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Explorer yachts

summit

Explorer Yachts Summit

The third annual Boat International Explorer Yachts Summit was held last week at the Yacht Club de Monaco, the only international conference dedicated to the explorer yachting sector.

The Summit is designed to address a number of key topics for the industry, owners and crew and featured a full day of panel discussions and presentations from industry experts.  Since the start of the 2020s, 69 new build projects have been commissioned, bringing the total explorer yacht fleet to 740 globally. Some of the largest yachts reach up to nearly 140 metres in length and can be home to as many as 60 crew.

For Zephyr Yachting, the explorer yacht and shadow vessel market has great appeal.  With explorer vessels including Octopus, Arctic P and Bold now part of the charter fleet, clients seeking far-reaching adventures that visit off-the-beaten path destinations are spoilt for choice. Explorer yachts and support yachts have fantastic opportunities for using adventurous yacht toys such as submersibles, as well as potential for yacht crew to join vessels that visit lesser known destinations such as Svalbard, Papua New Guinea or the Galapagos Islands.

The event was kicked off by keynote speaker Victor Vescovo, founder of Caladan Oceanic, owner of DSSV Pressure Drop and someone who has dived deeper than any other human being and visited the deepest points of the Earth’s five oceans. He shared his insights on what fuels his passion for adventure, how he aims to educate through his expeditions and invited other private yacht owners to contribute to science and conservation efforts with their own vessels.  He emphasised that: “The world’s yacht owners can do more to advance science!”

Winner of the Special Award in the Voyager category at this year’s World Superyacht Awards, the owners of the 60-metre Perini Navi Seahawk have set up an ambitious programme, which will see them cruise the world with the ambition of assisting marine science and community life. Captain Stephen Edwards, presented scientific studies of tiger sharks in French Polynesia and the Galapagos Islands together with the impactful community work they have done for youth connecting them with the ocean and marine conservation.   “Seahawk encourages other yachts to do the same for the planet,” Captain Edwards confirmed. “One’s appreciation of the world changes when you have scientists on board.”

 

Damen Yachting who participated in the event as headline sponsor had their Director Sales & Product Management Rob Luijendijk and SeaXplorer Product Manager Enrique Tintore join as panellists.

 

EYOS co-founder Rob McCallum provided his perspective on a panel headlined “Explorer 2050: anticipating customer demand” With an explosion of ‘go anywhere”’ vessels on the market explorer yacht design is evolving at pace. Top designers share their thoughts on what adventure vessels of the future might look like and what features and characteristics owners will demand.   EYOS are well-known for their expertise creating and leading expeditions for decades exploring the world’s most remote cruising areas.



Island nations offer adventure far different to the polar regions and panel experts shared their insight.  EYOS’ Melanesian specialist Angela Pennefather shared a riveting talk focused on Papua New Guinea.  Captain Winston Joyce-Clarke of M.V. Seawolf talked about their visits to Indonesia, explaining that Indonesia offers wonderful cultural experiences ashore and some of the most amazing reefs on the planet; “Indonesia never disappoints! You can quite comfortably spend a year there before going anywhere else.” 


If you are thinking of a career in expedition yachting, our Zephyr Yachting base in the South of France could be your first stop for crew training.  

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