SeaKeepers

Research | Educate | Protect | Restore

The International SeaKeepers Society ® SeaKeepers is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization focusing on the health of the world’s oceans and climate. SeaKeepers works with the boating and yachting community to take advantage of their unique potential to further marine research and raise awareness about the issues our oceans face.

SeaKeepers acts as a global catalyst working with governments, scientists, institutions, and other marine organizations to further its mission and support sensible, achievable marine protection and restoration.

Following the High Seas Treaty signed last week, Nations around the world have agreed to a new UN led global treaty for governing the sustainable use and conservation of the so-called “high seas” – areas of the ocean that lie outside of any single nation’s jurisdiction. The aim is to protect 30% of these seas by 2030. 
At present, only 1% are being protected.

This is a great first step to protecting our oceans, their ecosystems and marine life, once implemented.
The Seakeepers mission becomes even more pertinent, to lead and bring people together in the yachting industry with a joint mission. Yachts and crew can be conduits for so much. 

RNLI College, Poole

The International SeaKeepers Society (SeaKeepers) will celebrate its 25th anniversary and the launch of the United Kingdom office with a formal dinner on 13th May, 2023. The event will be held at the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) College in Poole, Dorset, and will highlight the expansion of the SeaKeepers mission of ocean conservation, education and research. 

SeaKeepers has achieved over 330 missions within the DISCOVERY Yacht Programme since 2012, when the programme was first established. These missions include Scientist-Led Expeditions, Citizen Science projects, Educational Outreach events and Community Engagement sessions through the North American and Singapore Chapters.
Since 2012, the organization has impacted 2,700+ students, 3,600+ volunteers, and over 100 programme partners. As SeaKeepers continues to expand its reach worldwide, the opportunity to encourage boat owners and captains to participate in oceanographic research has become imperative to the future of our oceans.

In 2020, the UK hosted COP26, the UN’s climate conference as part of its commitment to climate protection internationally while actively supporting innovative green technologies for a cleaner future.

“This is a good time for SeaKeepers to expand its programming here in the UK,” says Gill Rodrigues, Director of International Partnerships. “This office will allow us to grow our reach in the UK and Europe and to form strong productive partnerships that support our global mission.
In May, SeaKeepers will come together to celebrate the UK launch and announce new programming and initiatives.”

The evening’s guest speakers are:

• Mike Golding OBE, Round the World race winner and multiple world champion. He is the patron of theRoyal Yachting Association & British Marine Green Blue Initiative and he chairs the Sustainability Commission for World Sailing.

• Tracy Edwards MBE, who won international fame in 1989 as the skipper of the first all female crew to sail around the world in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race. The boat won two legs and came second overall in her class. The best result for a British boat since 1977. The racing yacht Maiden is now the figurehead of her new charity, The Maiden Factor Foundation, which works with communities around the world to enable girls to pursue education and empower them to reach their full potential and create better futures for all. Tracy is a proactive education outreach partner and Maiden is a SeaKeepers’ DISCOVERY Yacht.
  
  
• Mark Dowie CEO RNLI will welcome guests on behalf of the RNLI. The RNLI College is at the heart of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution – where extraordinary life saving volunteer crew and lifeguards from around the UK and Ireland are trained. RNLI crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,900 lives since 1824, but they’re more than a rescue service. They influence, supervise and educate people too.
  Every £1 spent at the RNLI College saves lives at sea.

UK Launch Event 

Formal Dinner on Saturday 13th May, 2023 at the RNLI College, Poole  
Individual tickets are £110.00 + booking fees and tables of six are £600.00 + booking fees. 

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A special thank you to SeaKeepers’ official event sponsors, AON Global Marine and Dryad Global for their support as the official UK launch sponsors.

In Pictures