During our stay in Trinidad, we had the pleasure of meeting with fellow sailors to present our project, demonstrate our CTD system, and discuss how they could play a role in collecting oceanographic data. The sailors were highly engaged, showing great interest in the results of our year-long voyage and in modern techniques for gathering oceanographic information.
Our lively discussions explored how CTD measurements could become part of routine sailing practices and, more importantly, how to make CTD systems financially accessible to the average sailor. One promising solution is to establish a rental and maintenance system for CTD devices, allowing sailors to borrow equipment in exchange for contributing their data. Another idea is to commercialize ocean data collection, enabling sailors to choose how to invest in this initiative with the potential to earn financial compensation for their contributions.
I hope that over time, the perspective on citizen science from government-funded ocean research programs will shift, recognizing the valuable role sailors can play. Perhaps one day, sailors will even be able to offset their voyage expenses by collecting oceanographic data.
I have a dream…
