Setting sail with Travel Edge

The first eXXpedition Round the World voyage of 2020 is from Panama to Galapagos with Travel Edge. You might recognise the name Travel Edge from our boat: the 73-foot sailing vessel that is taking our all-female crew on our round the world journey has been renamed after them.

But beyond being our gold sponsors and namesake of our boat, we are really excited about our partnership with Travel Edge because of the role travel plays in helping people fall in love with the oceans and compelling them to protect it.

Travel Edge went from a start-up to one of the leading North American luxury travel companies in the world in just a decade. What started around a kitchen table in in 2006 has now enabled thousands of people to experience transformative travel experiences. Having the opportunity to see firsthand the beauty as well as the fragility of some of the most remote places of the world leaves a lasting impression on us, and is often what inspires many people to give back in any way they can.

And as the company grew, so did their own commitment to giving back, supporting their hundreds of in-country suppliers along with non-profits like eXXpedition that share their values.

It was a transformative round the world voyage not unlike the one we are currently undertaking that changed the course of our co-founder Emily Penn’s life and led her to dedicate her career to investigating the plastic pollution crisis and bringing hundreds of others along for the journey over the past decade. Seeing plastic washing up in the most idyllic and remote places of the world was a powerful experience, one that many of the women coming onboard eXXpedition are seeing for themselves.

Photo credits: eXXpedition & Kristen

One of Travel Edge’s travel advisors Lisa Sahney joined us on Leg 3 Exploring Antigua. During their short yet action filled trip, the crew onboard had the chance to visit Green Island and conduct a beach clean-up. Seeing many of the items we all use on an every day basis covering the beautiful sandy shores compelled Lisa and another crew member, Jeanine, to write the blog Love Where You Visit with practical advice around how to minimise your footprint when you travel.

Both the travel industry and Travel Edge as a company are primarily made up of female workers, and Lisa is one of two female travel advisors taking part in eXXpedition, with Marion Huiberts joining us onboard Travel Edge’s sponsored leg from Panama to Galapagos.

“With females being so highly impacted by the plastics crisis, it is our privilege as industry members to use our power to educate travellers and our fellow colleagues to protect and preserve the planet we take such pride in supporting others to explore.”

– Madelaine Emberson, Director of Giving and Initiatives, Travel Edge

The crew onboard Leg 6 of eXXpedition Round the World will be arriving in Panama City and joining the crew on 28 January, and setting sail for the Galapagos Island, a national park and marine nature reserve located in Ecuador, where they are planned to arrive on 6 February.

Galapagos is famed for its unique wildlife, made even more special by the fact that Charles Darwin used his observations in the Galapagos as a key basis for his ‘Theory of Evolution.’

Over 200 years later, our all-female crew will explore those same waters with the same curiosity, and the same desire to challenge the world’s perceptions using our findings.

Thank you to our gold sponsors at Travel Edge for making our mission and this voyage leg possible!

Navarino technology keeps eXXpedition online wherever we go.