Skipper’s global kudos
GATHERING DATA ABOUT THE GREAT BARRIER REEF HAS LED TO WORLD ACCLAIM FOR A SUPERYACHT SKIPPER,
A PORT Douglas-based superyacht has been crowned Yacht of the Year in the Boat International’s Ocean Awards for its work during the Great Reef Census.
Built in Holland the 34m MY Beluga was donated to Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef’s scientists by its anonymous vessel owner.
The partnership was brokered through Sydney-based luxury yacht agency Ocean Alliance.
In late 2020, following a charter from Cairns to Lizard Island, Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef were welcomed aboard Beluga to test equipment and survey priority reef systems.
Humble about the accolade Port Douglas-based skipper Peter Lacey said divers took a GPS position from a tender, before photographing a section of Reef in all directions from the reference point.
Images were then uploaded to the Great Reef Census database.
“I guess it was a fact-finding mission and I think it’s a great chance to … get a better handle on the condition of the Reef and how it can recover from bleaching events,” he said.
“The message going out worldwide saying a large percentage of the Reef is bleached, that has to be damaging for all
of us and anything that proves that right or wrong that would be beneficial.”
Beluga was the first superyacht to be involved in the inaugural census last year.
The goal of the Great Reef Census was to capture data in the form of images from across the entire length of the Great Barrier Reef, up to 40 per cent of which has never been surveyed previously.
Data will help researchers and managers better understand how the reef is changing year-on-year.
More than 13,000 images had been uploaded to the census website following the project in October 2020, to which the $10m Beluga contributed.
Citizens of the GBR chief executive Andy Ridley said, with citizen science playing an increasingly important role in
supporting reef management, superyachts were uniquely placed to access more remote reefs and gather vital data.
“It gave us a chance to pilot important new technology which was critical to the successful rollout of the census.
“We hope the award will encourage more superyacht owners and charter guests to be part of this exciting project in 2021,” he said.
“The support we received from Ocean Alliance and the owner and crew of Beluga was invaluable.”
Ocean Alliance managing director Joachim Howard said the award celebrated the superyacht’s role in conservation of the Great Barrier Reef and encouraged other vessels to take part.
“Superyachts are in a unique position to operate in remote areas of the Great Barrier Reef and utilise their resources, crew, tenders and communications to vastly improve the reach and outcomes of the project,” he said.
“This award represents a clear example of how owners and charter guests can participate in the monitoring and preservation of the marine environments they are experiencing.”