A world apart: The sensory extremes of remote yachting

From the vivid reefs of Raja Ampat to the profound silence of Antarctica, expedition leaders reveal how the world’s most remote destinations offer radically different experiences for the senses.

One of the most fascinating fields of current psychological research is how the natural environment influences the human brain, attention and behaviour. Professor Marc Berman, director of the Environmental Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Chicago, for example, studies how contrasting natural scenery – from Arctic fjords to Caribbean rainforest – shakes us out of routine thought patterns, softens cognitive fatigue and recalibrates perception. For the guides of superyacht expedition leaders EYOS, offering guests a world of contrasts is second nature.

“As so many of our guests are regulars, we’re frequently asked to put together a completely contrasting experience to the unforgettable trip they took last time,” explains expedition leader and founding partner Rob McCallum. “If they dived the tropical waters of French Polynesia last year, perhaps this year they want a cold trip, to see the penguin colonies of the Antarctic Peninsula.”

Here, expedition leaders, captains and scientists share some of the most dramatically different sensory experiences on the planet…

Grandeur in the Northwest Passage

The legendary Northwest Passage remains one of the world’s most storied maritime frontiers - an unforgiving route once defined by imperial venturing and tales of endurance, now reimagined as the ultimate cruising expedition for the modern explorer. 

Fewer than 400 vessels have completed a full transit, placing this voyage among the most prized of nautical achievements. Bathed in the Arctic’s endless summer light, guests scan the vast fjords and shifting pack ice for narwhal, walrus and migrating beluga whales, searching for the unmistakable silhouette of a polar bear or musk ox against the horizon.

“Wildlife encounters in the Arctic are completely different to the Antarctic,” explains EYOS founder and expedition leader Tim Soper, who has completed more than 100 expeditions to polar regions. “In the Antarctic, penguin colonies are exactly where you expect them to be but in the Arctic, it’s more like a polar safari on board a yacht, and wildlife doesn’t work to a schedule.”

Colour cacophony in French Polynesia

French Polynesia, a region as vast as Europe, is a visual feast, from volcanic peaks and lush green valleys to turquoise lagoons, coral reefs and vividly hued tropical flora. The 118 islands and atolls are spread across five archipelagos, each island with a distinct character, shaped by geology, ocean conditions and culture. 

The colours of life here have enchanted artists and explorers for centuries; Herman Melville, Paul Gauguin and Jacques Brel all found inspiration in the rugged beauty of the lesser-visited Marquesas, famed for black-sand beaches, volcanic peaks and craggy cliffs. 

Meanwhile Tahiti, Bora Bora and Moorea in the Society Islands – a term first used by Captain James Cook during his expedition to the South Pacific Ocean in 1769 – offer something more faithful to the South Pacific of your imagination, with white-sand beaches, gently swaying palms, turquoise waters and expansive lagoons.

By far the most populated archipelago, with roughly 87 per dent of the region’s population, the Society Islands combine barefoot luxury (overwater bungalows and beach bars serving cold Hinanos to thirsty sailors) with plenty of Polynesian history, including ancient marae (ceremonial meeting places) and archaeological sites.

Read More/At the far edge of the chart: Discovering French Polynesia by superyacht

Hypnotic serenity in Antarctica

Antarctica is a destination that redraws the boundaries of scale, silence and significance. “True silence is a rare luxury in the normal world, but in the polar regions it’s possible to sit quietly and hear absolutely nothing, until your ears are so attuned to silence that you can hear the cracks in the ice,” says Soper.

From the deck of an expedition superyacht, the continent feels less like a geographical location than a vast, elemental force - where even the smallest flickers of life, from krill to penguins, seem magnified by their isolation.

Most sailors and expedition leaders say the searing-white scenery and immense coastal colonies of penguins are what make yachting in Antarctica unforgettable, versus the more abundant mammal encounters in the Arctic regions. A voyage through the Weddell Sea reveals a world of pack ice, pale light and extraordinary stillness, while further west, the Lemaire Channel is one of the most dramatic passages on earth, a narrow corridor of glassy water flanked by steep walls of ice and rock.

And it’s only when we poke around the old living quarters in Port Lockroy - complete with amateur drawings of pin-up women - that human history intrudes, and stories of early 20th century exploration add a new dimension.

Sensory extremes in Raja Ampat

Every expedition sailor talks about the slow reveal of sailing into Raja Ampat, where more than 1,500 ravishing jungle-clad limestone  islands rise out of a glassy sea, sultry air fills the lungs and, underwater, one of the world’s most extraordinary marine sanctuaries hosts 540 coral species, alongside manta rays, reef sharks, pygmy seahorses, walking sharks, sea turtles and vast schools of tropical fish.

Yet Raja Ampat’s allure extends beyond its natural abundance. It is a global model for conservation, shaped by local communities, sustainable tourism and marine protection. Rosie O’Donnell is the chief project leader of Yachts  For Science (yachtsforscience.com) which “match-makes” scientists with philanthropic yacht owners to facilitate research in remote locations. 

