Race, Rallies & Flotillas
Explore how SeaKeepers is partnering with world-renowned races, rallies, and flotillas to transform time at sea into meaningful ocean research. From global circumnavigations to iconic offshore races, this page highlights how sailors and crews are contributing to citizen science through the DISCOVERY Programme – collecting critical data, supporting scientific expeditions, and helping advance our understanding of the ocean without disrupting their journeys.
Cape2Rio Race
First hosted in 1971, the Cape2Rio Race welcomes sailors from around the world to take part in an iconic trans‑Atlantic sailing challenge from Cape Town, South Africa, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This classic blue-water yacht race sees vessels and their crews cross the open ocean on one of the Southern Hemisphere’s most famous offshore racing events.
In 2025, SeaKeepers partnered with the Cape2Rio Race to turn participating yachts into citizen scientists through the DISCOVERY Programme. Multiple vessels installed small bathymetric data loggers onboard to collect valuable information for the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO SeaBed 2030 Project, which aims to map the world’s ocean floor by 2030. As the vessels raced, they passively recorded depth measurements throughout their voyage, uncovering the shape of the ocean floor wherever they sailed. Through simple citizen science initiatives such as this, competitive sailors are able to play their part in advancing scientific understanding without hindering their racing ability.
The Clipper Round The World Yacht Race
The Clipper Round The World Yacht Race is a unique endurance sailing competition that takes crews from all walks of life on an around the world circumnavigation aboard identical 70-foot ocean racing yachts. Participants race approximately 40,000 nautical miles across multiple ocean legs, facing some of the world’s toughest sailing conditions. Stopping in a series of global host ports also makes this one of the most extraordinary adventures on the planet.
As the Official 2025 Ocean Research Partner of the Clipper Round The World Yacht Race, SeaKeepers is turning this global challenge into a moving platform for ocean science. Each vessel is equipped with a data logger to collect bathymetric data for the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO SeaBed 2030 Project and help map parts of the ocean floor that are poorly charted. Crew members are also taking part in citizen science as they sail by logging marine pollution encounters with Eyesea and recording sightings of marine life with ORCA Ocean Watchers and The Shark Trust. Collectively, the efforts of both the vessels and crews are providing invaluable data about every corner of the world’s oceans, enhancing our understanding of the global marine environment.
Oyster World Rally
The Oyster World Rally is a fully supported global sailing circumnavigation that brings together a fleet of cruising Oyster yachts for a 27,000 nautical mile voyage to explore the world’s oceans. Beyond the sailing, the rally places a strong emphasis on community, sustainability, and ocean conservation, with participants engaging in environmental initiatives, local projects, and responsible exploration at both remote and well-travelled destinations across the globe.
During the Oyster World Rally, participating yachts are supporting SeaKeepers’ DISCOVERY Programme by hosting Scientist-Led Expeditions and supporting Citizen Science projects during their voyages. These opportunities give the Oyster World Rally community the opportunity to learn more about the ocean as they sail, either by collecting valuable ocean data themselves or by inviting a researcher onboard to conduct their studies. Together, the Oyster World Rally participants have the ability to find out more about all aspects of the global oceans and contribute to leading research that aims to make long-lasting, positive change.
Nautilus Yachting Flotilla
SeaKeepers has partnered with Nautilus Yachting, one of the leading independent yacht charter agencies in the UK, to engage their flotilla guests in Citizen Science. This collaboration not only expands the reach of the DISCOVERY Programme across Europe, but enables all to sail with a purpose and raise awareness for the importance of a healthy ocean. By participating in hands-on data collections, Nautilus Yachting’s guests have the opportunity to gain an understanding of marine science and learn more about local marine life as they explore beautiful Mediterranean coastlines.
Nautilus Yachting x SeaKeepers’ Citizen Science programme engages guests in a variety of marine conservation activities, allowing everyone to get involved in protecting different aspects of the ocean. These range from limiting marine pollution while competing in the Marine Debris Challenge, to improving perceptions of sharks and uncovering their distributions through environmental DNA sampling, to studying dolphin populations as ORCA OceanWatchers. Through these and other initiatives, Nautilus Yachting’s guests can not only enjoy their holidays but support the ocean too, bringing a new perspective to their voyages.