Donor Participants
Underwrite and join a research expedition!
Some of our research expeditions need help with their funding. That’s where you might come in. Literally.
Join us on the Endeavour for an expedition!
If you have a passion for a specific area of interest -- and want to support science research and conservation efforts at a time when it’s so critically needed — consider underwriting an expedition and coming along.
You'll have the chance to travel, work and study the data as it comes in, right along with the researchers.
If you underwrite a scientific expedition, you – or someone you choose – are welcome to join us on the Endeavour.
Dates cost, and availability vary. See below for the current opportunities.
Come and be part of the science!
“I loved the Endeavour, the crew of researchers, you and your crew, the whales, Alaska, all of it. Just a fantastic experience and exposure to the amazing worlds of humpbacks. I have huge respect and appreciation for what you and your crew are accomplishing.”
-- Joe
“Such an amazing experience being with you all and discovering that part of Alaska and being with the whales...was pretty transformative...a trip of a lifetime for sure. The work you do is so important and valuable, in any context but especially now."
-- Victoria
May 16 - May 28, 2025
The Star of Bengal was a 264-foot schooner that sank off Coronation Island, Alaska, on September 20, 1908. The ship was heading back to San Francisco, full of canned salmon and laborers from the cannery at Wrangell. In the middle of the night, the weather picked up and the ship broke on the rocks and sank. Of the 27 white crewmen, 15 died. Of the 110 laborers – most of them Chinese – all died except one. Read the account of one survivor here. In May of 2022, the Endeavour and a team of eight found the wreck. To see our onboard report from the 2022 expedition, click here. We’re going back this year to continue the research, looking for the aft part of the ship which may be in deeper water, and building a detailed map of the wreckage. Much of the same team will be on board, including marine archeologist Jenya Anichenko, Ph.D. We have a grant from the State of Alaska but we need an additional $12,000 to cover costs. The underwriting is tax deductible. Two qualified donors, especially divers, contributing $6,000 each would be welcome on board for the 13-day expedition.
Oct 13 - Oct 25, 2025
This is our annual fall humpback whale survey in Southeast run by the Alaska Whale Foundation and led by executive director Andy Szabo, Ph.D. The researchers identify individual whales by the unique patterns on their flukes and measure their body mass (a proxy for health) by flying a drone over the whale with a flat plane camera and precise altimeter. Most of the work is done from small boats which can put us very, very close to the whales. We also listen to the whales through a hydrophone piped into the ship's sound system. The team will be working in Frederick Sound, Stephens Passage, and Seymour Canal. For a summary of the 2023 survey click here. For a short video of that expedition, click here. We are looking for an additional $12,000 to cover the costs of this expedition. The underwriting is tax deductible. Two donors ($6,000 each) would be welcomed to join us on board for all or part of this 13-day expedition.
