Monaco 2026 – A Day of Exploration

Explorers far and wide joined us in Monaco for A Day of Exploration March 21-24

The second collaboration between the Yacht Club de Monaco and The Explorers Club featured incredible storytellers, meaningful conversations, and once-in-a-lifetime celebrations.

Thank you to His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II for supporting The Explorers Club and ocean conservation everywhere. And to our friends at the Yacht Club de Monaco, thank you for hosting us. We can’t wait to see you again soon.

The weekend started with a Yachting Student Fair. Over 800 students visited Yacht Club de Monaco to discover careers in yachting and exploration, connect with leaders, and get inspired. Trevor Wallace joined to share his experience as an underwater archaeologist and expedition leader with the Menorca Shipwreck Project, and Joe Grabowski of Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants connected students with leading explorers in ocean exploration and conservation. 

We hosted the first Future of Ocean Finance Forum, led by leaders in the field including Rachel Clausing of Fondation Prince Albert II, Irina Fedorenko at Abatable, Chris Verlinden at Entanglement, Inga Thordar at Kanaloa, Philippe Cousteau Jr. at Voyacy Regen, Ralph Rayner at London School of Economics, and Marianne Carpentier at ORRAA. 

Thank you to Ted Janulis for starting this initiative and hosting.

A Day of Exploration celebrates the ocean on all its frontiers. From discovering more of humanity’s past to devising new ways to protect our blue planet, our speakers shared not just their lifetime of work, but their hopes for the future. 

• Daniel Cáceres Bartra – Protecting Peru’s Big 5 (2:48)
• Kakani Katija – The MBARI Bioinspiration Lab (29:52)
• Franck Baldet, Venturi Space – From Monaco to the Moon (53:00)
• Trevor Wallace – The Menorca Shipwreck Project (1:54:40)
• Arzucan “Zuzu” Askin – Sharks in the Anthropocene (2:13:48)
• Martin Nweeia – A Lifetime of Love for the Charismatic Narwhal (2:51:05)
• Navarana K’avigak’ Sørensen – Thule drum dance performance (3:30:41)
• Philippe & Ashlan Cousteau – A Family’s Legacy of Ocean Conservation (3:56:21)
• Andreas B. Heide – Sailing to Protect Fragile Wonders (not streamed)
• Victor Vescovo & Espen Øino – Designing the Greatest Deep Ocean Exploration Vessel (4:26:23)
• Steve McCurry & Filippo Ricci, Stefano Ricci – Exploring the World to Explore Ourselves (5:21:52)
• Sylvia Earle & Hussain Aga Khan – The Ocean in Popular Imagination (5:47:05)

The final day of the event celebrated the science, technological advancements, and conservation innovations happening with advanced and responsible yachting. The event concluded with the YCM Explorer Awards, honoring visionary owners for using their yachts as platforms for exploration and discovery.