When Yacht Lovers Become Explorers
Cookson Adventures, Tom Hutton talks how the travel specialist helped a client fund crucial killer whale research.
“We came across this client who wanted to visit the Antarctic and one of the things that came out of our conversations was his real passion for whales," Hutton said. Cookson helped pair the client with leading killer whale expert Dr Bob Pitman and the 22-metre expedition yacht Australis, where Dr Pitman’s team did conducted ground-breaking research in Antarctica which led to a rare species of killer whale being documented for the first time, leading to the collection of crucial samples from the “Type D” orca, which will now help scientists understand the fascinating sub-species.
“The high net worth individual wants to be able to get involved, to touch and feel things and have that proper experience that they can take away,” Hutton said. “It’s about making the trip part of a conservation experience.”
Another Cookson client is creating a 3-month travel program to identify major global issues he can dedicate research funding to, for the next 12 months.
Expedition leader Rob McCallum and scientist Dr Alan Jamieson share stories of the ground-breaking Five Deeps expedition.
Explorer Victor Vescovo funded the record-breaking attempt to dive to the deepest points of each of the world’s five oceans, launched by charter specialist EYOS Expeditions following three years of preparation and research and has already made great achievements, such as setting a new deep diving record for the Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean, diving to the deepest points of the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, plus Vescovo is the first human to dive to the Java Trench, the deepest point of the Indian Ocean.
During the Java Trench expedition, the Triton-built submersible Limiting Factor, recorded the discovery of a new species.
Rob McCullum said the high point of the expedition was the success of the Triton submersible, which means humanity now “has a tool that can take us to any depth at any time” and his low point was the realisation that micro-plastics are “everywhere”.