The International SeaKeepers Society is an international charitable organization founded in 1998. The group was started by

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

owners with an initial focus on developing and utilizing instrumentation on yachts to monitor marine conditions in the ocean. Today, The International SeaKeepers Society continues to work with yachts. The International SeaKeepers Society is a 501(c)(3) organization. The organization works with governments, educational institutions, private foundations, and non-profit organizations.

History

Founding members of the International SeaKeepers Society include Alexander Dreyfoos, Alfred H. Balm,

Richard DeVos Richard Marvin DeVos Sr. (March 4, 1926 – September 6, 2018) was an American billionaire businessman, co-founder of Amway with Jay Van Andel (company restructured as Alticor in 2000), and owner of the Orlando Magic basketball team. In 2012 ...

, Jan Moran and Bruce McCaw. A monitoring unit called the SeaKeeper 1000 was deployed on more than 90 platforms across the globe including yachts, cruise ships, buoys, and piers. While the SeaKeeper 1000 was active, the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

and the U.S.

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

utilized the SeaKeeper 1000 on many of their NOAA vessels to better monitor oceanographic changes. The International SeaKeepers Society discontinued the SeaKeeper 1000 in October 2013.

SeaKeeper 1000

The ''SeaKeeper 1000'' unit was designed to record weather and near surface oceanographic data automatically. It then transmitted the data via NOAA satellites and through the

Global Telecommunication System The Global Telecommunication System (GTS) is a secured communication network enabling real-time exchange of meteorological data from weather stations, satellites and numerical weather prediction centres, providing critical meteorological forecasting ...

(GTS). The SeaKeeper 1000 unit won the ''2002 Environment Award'' from

The Tech Museum of Innovation The Tech Interactive (formerly The Tech Museum of Innovation, commonly known as The Tech) is a science and technology center that offers hands-on activities, labs, design challenges and other STEAM education resources. It is located in downtown Sa ...

."2002 Environment Award Laureate"
The Tech Awards In 2002, 61 society members and 4 cruise lines had installed SeaKeeper 1000, and 14 yacht manufacturers had agreed to include the technology on their boats/ships.

BP oil spill

In response to the

Deepwater Horizon oil spill The ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill (also referred to as the "BP oil spill") was an industrial disaster that began on 20 April 2010 off of the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect, considere ...

, the Society with the assistance of researchers at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...

and environmental sensor company YSI were able to attach and interface a hydrocarbon sensor to the SeaKeeper 1000 environmental monitor in June 2010.

Partnerships

On March 26, 2010 SeaKeepers formed an alliance with ''Yachts International'' Magazine to expand the Society's mission and to expand science-based understanding and analysis of global climate change. In 2012, SeaKeepers partnered with the Volvo Ocean Race.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:International Seakeepers Society Marine conservation organizations Environmental organizations based in Florida Nature conservation organizations based in the United States Yachting associations International environmental organizations Non-profit organizations based in Florida Environmental organizations established in 1998 1998 establishments in Florida 501(c)(3) organizations