Ocean Explorers
Discover how individual explorers are turning extraordinary personal expeditions into powerful platforms for ocean science and conservation. This page highlights SeaKeepers’ collaborations with pioneering adventurers – spanning global circumnavigations, extreme endurance challenges, and remote polar voyages, who are integrating citizen science into their journeys. From collecting seafloor data to studying microplastics and uncovering little-known marine environments, these explorers demonstrate how determination, resilience, and exploration can directly contribute to advancing our understanding of the ocean.
James Ketchell
Explorer and NOC Ambassador James Ketchell is sailing the global oceans aboard DISCOVERY Vessel Mindset as part of his mission to become the first person to circumnavigate the Earth by air, land and sea. Throughout his voyage, James is contributing to SeaKeepers’ Citizen Science research through the SeaBed 2030 project, taking depth measurements wherever he sails to help map the ocean seafloor. He is also conducting the National Oceanography Centre microplastics project, collecting water samples to improve understanding of the fate, distribution and ecological impacts of microplastics. James exemplifies the power of citizen science at sea.
Ross Edgley
The Great Icelandic Swim was an ambitious expedition that merged human endurance with ocean research. Ross Edgley swam Iceland’s entire 1,027-mile coastline in freezing and unpredictable conditions, with support from SeaKeepers’ DISCOVERY Vessel CV 6, SKIRR Adventures. Throughout the journey, CV 6 collected valuable citizen science data for the Seabed 2030 Project, contributing to the global effort to map the ocean floor and develop the freely accessible Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Ocean Map. The expedition generated important new insights into Iceland’s coastal seafloor and underwater features, highlighting how bold exploration can directly support ocean science.
Ella Hibbert
Aboard DISCOVERY Vessel Yeva, Ella Hibbert is undertaking an extraordinary Arctic expedition – by sailing nearly 10,000 miles, she is attempting to become the first person to solo circumnavigate the Arctic Circle. Ella is using her monumental journey to showcase how the Arctic environment is rapidly changing and why people across the globe need to take positive action to restore this fragile ecosystem. With her expedition underway, Ella is already achieving significant milestones, most notably becoming the first British woman to solo sail through the Northwest Passage. Ella is a leader for ocean conservation, contributing critical seafloor data to the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO SeaBed 2030 Project, uncovering the ocean’s bathymetry in remote regions that few have explored before. Despite facing a boat fire, equipment failures and running aground early on, she persevered and is continuing onward with remarkable resilience and determination.