Researchers get to leapfrog long queues for a spot on the big expedition vessels and yacht guests get a chance to witness science in action. “We look for geographic areas with low data and high biodiversity, and utilise spare berths in yachts to facilitate scientific research in some of the most inaccessible places on the planet,” says O’Donnell. “It’s a win for the owners and crew, it’s a win for scientists and it’s a win for the ocean.”

Abundant wildlife in Dominica

“On a science-led expedition, guests share a memory of discovering a new species, or deploying the equipment that opened up a new way of studying this unique ecosystem,” says Dr Jimmy White, EYOS’s Manager of Technical, Science and Conservation Projects. White recently led an expedition to Dominica aboard the 57-metre Feadship superyacht Solace, offering  one of the most compelling marine encounters  in the Caribbean: swimming and free-diving alongside the resident population of sperm whales in the clear, temperate waters close to shore, where Dominica’s volcanic terrain, rainforest, waterfalls and 365 rivers create a landscape of exceptional ecological variety. 

“Because they’re a resident population, versus a migrating group, the interactions we have with them are completely different and more intimate,” says White. “When you look a whale in the eye, there’s a moment of recognition, mammal-to-mammal, and that’s something you never forget.”

Navigating resident and migrating whale populations takes skill for a captain, but the rewards are immense, says Solace captain Aaron Udall, who worked alongside White on the aforementioned trip, visiting both the sperm whale population of Dominica and the humpback whales found off Dominican Republic.

“The intimidating size and power of whales, combined with their gentleness, makes whale-sightings exciting for every sailor, no matter how many whales you see,” says Udall. “In the Dominican Republic, on Solace, we counted 512 humpback whales in one day on Navidad Bank, more  than had ever been counted before, and some interactions that I’ll never forget.”

Stark extremes in Svalbard

Less than 600 nautical miles from the North Pole, the Svalbard archipelago compresses the Arctic’s vastness into a sequence of dramatic seascapes – glacier-carved peaks giving way to muted buttes, then to the austere geometry of pack ice stretching to the horizon. Visiting the Arctic by yacht means navigating glacial fjords that form natural sheltered corridors and inlets, with much more usable coastline for anchoring compared to cruising in Antarctica. 

Fia Wistrand is an ice pilot with EYOS. “When navigating polar regions, the remoteness is something you are always most aware of,” she says. “In Antarctica you are surrounded by high peaks, glaciers, ice and an abundance of wildlife. There are research stations over the region, but no inhabitants. The Arctic offers an equally beautiful nature experience but offers a different experience with settlements scattered over the region.” 

With every sheltered anchorage serving as a theatre for wildlife, scientists and crew agree that the wildlife encounters are more diverse in the North: seals languishing on floes, reindeer moving across tundra, Arctic foxes gracing the coastline and colonies of seabirds filling the sky. But of course, the elusive polar bear remains the region’s greatest trophy, arguably the most privileged wildlife sighting  on the planet.

As Soper says, “Wildlife encounters in the Arctic require patience, but there’s a huge reward when we finally get close to polar bears, we see the bears relax and hang out, everyone takes fantastic pictures and we come away feeling like we’ve learned something about how these bears behave in the wild.”

Cultural wonders in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is a culturally intricate land where more than 5,000 clans sustain their own ceremonies, dress, music and social life. McCallum lived in Papua New Guinea for more than 15 years, and has been travelling here for more than five decades. “On arrival, there’s a series of reconnections and formal greetings, then a ritual negotiation for access to the forest and reef,” he explains. “We often arrange for a “sing-sing”, a display of dance and song that may have remained the same for thousands of years.”

PNG’s fascinating cultural diversity is matched by extraordinary natural richness. Lying within the Coral Triangle, the nation has exceptional marine biodiversity, with reefs supporting more than 600 hard coral species and thousands of fish. What makes PNG so compelling for sailors and adventurers is the connection between culture and landscape.

“I think of Melanesia as a tapestry, where every island represents a stitch, unique but with connections to either side,” says McCallum. “Together they form a pattern that tells the story of human history across the entire region.”

Enigmatic emptiness in remote Iceland

This is the land of fire and ice, with vast lava fields, icecaps and black-sand coasts, where bubbling geothermal springs spit and steam next to glaciers and frozen plains. With a population of just 360,000, Iceland’s emptiness lends even more majesty to this extreme environment, and visiting by yacht offers access to the most unspoiled and dramatic sights in the Westfjords. Here, at the tip of the peninsula, the roadless wilderness of the Hornstrandir Nature Reserve is one of Iceland’s top spots for sightings of the native Arctic fox.

“I think it’s natural for humans to seek out what we don’t normally see, smell, hear or do, and we feel our senses sharpen when we do so,” says Soper. “Somehow this shift can be calming and humbling, rather than disorientating.”

Iceland might appear sparse and unforgiving, yet it has supported human life for 1,150 years. It is a land of survivors, and to sail along its extravagant emptiness is to absorb weather, geology and time all at once. eyos-expeditions.com

First published in the September 2026 issue of BOAT International. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.