Ocean Peaks

Ocean Peaks · round-the-world oceanographic expedition

Ocean Peaks

A round-the-world scientific expedition aboard the sailing research yacht Maola. We study seamounts and open-ocean eddies — in waters research vessels don't reach for years.

Volunteer with the expedition → Propose a research project →
expedition years
2026–2028
route legs
5
oceans
3
yacht length
12.5 m

About the project

Amateur sailors cross oceans and reach the most remote corners of the planet — yet almost no scientific measurements are ever taken aboard their boats. Meanwhile, research-vessel expeditions to those same waters are not organised for years: operating a large research ship costs enormous resources.

Ocean Peaks is an attempt to connect the two worlds. We are demonstrating that comprehensive marine research can be done from a small sailing yacht: all upper-ocean work can be carried out by a small crew, while the geography of sailing routes opens up waters inaccessible to classical expeditions.

The scientific goal of the project is to study how dynamic processes over seamounts and in mesoscale eddies of the open ocean influence hydrological, biological, chemical and geological phenomena in the World Ocean.

Expedition outcomes: papers in leading journals, conference talks, and a book compiling the research results.

Route

The low-latitude circumnavigation is split into five legs, with breaks between them for regional expeditions, refits and scientific upgrades of the yacht.

sailed (track) summer 2026 — confirmed plan from November 2026 — circumnavigation Science points
Where is Maola now: The tracker goes live at sea — position arrives over the satellite link.

Ports of call are tentative and will be refined as the expedition progresses.

  1. 01

    July — October 2026

    Mediterranean

    Fethiye (Turkey) — Rhodes (Greece) — Bizerte (Tunisia) — Tangier (Morocco). Expedition to the first study site — the Ampère and Josephine seamounts.

  2. 02

    November 2026 — January 2027

    Transatlantic

    Morocco — Cabo Verde — the Antilles — Panama. Survey work off Morocco and underway measurements across the Central Atlantic.

  3. 03

    February — June 2027

    Pacific

    Panama — Galápagos — Tahiti — Fiji.

  4. 04

    July — October 2027

    Oceania and the Malay Archipelago

    Fiji — Torres Strait — Phuket.

  5. 05

    Winter 2027 — 2028

    Indian Ocean

    Phuket — Sri Lanka — Malé — Salalah — Suez Canal — Fethiye. The circumnavigation ends where it began.

Scientific programme

Our study objects are seamounts and mesoscale eddies of the open ocean. Both lie far from ports and research-fleet bases — yet the necessary upper-ocean research can be carried out from a sailing yacht.

Seamounts, volcanoes and guyots

A “portrait” of underwater peaks built from detailed oceanographic surveys and modern bathymetry: hydrology, dynamic processes, marine biology and slope geology.

Mesoscale eddies and current meanders

“Chasing” eddies across the open ocean using near-real-time satellite data from the shore team: surveying water structure and currents in eddy cores and at their edges.

What we measure

Hydrological structure of the water

We lower autonomous probes on an oceanographic winch to find out which water masses lie at different depths and study their properties.

Chemical properties

We take a water sample from the required depth and run specific analyses — on board or in a shore laboratory.

Variability over time

We deploy moored stations with autonomous, continuously recording instruments; once recovered, they give us a record of how properties change at that point in the ocean.

Biological features

We catch phyto- and zooplankton to study the base of the ocean's food chains.

Zooplankton vertical migration

We record marine sonar data at several frequencies to track the daily migration of living organisms.

Sediment sampling

Grab sampling of bottom sediments: geology and geochemistry of seamount slopes.

Seafloor imaging

A video module for filming the marine life of underwater peaks.

Underway measurements

Continuous surface-layer measurements and weather observations on every passage.

The shore team analyses satellite data and ocean-circulation forecasts, adjusting the work plan as the yacht approaches each study site.

The yacht Maola

A sailing research yacht — a Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 411, refitted for open-ocean work. We deliberately chose a small 12.5-metre yacht to prove that scientific data can be gathered with a small vessel and a crew of two or three.

