Listen: A first-hand diary from Scintilla Maris’ Icelandic research voyage

🎙️ Erik Vonk joins the BOAT Briefing Podcast – listen on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

From unusual design features to life on board with Dr. Paige Maroni and her team, Erik offers a candid look at how yacht owners can play a role in powering real marine research.

Alongside his daily diary entries from Scintilla Maris, owner Erik Vonk sat down with BOAT International to record a special podcast episode during the expedition. Speaking from on board as the yacht cruised Iceland’s dramatic East Coast, Erik shares the story of Scintilla Maris’ 17-year transformation from working trawler to go-anywhere expedition yacht – and what it was like welcoming scientists through the Yachts for Science initiative.

👉 Listen to the full episode on Spotify or Apple...

A superyacht owner's final reflections

For me – and for the crew – witnessing Paige and Tim doing their research has not only been a privilege, but an outright eye-opener. First, their passion is infectious; they live for what they are doing. More importantly, it made us realise how little we know about our oceans, while they are the custodians of crucially important answers to questions around how humankind can coexist more harmoniously with its environment.

My gratitude for letting me gain new perspectives on life on earth is enormous; I am also deeply grateful to Yachts for Science and Boat International for making this trip a reality and I would like to encourage all readers to learn more about how Paige and Tim are decoding the deep sea and how to support their cause.

Day 8: Eye-opener

We arrived in Reykjavík this morning, the end of our voyage. There’s a particular quiet that settles over the ship at moments like this – satisfaction, yes, but also the sense that something extraordinary has just come to a close.

Paige gave a presentation to the group, summarising what the expedition had achieved. The numbers were staggering: over three million still images captured, hundreds of species documented, many of them in places no one had ever filmed before. Hearing it laid out like that made me realise how much had been accomplished in such a short window of time.

Day 7: Silky seas

This morning was the kind you know you’ll never forget. The sea was glassy and smooth, the sun beaming over the sheer walls of the fjord. Minke whales surfaced around us, and seabirds darted overhead as though escorting us toward the open ocean.

The scientists, sensing this was their last chance, were up early despite the late-night aurora the evening prior. Two ROV dives before breakfast and three more once we shifted the ship to the outer fjord. From the bridge, I could see the tender scuttling back and forth, beaming with the unmistakable energy of a team determined to squeeze every last moment out of the weather window.

By early afternoon, the swell built, and we turned our bow toward Reykjavík.

Day 6: Talking in their own language

We slipped into a new fjord today, Scintilla Maris handling the weather as though she was born for these waters. I stood on deck as we dropped anchor, watching the towering cliffs catch the late sun; happy that the ship is running smoothly and the mood on board is cheerful.

Paige and Tim were immediately busy with two tender dives, a dive off the back of the ship, then back in the tender again in the evening. I can’t help but smile watching them bumble around the decks, cables and gear in tow, talking in their own language of “ROVs, substrates, and transects.” Somehow, amid the controlled chaos, everything gets done.

The day closed in the best possible way. As the sun slipped behind the cliffs, we anchored outside a small fishing village and watched the life of the harbour unfold with fishing boats coming and going, people tending to their work as though we weren’t here at all. 

And then, as darkness fell, the sky erupted with an aurora sweeping green and purple. Everyone crowded onto the back deck, faces turned upward, silent except for the occasional gasp.

– Erik Vonk

Bonus: A note from Dr. Paige Maroni about conducting research aboard Scintilla Maris

Usually, research in the field is shaped by tight schedules, limited gear, rough conditions and very little flexibility. On Scintilla Maris, the experience is completely different. We have the time and the mobility to move with the weather, to linger when we discover something exciting and to make the most of each dive. 

It’s rare in science to have the chance to work from a platform that’s both adaptable and incredibly comfortable. That flexibility doesn’t just make the research easier; it makes it better. We can push further, stay safer and come away with insights and footage we might never capture in a more traditional setting.

