DARWIN200 on board the Dutch Tall Ship Oosterschelde arrived in the Galápagos Islands, the 14th port on their 40,000nm voyage around the world following in the footsteps of Charles Darwin, joined by his great-great-granddaugher, Dr Sarah Darwin.

The Galápagos Islands and the incredible wildlife they support have inspired many of Charles Darwin’s theories. 

Due to the significance this beautiful archipelago had on Darwin’s life and works, DARWIN200 developed a special programme of activities, visiting many of the islands and exact locations where Darwin made many of his greatest discoveries. 

Dr Sarah Darwin, project patron, also joined during the three week stay engaging with local schools, students and communities to drive passion for nature and conservation. 

As well as helping adventure seekers to join in the voyages as guest crew sailing the tall ship (find a voyage here!), Another World Adventures founder Larissa Clark also looks after the global media coverage of the expedition!

As the DARWIN 200 voyage nears completion – find the Oosterschelde’s next itinerary here. 

What is the DARWIN200 Voyage?

DARWIN200 is a pioneering two-year global voyage (2023-2025) of 40,000 nautical miles aboard the historic tall ship Oosterschelde to train and empower 200 determined young conservation leaders and inspire solutions to our planet’s biggest environmental challenges. 

The Global Voyage consists of 32 Voyage Legs which follow Charles Darwin’s route on HMS Beagle.  The ship will make landfall at key locations where Darwin stepped ashore.  

During each of these landfall stops, the ship will host groups of DARWIN LEADERS to undertake  research projects in exactly the same locations visited by Charles Darwin two centuries ago

During voyage legs adventurers and sailors alike are invited to join as guest crew, with many Another World Adventures travellers already signed up to join the voyage. 

We’ve been helping sailors join in this phenomenal voyage since it set sail from the UK in August 2023.

Joined by Dr Sarah Darwin

The DARWIN200 team was honoured that project patron Dr Sarah Darwin (Charles Darwin’s great-great-granddaugher) joined them in the beautiful Galápagos Islands. 

101 local students visited the ship for on-board lessons with Sarah Darwin about nature, science and conservation. 

44 local children also sailed aboard the ship as they explored the Galápagos Archipelago, along with 10 local teachers who visited the ship and/or sailed aboard!

They beamed out daily World’s Most Exciting Classroom events in Spanish and English to schools across Ecuador and the world, to engage young people in conservation projects, experiments and natural history stories!

Botanist Dr Sarah Darwin, Charles Darwin’s great-great-granddaughter says “I am very supportive of this incredible project. Using Charles Darwin’s voyage on HMS Beagle as a framework to highlight environmental change as well as the beauty of nature is a timely and noble ambition.”

DARWIN LEADERS in the Galápagos Islands

During the three week stay there were eleven exceptional Darwin Leader projects across the Galápagos Islands to train and empower top young conservationists to change the world of tomorrow.

After months of careful selection and planning, they flew in eleven of the world’s best young environmentalists from India, Bahamas, Singapore, USA, UK, Brazil, Peru, Holland and Spain to work with inspiring local conservationists to study the preservation of endemic tortoises, marine iguanas, beetles, plants and many other endangered endemic species.

Each Darwin Leader undertook an intensive training programme that involves shadowing local conservationists to study the past threats and issues that their chosen endangered animal or plant faces.

Each Darwin Leader also had to investigate the current conservation work that is being undertaken to safeguard the species they were studying, and develop new solutions, ideas and strategies to help create a brighter future.

The primary goal of DARWIN200 during our two-year global voyage is to empower and up-skill exceptional young conservationists (which we call Darwin Leaders). Through their intensive training placements, each Darwin Leader gains new skills and insight which they will take back to their home countries and use over the course of their coming careers in conservation (over the next 50 years or more) to create a better world of tomorrow.

Voyage to Bartolme Island 

Charles Darwin’s visit to the Galápagos Islands in 1835 aboard HMS Beagle triggered a cascade of ideas and theories in the mind of the 26-year-old naturalist. 

These pioneering thoughts built up through Darwin’s meticulous research over the following decades and resulted in the publication of On The Origins of Species, arguably the most important book in the history of science. 

This treatise is the founding work that underlies the theory of natural selection (which has been described as “the biggest single thought in the history of human thinking”). The impact of Darwin’s findings changed our view of our place in the natural world and reverberates to this day.

It all can be traced right back (to a large degree) to Darwin’s time exploring the beautiful Galápagos Archipelago.

Darwin sailed aboard HMS Beagle (and studied natural history) in a civilian capacity. The ship’s official mission was to survey the coasts of South America for the British Admiralty, and whilst exploring the Galápagos Islands,Captain Robert Fitzroy and the crew of HMS Beagle undertook this task with military precision.

Bartolomé Island, with its spectacular pinnacle rock, was among the many parts of the Galápagos Archipelago charted by Captain Fitroy and the crew aboard HMS Beagle.

This island, and Sulivan Bay (the adjacent part of Santiago Island nearby), were named after Sir Bartholomew Sulivan, who was a lieutenant aboard HMS Beagle. Sulivan remained a lifelong friend of Charles Darwin after the voyage was complete.

The DARWIN200 team sailed to Bartolomé Island and Sulivan Bay to retrace the movements of HMS Beagle and her illustrious survey work.

The sight of the tall ship, in exactly the same waters as HMS Beagle 189 years ago, was an evocative link between the two voyages. The view today remains almost exactly the same as that which greeted HMS Beagle (except for a recent lava flow on Santiago Island).

Although the Galápagos Archipelago comprises many intriguing islands, Bartolome Island is perhaps the most scenic of them all, and Sullivan Bay, with its spectacular lava flows is among the most unearthly and dramatic.

How can you join the DARWIN200 voyage?

The DARWIN200 is now a quarter of the way through the two year Global Voyage. Many of the voyage legs are on wait list but there is still a chance to join this historic journey.

Enquire about joining the voyage through the trip pages or reach out to us info@anotherworldadventures.com for the lateste on availability and your last chance to join the crew.