Type Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 411
Rig Bermuda sloop, 86 m²
Length 12.5 m
Displacement 8.5 t
Draft 1.7 m
Engine Yanmar, 56 hp
Fuel / water 150 l / 550 l

Scientific equipment

  • Shimano BM 12000 winch — down to 1000 m, up to 2.5 m/s
  • AML-3 LGR CTD probe, 6000 m housing
  • Daowan DW12/14/16 autonomous loggers
  • Scientific echo sounder, 50 and 200 kHz, water-column recording
  • 5 l Niskin bottles, plankton nets
  • Sediment grab samplers
  • Seafloor video equipment
  • Autonomous and remotely operated drones

Scientific equipment layout

Tap a number on the diagram to see what it is.

Layout of scientific equipment aboard the yacht Maola
  1. Scientific weather station
  2. Hydroacoustic antenna array
  3. Storage of autonomous moored stations
  4. Underway surface-layer measurement equipment
  5. Satellite communications — operational data from the shore team
  6. Towed equipment
  7. Profiling package

Team

Dima Frey

Dima Frey

Project lead

PhD in physics, deep-sea currents specialist

Oceanographer, physicist and sailor. Over 30 marine expeditions — the Arctic, Antarctica, the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Goes to sea to study currents in the depths of the World Ocean.

Zhenya Lyubimova

Zhenya Lyubimova

Captain of Maola

Candidate for Master of Sport, sailing instructor

Yacht captain, mechanic and journalist. Multiple ocean crossings under sail and a knack for solving any yacht problem in the most exotic corners of the planet — from paperwork to repairs.

Sasha Osadchiev

Sasha Osadchiev

Scientific advisor

DSc, oceanographer

Author of the popular-science blog “The Ocean Around Us” and one of the country's best-known ocean-science communicators. Keeps the project scientifically honest.

Dima Fofanov

Dima Fofanov

Creative producer

Oceanographer

Editor-in-chief of the international portal ITRussia.media. Runs the media side of the project: content, press events in ports of call, the future film and book.

Alina Gappasova

Alina Gappasova

Project designer

Author of the Ocean Peaks identity: the logo, the yacht mark, the brand graphics and the visual language of the project.

Vitya Krechik

Vitya Krechik

Scientific outfitting

PhD, marine measurement specialist

Turns a cruising yacht into a research vessel: instruments, measurement systems and open-ocean survey methods.

Dima Borisov

Dima Borisov

Marine geology

PhD, sedimentation specialist

Mining engineer and marine geologist. Trained to extract mineral resources from the seabed — extracts knowledge about the history of the ocean and climate instead. Also runs onboard 3D printing.

Olya Konovalova

Olya Konovalova

Marine biology

PhD, deputy head of research at MSU Marine Research Center

Marine biologist. Coordinates research on all living things — visible and invisible.

Oleg Kudinov

Oleg Kudinov

Marine instrumentation

PhD, head of laboratory at MHI RAS

Design engineer of oceanographic instruments. Builds, tunes and repairs electronic and mechanical systems right in the field — including custom technical solutions for expedition tasks.

Dasha Smirnova

Dasha Smirnova

Sea level, yacht preparation

Oceanographer, tsunami laboratory

Analyses sea-level variability and takes part in the technical preparation of the yacht for the circumnavigation.

Vanya Dudkov

Vanya Dudkov

Expedition cartographer

IHO Category A hydrographer, hydroacoustics specialist

Uses sound to study the ocean — from the shape of the seafloor to the movement of plankton in the water column.

Natasha Shulga

Natasha Shulga

Geochemistry and ore geology

PhD, marine geochemist

Studies the ocean at the molecular level: prepares extracts from seafloor mud and deep-sea ore to understand their origin.

Ilya Drigo

Ilya Drigo

Meteorologist, project IT

Oceanographer, big-data specialist

Over 10 years in oceanography and meteorology. Former lead meteorologist at Windy.app, Yandex Weather and OpenWeatherMap. Runs the expedition's IT and weather forecasting — knows what the weather will be tomorrow.

Partners

The project is open to scientific and technological partnerships. Become a partner →

Volunteers

Join the expedition

Maola has set off on her circumnavigation, with ports across three oceans ahead. The project needs volunteers:

  • refit and preparation of the yacht, ashore and afloat
  • installation and tuning of scientific equipment
  • taking part in survey work at the study sites
  • sailing passages between ports as crew
Get in touch

Propose a research project

Maola is an open platform for marine research in the open ocean. If you have an idea for measurements or an experiment in the upper ocean that could be carried out along the expedition's route — get in touch.

Tell us about it