–  Dr. Paige Maroni

Day 5: Sunbathing in an Icelandic fjord

The sunshine stayed with us today, which meant I could take my coffee up to the sundeck and enjoy the towering fjord walls on either side of us. The day began with a morning dive off the stern, with waterfalls in view from every angle. Later, the team spotted a wolffish during an evening dive, an incredible encounter right off the back of the boat. 

At one point, Tim and Paige set out in the tender, hoping to try a new dive site. But the winds had other plans. They ended up having to be retrieved from a different spot altogether when it proved too rough to return directly to Scintilla Maris.

– Erik Vonk

Extra video footage from day 4...

Researcher Tim Macdonald shares extra video captured of the ROV deployment and mission from Scintilla Maris...

Day 4: Science in full swing!

Today was a big day of science. We started with a dive straight off the stern before breakfast, then four more from the tender, and capped it with one over the side of the ship to try and find a geothermal vent.

What struck me most is what I’ve learned from these two scientists. They’re self-funding a three-and-a-half-month Arctic season because they believe polar ocean science can’t wait for grants and bureaucracy. Thanks to Yachts for Science, they can be matched with owners like me, but every bit of infrastructure, travel, and permitting still comes out of their pockets.

Even more eye-opening: Dr Maroni explained that half of the world’s seafloor data comes from the shallowest one per cent of the ocean. By combining deeper tech with polar exploration, they are changing that. Their drive is inspiring!!

– Erik Vonk

Day 3: The highs and lows of science at sea

This morning started in the best way imaginable: with a minke whale circling the boat while we were still at anchor. Coffee in hand, Captain Seib, Tim, and Paige stood on the back deck, grinning as the whale came in close, rolling just beneath the surface before vanishing back into the blue. Not a bad way to wake up.

Once the excitement had settled, we moved Scintilla Maris back to the science team’s priority sampling site. The zodiac was launched with two crew and the science team onboard, ROV tucked carefully at their feet. The captain swung the vessel to give them a bit of shelter from the swell, and then off they went – heading straight for their first deep dive of the day.

They descended to 70 meters and began working their way up a massive geothermal vent feature. Even from the radio chatter, I could tell it was special. When they came back on board, their faces said it all; apparently, it was one of the most extraordinary dives of their collective careers.

But the ocean always keeps you humble. Just as the ROV surfaced, the wind and swell picked up. In a flash, the tether was pulled under a nearby mooring system. Snorkellers went in, but the Icelandic water was far too cold, and the ROV sat just out of reach. There was no choice but to call it and return to Scintilla Maris.

A tough end to an otherwise unforgettable day at sea.

– Erik Vonk

Day 2: Wind, whales and seaweed

The sun hasn’t stopped shining today… in Northern Iceland! We pulled anchor and got underway at 4:00pm, meaning there wasn’t much time left for day ops. The plan was to launch at the vent site, but the wind had other ideas. It was far too strong to safely put the zodiac in the water.

Still, the ocean delivered. A pair of humpbacks surfaced off our beam, lingering long enough for us all to watch their flukes rise and disappear. With the vent site out of reach, the team opted to dive the ROV at the mouth of the fjord instead.

The camera revealed a completely different world with large blades of seaweed, ripples of volcanic sand, sole lying flat against the bottom and cod darting through the kelp. It wasn’t the dive we’d planned, but it turned into one of those unexpected windows into a place you might never otherwise see.

– Erik Vonk

Day 1: Embarkation day!

Thrilled to welcome Dr. Paige Maroni and Tim Macdonald on board of Scintilla Maris in Akureyri, Iceland. We are hosting Paige and Tim to do ocean research work under the auspices of Yachts for Science, as part of a broad effort to establish biodiversity baselines in hereto unexplored Arctic areas.

Vast regions of our oceans remain unexplored, while the availability of research vessels is limited. Through Yachts for Science we now have an opportunity to use Scintilla Maris as a platform for very important marine research. We are departing tomorrow! Stay tuned for daily updates!

– Erik Vonk