About us
Our crew
JP and Audrey met aboard a sailing school vessel as undergraduates and have been adventuring together ever since. In 2020, they decided to combine their shared passions for exploration, conservation science, storytelling, and the ocean by forming this organization.
JP Spaventa
Co-founder & captain
JP serves as our captain, expedition leader, engineer, dive safety officer, and photographer/videographer. He studied engineering and physics at Stanford, and worked as an engineer on SEA’s sailing research vessel. His family is bicultural (the United States and Argentina), and he is passionate about bridging conservation solutions across the Americas. He has extensive experience driving small boats, sailing (USCG 100 ton master), flying drones, repairing diesel engines, landing fish, scuba diving (AAUS certified) and free diving. He grew up wanting to be an astronaut, and has come to realize that exploring the world’s oceans are a lot like space. When he’s not doing all those things, you can find him surfing the nearest righthand point break.
Audrey Bennett
Co-founder & chief scientist
Audrey serves as our director, scientist, writer, and cook. She studied ecology and evolution at Stanford and worked as a sailor, marine technician, and teacher on SEA’s sailing research vessel. She grew up in the Monterey Bay and trained at Hopkins Marine Station and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She has extensive experience sailing (USCG 100 ton master), scuba diving (AAUS certified), writing, cooking vegetarian food, and studying the natural world. She is particularly curious about inspiring cultural change. When she’s not doing these things, you can find her under a redwood tree.
Our home
R/V Lōkahi
Our boat is our island, our home, our work, our dream, our habitat, our space ship. In 2020, we found her in south San Francisco with a bent boom and many miles of sailing already under her belt. After two years of work, she sailed us to Baja California for our first field season in 2022.
In 2024, we sailed upwind back to California to get married (onboard!) and prepare for another field season. Lōkahi has hosted children, fishermen, filmmakers, over 30 wedding guests, the Mexican navy, Audrey’s grandparents, and could not be more happy to be a part of this work.
| Builder | Catalina Yachts |
| Length Overall | 36.33 ft / 11.07 m |
| Beam | 11.92 ft / 3.63 m |
| Draft | 5.83 ft / 1.78 m |
| Material | Fiberglass |
| Cabins | 1 double, 1 single |
| Additional berths | 1 double, 1 single |
| Head | 1 compost toilet |
| Anchor | Rocna 20 kg |
| Rode | 300 feet 3⁄8” chain + 150 feet 1⁄2” nylon |
| Mainsail | 234.00 ft2 / 21.74 m2 |
| Jib | 320.63 ft2 / 29.79 m2 |
| Hull speed | 7 knots |
| Cruising speed | 5 knots |
| Main engine | Universal M35A: 30 hp |
| Communication system | Iridium Go (offshore) + Starlink (coastal) |
| Emergency communication system | Ocean Signal ePIRB + 2x PLBs (personal locator beacons) |
| Liferaft | Ocean Safety 4-Person |
| Shipboard computer | Lenovo Thinkpad P1 Gen2 |
| Navigational Electronics | B&G |
| Weather forecasting service | PredictWind Offshore |
| Solar panels | Sunpower 2x 410 watt panels |
| Batteries | Renogy LiFePO4 680 Ah |
| Tender | Achilles HB 335 AX 12 ft Aluminum RIB + Yamaha: 25 hp |
| Diesel | 25 gal / 95 L |
| Gasoline | 15 gal / 57 L |
| Freshwater | 72 gal / 273 L |
| Watermaker | Seawater Pro dual membrane, 40 gallons/hour |
| Air compressor | Bauer Oceanus GK |
| Scuba tanks | 2x Faber HP 80 cf, 2x Faber HP 100 cf |
| Emergency oxygen | 42L and 425L |
