Sylvia Earle to explore Baja California on Aurora Expeditions’ ship named in her honour

Dr Earle will be a special guest on a 9-day sailing in and around Baja California and the Sea of Cortez between May 4-12, 2022 onboard expedition ship Sylvia Earle, named to honour Dr Earle’s long-standing commitment to ocean conservation and marine regeneration.

Hope Spot for Mission Blue

Dr Earle has a deep personal connection to the Sea of Cortez. In 2009 it was nominated as the first ‘Hope Spot’ for Mission Blue and The Sylvia Earle Alliance. Since then, Mission Blue has created a global network of 136 marine protected areas.

Dr Earle will conduct onboard talks and join excursions both on land and water in the Gulf of California.

New ship arriving November

Aurora Expeditions and new ship Sylvia Earle, on track for launching in Ushuaia in Noember this year,  will support Mission Blue’s conservation efforts with wildlife mapping and location photography and video, above and below the water. On-board ‘Citizen Science’ projects, run by the expedition team leaders will support marine research.

“By travelling with Aurora Expeditions on Sylvia Earle, I feel it is an incredible opportunity for people to learn about these extraordinary marine habitats in situ, and as a result, become ambassadors for protecting them,” says Dr Earle.

“Ninety-seven per cent of the Earth’s water is the ocean, it is our life support system, and we need to learn everything we can about it,” she adds.

Aurora Expeditions is planning voyages to other key ‘Hope Spots’ including Costa Rica (Golfo Dulce) and Panama (Coiba Island); Raja Ampat (Coral Triangle and Misool Private Marine Reserve); the North-West Passage; Svalbard (Spitsbergen) and in Canada (Hecate Strait and Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reef).

Antarctic 2022/23

Its new Antarctic 2022/23 program includes 26 departures running across its two ships Greg Mortimer and Sylvia Earle offering 11, 12 and 13 day itineraries starting November 7, 2022 and running through to the final departure on March 13 – a 23 day voyage down to the deep south of the Antarctic Peninsular on Sylvia Earle.

Add-ons include snorkeling, diving, and kayaking, camping on the ice, Shackleton’s Crossing, ski touring and snow shoeing as well as hikes and zodiac excursions.