Meet the SeaKeepers

The American Sailing Association has an exciting new partnership with the International SeaKeepers Society to promote ocean research and conservation.  The International SeaKeepers Society promotes oceanographic research, conservation, and education through direct involvement with the yachting community. 

Who Are The International SeaKeepers Society?

Our small but distinguished membership includes entrepreneurs, yachtsmen, corporations, divers, scientists, and concerned citizens building a global movement to help restore and protect the world’s oceans. As a private/public collaborative effort, the Society focuses on critical ocean issues in cooperation with government agencies, other like-minded organizations, the academic community, and the public. Our motto is, “Research. Educate. Protect and Restore.”

Ocean Facts:

• The ocean covers 71% of the earth’s surface
• 99% of the area that can be inhabited by life is found in the ocean
• The largest mountain range, the Mid Atlantic Range can be found in the ocean
• The largest waterfall is found in the Denmark Strait, you guessed it, in the ocean in the North Atlantic.
• The tallest mountain is not Mt. Everest, it’s Mauna Kea in Hawaii. It rises from the ocean floor and dwarfs Everest’s 8805 meters with its 10,0000-meter height from the ocean floor.
• The Challenger Deep is a canyon so deep that Mt. Everest could fit inside it, much deeper than any canyon on land.

Let us introduce our new environmental partners with the first episode of their docuseries detailing their unique program and how they are saving our seas.

Watch the first episode below

“For all of our reliance on the ocean, more than eighty percent of this vast, underwater realm remains unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored.”  – NOAA

Get involved. Are You A Citizen Scientist?

“We know more about the surface of the moon and Mars than we do about the body of weather that covers nearly 70% of the earth’s surface.”   – Tony Gilbert, Program Director, SeaKeepers

Science at Sea

Through a partnership with boat owners, science and the health of the world’s ocean is researched, monitored, and advanced with the help of private yacht owners.

The S.A.R.A.H. Initiative unites the academic world and the international yachting community in an effort to conserve our oceans and combat plastic pollution. This unique partnership has the ability to collect invaluable data for scientific research, leading to effective solutions.

S – Sample: With the kits and instructions provided, conduct as many net tows as possible on voyages.

A – Aggregate: After each net tow, rinse contents of the net into sample filters; label and seal the filters.

R – Return: After each voyage, the samples are packaged and shipped back to the S.A.R.A.H. Initiative research team at FIU.

A – Analyze: Researchers will analyze the density, type and size of plastic particles and archive in database.

H – Help: By collecting this data, you will help researchers quantify and map marine plastic debris and help stakeholders end this current epidemic.

Through awareness and engagement, ASA and The Seakeepers Society aim to support marine science and conservation by utilizing privately owned yachts as platforms for oceanographic research, educational outreach, and marine conservation.