Grand Large Yachting & Biosean launch Citizen Science Project
by Grand Large Yachting 10 Jan 12:14 UTC
Nordic Odyssey 24 © Grand Large Yachting
Grand Large Yachting debuts a new rally to depart from Tenerife in the Canary Islands in December 2024 and partners with Biosean a local marine science research and tourism company on an ambitious citizen science project.
Sailboats from the Grand Large Yachting Group have been invited to join the Nordic Rally, the newest rally offer from Grand Large Services.
It is a rare opportunity to sail for 9 months from Canary Islands to Ireland, cross the Caledonian Canal then sail to Stockholm, London and Amsterdam before returning to France in September 2025.
The boats taking part in the rally represent a fine range of the Group's yachts: one RM, two Allures and eight Outremer. The fleet will sail together to the official ports of call, and everyone will be free to sail at their own pace during the free cruising periods. The right balance between support and freedom of movement is indeed the hallmark of these events.
Another special feature of this rally is the technical stopovers organized by Grand Large Services, where owners can work with technicians to maintain their boats along the way.
Biosean
A whale watching & marine science research company.
Misael Morales Vargas is a marine biologist, he founded Biosean with his wife, Daniela. Since its debuts in 2019 Biosean have been constantly monitoring cetaceans and sea turtles in the south of Tenerife. Until now, the aim has been to take advantage of whales watching tours to observe cetaceans and collect biological data. These data are shared with universities and research centers to propose effective measures for marine ecosystems.
Thanks to this partnership with The Nordic Odyssey 24, this data collection will now be able to extend outside the Canary Islands.
A project tailored to participants' wishes
Not just travel, sailing with impact
At the end of a successful first Round The World Rally, the World Odyssey 500, participants were asked which part of the 3 year circumnavigation they liked the most. Answers included a grassroot effort by the whole group to bring supplies to remote Islands in Vanuatu after a devastating hurricane.
It seemed that the rally participants wanted more than sailing around the world and anchoring in beautiful places. This was music to the ears of the team as the company's values include a commitment to CSR and Ocean protection.
Contact was made with Biosean by the Nordic Odyssey team, and the discussion morphed from a simple outing in Biosean dinghy to watch marine animals and collect data to a much larger project: each boat will carry an underwater microphone to record animal sounds, training on collecting data will be provided by Misael who will also develop an app to enter the data along the entire rally.
This project represents a premiere for the Canary based Biosean and French group Grand Large Yachting, who hope to contribute to better knowledge of marine life, human impact on the population of marine animals in Northern Europe.
The project may also be continued on the next World Odyssey departing in October '25 from Tenerife.
Figures of the NO24
The fleet
- 11 boats including 8 catamarans and 3 monhulls, sailing the whole routes or specific legs
- 3 yards from Grand Large Yachting represented (Allures, Outremer, RM)
- 6 nationalities represented
The route
- 6 500+ nautic miles to sail
- 6 official stops
- 3 technical stops
- 1 océan, 4 seas & 2 canals to sail through
One partner organization
- Biosean, a scientific cetacean-watching program based in Tenerife.