Water, DNA, BlueTech, and 88 Days to Launch

July 13, 2026

Happy Monday. It’s July 13th, we’re halfway through July, and the countdown on the website says 88 days. Things are moving. Let’s get into it.

Water is Place—It’s Finally Coming

I’ve been telling you for weeks that Water is Place Episode 1 was coming. Storms. Mosquitoes. A recording error. More storms. Teal’c and I finally found a window over the weekend and we went down to the Laramie River and recorded it. Minor edits needed and it’s dropping this week. Subscribe to the YouTube channel so you get the notification.

Here’s a teaser of what the series is about: when you shower, swim, or get in any water, you shed DNA. So does every other living thing. That DNA flows downstream. A river in Laramie, Wyoming eventually connects to the Gulf of Mexico, carrying everything it’s touched along the way, including us. The series is about that connection. What water carries, what it tells us, and why it matters that we pay attention.

A river in Laramie can affect a fisherman in Louisiana. That’s what Water is Place is about.

Vessel Search — SeaKeepers & the August 10th Deadline

We’re still actively looking for a vessel and our Go/NoGo date is August 10th. If we don’t have a boat in hand by September 1st we’ll postpone to next year — August 10th just gives us the visibility to know if September 1st is realistic.

Over the weekend we found and submitted the research application for the International SeaKeepers Society’s DISCOVERY Yacht Network — a program that connects scientists and educators with yacht owners who want to contribute their vessels to real research and education work. This is a potentially strong alignment because it’s not asking for a donation. It’s asking an owner to be part of something meaningful for a defined expedition segment.

We’re also narrowing the vessel sweet spot: 45–55 feet, three staterooms minimum, bunks in at least two of them. We want berths for crew, college students earning field research credits, and ambassadors joining us for legs of the journey. If you know a vessel, reach out.

→ Full vessel specs & in-kind support

Also launching this week: Would It Work for the Loop? — our new short-form series walking through specific boats against our expedition specs.

Partner Feature: SeaWorthy Collective

This week’s partner feature came through our connection with Austen Legler, and it’s one of the most exciting things we’ve shared yet.

SeaWorthy Collective is a Miami-based nonprofit founded in 2020 with a mission to make BlueTech (ocean innovation) accessible and inclusive. Since 2021 they’ve supported over 40 startups and 78 founders, 70% from underrepresented backgrounds, who have collectively raised over $20 million. Think of it as a tech accelerator entirely focused on the ocean economy: coral reef restoration, coastal resilience, pollution solutions, water quality technology.

SeaWorthy is a key partner in The Continuum which is a collaborative initiative launched December 2024 backed by a $13.9 million NOAA grant, bringing together SeaWorthy, Tampa Bay Wave, the University of South Florida, the St. Pete Innovation District, and others to advance BlueTech commercialization across Florida and beyond.

NOAA funded. Tampa Bay based. Ocean science focused.

This spring they also announced a Tampa Bay expansion backed by a $500,000 JPMorganChase grant to build coastal resilience innovation across Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough counties. They’re supporting startups like Everglades Oysters, reviving Gulf oyster populations and improving water quality; and 3D-printed living seawalls for coastal construction.

Real solutions to the same problems we’re documenting on the loop.

The partnership angle for us isn’t funding. SeaWorthy is an accelerator, not a grant program. The value is the network, the credibility, the shared mission, and the BlueTech community that will be right there in Tampa Bay when we arrive in December.

→ SeaWorthy Collective: seaworthycollective.com

→ The Continuum: thecontinuum.blue

Live Book Reading—Sundays 6 PM Mountain

Brilliant But Struggling: Empowering Your Teen Beyond Conventional Schooling is live. We started the reading last night on TikTok — YouTube had a snag but we’ll have both platforms running next week. We’ll be reading and discussing every Sunday evening at 6 PM Mountain / 8 PM Eastern.

If you have a teen struggling with school, a family member constantly worried about their kid’s school experience, or if you ARE that teen—come join us. We talk about why teens are special, why alternative education works, and what you can actually do about it.

Replays will be posted on YouTube. Subscribe so you don’t miss them.

Ambassador Program Coming Late July

The Ambassador Program is on track for a late July launch. Full deep dive coming in the July 27th update. Here’s the short version: if you have a teen near any waterway that drains to the Gulf, the Atlantic, or the Great Lakes — they can be a Cultivating Currents ambassador. Real NOAA protocols. Real data. Real science that affects policy and public health.

Florida Trip: August Is Almost Here

In less than four weeks: open water dive certification with Les Burke at Jr. Scientists in the Sea, Key Largo, starting the week of August 4th. Then August 10th through 15th, JSIS summer camp including a night in the Jules Undersea Lodge. August 10th is also the vessel Go/NoGo date. Big week.

Three of the 20 NOAA Marine Debris ambassador kits are being shipped to Florida ahead of the camp. We’ll walk through one on camera so you can see what the MDMap program actually looks like in the field.

→ Jr. Scientists in the Sea: jsisinc.org

→ Jules Undersea Lodge: jul.com

This Week’s Meetings

Four things on the calendar worth flagging:

• The monthly L3 Community Meeting is this week. It is open to anyone who wants to learn more, ask questions about the boat, the science, or port stops near them. The link will be listed under events on the website at cultivatingcurrents.org.
• Monthly NOAA PMN update call—always a good pulse check on HAB activity nationally and a chance to keep the PMN team updated on our October progress.
• MDMap leader training with Jess Myers at the NOAA Marine Debris Program — the protocol training that qualifies us to lead marine debris mapping events with our ambassadors.
• And the one I’m most excited about this week: Jules Vastine at the EPA participatory science program. Here’s why this matters. NOAA manages the coast—the Gulf, the Atlantic, and the Great Lakes. But the moment we come into the river in Chicago and head down the inland waterways, we’re out of NOAA’s purview and into the EPA’s. Jules connects community science efforts to EPA data programs. Having EPA alongside NOAA PMN and NOAA MDP closes the loop (literally) for our citizen science network.