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DISCOVERY YACHTS
What Are They?
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All Ocean Yachts 103' Discovery Yacht |
A new term has been creeping into the yachting vernacular as of late.
You may have seen the term Discovery Yacht in yachting magazines and
publications and wondered what it is. I have had a number of clients
and industry professionals asked me to explain what a Discovery Yacht is
and how it is different from an Explorer or Expedition Yacht. It is a
valid question and one which for me didn't have an obvious and definitive
answer.
Some years ago I coined the term Explorer Yacht to market a new concept
in world cruising yachts and I am often asked what differentiates them
from Expedition Yachts. Why do we have two terms for what appear to be
the same class of yacht? The answer; for the same reason Americans
have "apartments" and the British have "flats". A few years after the term
Explorer Yacht had become an industry term, British publications adopted
their own term for the class which they now refer to as Expedition
Yachts. In all practicality the concept and mission profile are the
same.
Recently a number of people have contacted me to answer a similar
question, "How is a Discovery Yacht different from an Explorer Yacht?".
So exactly what is a Discovery Yacht? I have to admit that my first
impression, when I heard the term Discovery Yacht, was we now have
another moniker for Explorer Yacht. Looking at the vessel designs I
could not see a marked difference in the features and functionality of
these yachts which would require a new class of yacht to be created. So
what is unique about this new class? After a bit of research into the
various vessels which have been dubbed Discovery Yachts I did find one
difference in a number of them however it was not across the board. The
difference is in the mission profile. While these yachts are largely
indistinguishable from Explorer Yachts in design concept, their purpose
is to blend recreational exploration with scientific research. You
could call them Research Yachts but that does not have quite the same
panache as Discovery Yachts.
So what should be the definition of a Discovery Yacht? According to
Messrs. Merriam & Webster we would get the following.
DISCOVERY: the act of finding or learning something for the first time:
the act of discovering something: something seen or learned for the
first time: something discovered.
YACHT: a sailboat used for racing or pleasure : a large usually
motor-driven craft used for pleasure cruising.
I would propose the following definition for this new class.
DISCOVERY YACHT: A VESSEL USED FOR PLEASURE CRUISING AND DEDICATED TO
THE PURPOSE OF FINDING OR LEARNING SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME.
If this is the how we are going to define the term Discovery Yacht then
I fully endorse and support this new class of yacht. While the term is
currently used loosely and in some cases is a bit of a misnomer, I
believe it is appropriate for yachts which are purpose build to
facilitate meaningful scientific research. I would love to see more
Explorer and Expedition Yachts cross over to the Discovery class by
making themselves available to the marine scientific community. The
SeaKeepers Society has been at the leading edge of this for years and
have equipment available which can be fitted on any yacht to facilitate
data collection and discovery.
As this class grows I envision new Discovery Yachts being built with
this dual use in mind. Discovery Yachts are fitted with wet labs, science areas,
submarines, and equipment which would allow for information gathering
worldwide. This is an exciting time in Explorer Yacht development and
All Ocean Yachts is proud to have been a leader in the world of Explorer
Yachts and we look forward to being involved with the development and
refinement of this new class called Discovery Yachts.
John DeCaro
President All Ocean Yachts
Email: johnd@alloceanyachts.com
Cel: 954-646-1411
Discovery Yacht Cruising
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