History

In 2003, boat-builder and captain Clemens Oestreich, who had spent eleven years captaining sailing vessels throughout Central America, the Atlantic, and beyond, acquired and rebuilt the 120-foot ferro-cement sailing vessel Infinity. He gathered a group of volunteers who were in search of adventure, personal and cultural exploration, and together they headed out for life on the high seas.

They spent a year and a half sailing across the South Pacific from Mexico to Thailand, visiting Kiribati, Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Borneo, Singapore, and Malaysia. They visited lands far off the tourist maps and came to meet and know people from cultures and places seldom experienced. Along the way, the crew aboard Infinity provided extra hands and supplies for various village projects with which they were invited to assist.

During their journeys, in 2006, Clemens and his volunteer crew were approached by the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation (PCRF), and Infinity formed its first major partnership providing transportation and support for an environmental NGO working in delicate areas of the South Pacific. PCRF came aboard for two years to explore and conduct studies near Irian Jaya and Papua New Guinea, including the vastly unexplored atolls around the Trobriand Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.

After the departure of PCRF in 2008, Clemens set sail with another group of Infinity volunteers. At that time, they began an expedition that would take them across more than 25,000 miles of ocean together - exploring, making friends, learning about themselves and the world, and assisting with small projects along the way. This expedition continues today. To date the team has ventured through Thailand, Singapore, Borneo, the Philippines, Palau, Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Hawai'i, Marquesas, Tuamotus, Tahiti, Tonga, American Samoa, Independent Samoa, and New Zealand.

Over the course of Infinity's travels, the dreams and destiny of Infinity Expeditions have gradually and organically taken shape. Back in 2008, the existing crew began to recognize that Infinity was, and had the potential to become more of, a meaningful catalyst for personal and world-wide social and environmental change. It was during this time that the concept for Infinity Expeditions was formally developed by Clemens and two long-term crew members, Annie Brett, a Harvard graduate of environmental sciences, and Michael Sheridan, a former financial advisor. Infinity Expeditions is now in the process of obtaining official non-profit organization, 501(c)3, status.

From 2003 to the present day, Infinity and Infinity Expeditions have hosted more than 100 volunteers, traveled over 60,000 miles and visited hundreds of islands in more than 20 countries. The organization combines the primary crew's love of sharing the world with others from the vantage point of the open seas, with their passion for environmental protection, education, and change.