocean.
The Archimedes, a 222-foot (68-meter) “adventure” yacht then owned by 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’s Sea-Bird Scientific Solar Tracking Aiming System, installed to measure light reflecting off of the water. A senior lecturer at the UK’s University of Exeter, Brewin and his colleagues were analyzing microplankton — microscopic organisms at the base of the marine food chain — by studying the ocean’s color. The Sea-Bird’s readouts helped them verify satellite imagery.
