Sailing with a Greater Purpose

Dykstra Naval Architects and Vitters Shipyard donate their time and talents to design a unique Expedition Schooner for Sea Mercy, a non-profit charity that is quietly becoming the benevolent arm of the international yachting community.

When a non-profit charity asks you to design a low cost, versatile and sustainable service delivery vessel to serve thousands of forgotten remote island communities spread across the South Pacific, you realize the design needs are far different. Such a request would not be an easy assignment for any naval architect or builder; however award-winning sailing yacht architect Gerard Dykstra of Dykstra Naval Architects and shipbuilder Louis Hamming of Vitters Shipyard came together to donate their time and expertise to design the multipurpose Sea Bridge One vessel for Sea Mercy.

Separated by hundreds of miles, one of the greatest challenges the remote island communities in the South Pacific have is staying connected to the health care, disaster response, education & research and economic development services that are only available on the few primary islands. Their shallow lagoons, narrow entrances and the cost of fuel to reach them has prohibited merchant vessels, barges, aid organizations, and even government officials from serving them.

“Sea Mercy asked us to design a vessel that would meet their various remote island program needs; becoming a transport support barge, a floating hospital, an educational research & training vessel, a disaster response & recovery vessel, an economic development delivery platform, or a combination of some or all the above.”
Gerard Dykstra, Dykstra Naval Architects

Fortunately, Dykstra had extensive ‘sailing ship’ concept experience and with the wisdom and support of Louis Hamming, they began working on the perfect design for their client.

“Because Sea Bridge One is more of a workhorse than a stallion, our focus was more on a strong and functional vessel than on luxury accommodations. Tried and tested technologies with simple installations was the key to keeping the maintenance and operational costs to a minimum, yet ensuring the vessel was fast and capable.”
Louis Hamming, Vitters Shipyard

During the past five years Sea Mercy has been building a ‘sea bridge’ of volunteer yachts, captains and experts that have gradually and purposefully connected the remote island communities to these basic services. Once believed to be an unsolvable problem, Sea Mercy has demonstrated that an effective solution was available by partnering with the international yachting community. However, there was one thing missing. They needed an affordable, heavy lift transport vessel that could sail long distances into harm’s way if needed and operate for long periods at a time. Without this vessel, the most important and needed programs on these islands could not be provided. The Sea Bridge One design was the solution.