At Beam Reach, you help solve marine environmental problems while you study them. You get to think about what endangered killer whales need to recover and then take action with your peers -- doing a service project that supports a local group involved in marine conservation.

In the fall of 2006 our students rowed ashore from each anchorage to identify, tag, and map toxic driftwood. Their maps helped a project that removed the logs and the toxins that affect killer whale health.

A sailboat has a limited capacity to store fuel, food, waste, and water. So, when you live on one thinking about conservation and sustainability is mandatory. Living on the boat will give you new insights into how we use resources and how that affects field science and everyday life.

Our boat is one of the greenest out there. It uses sustainable technologies that lessen our environmental impact. Its biodiesel-electric propulsion system keeps us silent underwater and doesn’t pollute the air that the killer whales breathe. Its sails harness wind power and its propellers can generate electricity by “braking.”  It’s a living example of ways to mitigate human impact.

“.... there is just a natural flow of conversation from whales to marine conservation to conservation and sustainability everywhere. What starts as me talking about my [Beam Reach] experience usually ends up as a discussion about wind-farms and coal mining.”  -- Laura Madden, fall 2005