Sails October 24-31 / 2009
Sanctuary Retreats’ special Charles Darwin Anniversary fundraising departure on October 24th is now just two months away and the M.V. Eclipse is very pleased to announce that the renowned British actress and conservation campaigner Miranda Richardson has also confirmed her participation on the cruise, along with Randal Keynes, Charles Darwin’s great, great grandson who, with the Charles Darwin Foundation and Galapagos Conservation Trust, has supported this initiative from the outset.
Both our special guests on board will provide a unique flavour to this important charity event, which has created a lot of interest among our valued clients around the world.
Miranda Richardson’s films include “Get Carter” with Sylvester Stallone and Michael Caine, “Sleepy Hollow” for Tim Burton, “The Apostle” with Robert Duvall, “The Designated Mourner” by Wallace Shawn, and Steven Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun”. Her recent credits include “Churchill – The Hollywood Years”, “The Prince and Me”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”, “The Young Victoria” and “Dagenham Girls”.
Miranda has been involved with the Galapagos Conservation Trust since 2003, but this will be the first time she has achieved her ambition to visit the Islands. She has appeared in a number of TV programs about conservation, including Extinct in 2006 and is passionate about the need to address climate change.
Randal Keynes, not only great great grandson of Charles Darwin, but also great nephew of the economist John Maynard Keynes, is author of “Annie’s box, Darwin, His Daughter and Human Evolution”, a book about Darwin and aspects of his life with his family that influenced his thinking.
Randal first visited Galapagos in 2000 and joined the General Assembly of the Charles Darwin Foundation in 2004. He was elected to the Board of the CDF in 2007 and is one of the champions of the Floreana project, stressing the key importance of Floreana's unique mockingbird species in Darwin’s thinking about evolution.
"Creation", the new film about Darwin starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly, which has been chosen to open this year's Toronto International Film Festival, is based on Randal's book, and he has acted as advisor for the production.
In addition, on our Thursday stopover in Puerto Ayora, guests will be treated to an exclusive program organized by the Charles Darwin Foundation, and hosted in person by the Executive Director of the Foundation in Galapagos, Dr. Gabriel Lopez.
During the cruise, Randal will give a series of after-dinner talks about Darwin and Galapagos and there will be many opportunities for discussion of other topics.
The combination of our special guests with our unique activities and events will provide passengers with an unprecedented and privileged chance to celebrate Darwin’s anniversary year in an extraordinary way!
