A Benefit for Marine Conservation

The Blue
Carbon Open

A one-of-a-kind experience supporting Beneath The Waves' groundbreaking ocean conservation work. Inaugurated May 2023 in the Exumas, Bahamas, presented by Bacardí.

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Conservation, sport,
sound & sand.

Ocean-saving conservation missions, world-class golf, chef-led dinners with partners, and music-filled nights on the sand — built for people who want to do something meaningful with a weekend in the Bahamas.

Designed by Greg Norman

World-class golf on Emerald Bay.

The namesake event — a charity tournament played at the award-winning Sandals Emerald Bay Golf Course, designed by Greg Norman. A signature championship layout where every entry directly funds Beneath The Waves conservation programs.

Sanctioned in partnership with the Bahamas Golf Federation. The inaugural Blue Carbon Cup was taken home by a local pro team from The Exumas — a fitting outcome for an event built around Bahamian waters.

Course · Sandals Emerald Bay
Luxury Bahamian villas

The Grand Isle Resort.

Your island experience begins at the luxury Grand Isle Resort & Residences on Great Exuma. Ranging in size from one to four bedrooms, these breezy and beautifully furnished Bahamian villas capture the essence of relaxed residential comfort.

Host Property · Grand Isle Resort
Led by Dr. Austin Gallagher

Marine conservation, up close.

An unforgettable marine conservation excursion with Dr. Austin Gallagher, Chief Marine Biologist and CEO of Beneath The Waves. Guests get hands-on with the research — tagging sharks, surveying seagrass, and contributing to data that feeds published science.

Not a photo op. Real field work, with real researchers.

Presented by Beneath The Waves
Bacardí opening · Beach club close

Where the weekend comes together.

Bacardí hosted the opening party — anchored by a surprise DJ set from Dr. Austin Gallagher (BTW's Chief Marine Biologist) and the team from Lucid Project. Scientists, sponsors, and attendees in the same room before the tournament even started.

Chef-led dinners followed throughout the weekend with Lennox Paton and GIV Bahamas — intimate breakouts where the conversations that drive the next year's work tend to start over a long dinner, not a keynote. The weekend closed out at 23° North Beach Club — infinity pool views, DJ-curated beats, long evenings on the sand.

Presented by Bacardí · Close at 23° North

"Blue Carbon" is the carbon dioxide pulled from our atmosphere and stored in marine ecosystems.

Mangroves, salt marshes, and seagrass meadows are among the most productive natural climate solutions on earth — and the vast majority of the public has never heard of them.

4×
More CO₂ sequestered than rainforests
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems capture and store greenhouse gases at roughly four times the rate of terrestrial rainforest per acre.
92Kkm²
The world's largest seagrass meadow
Mapped by Beneath The Waves scientists off the Bahamas — a single underwater carbon sink at continental scale.
50%
Of mangroves already lost
Roughly half of global mangrove cover has disappeared in the last century. Every ecosystem protected buys back time.
"
Blue carbon habitats are among the most productive natural climate solutions on earth at fighting climate change.
— Beneath The Waves

Great Exuma.
May 2023.

The inaugural edition ran alongside active Beneath The Waves field research. What started as a long weekend in the Bahamas closed out with performances on the beach, new conservation data collected, and everyone asking when the next one was.

Aerial view of golf course meeting Bahamian coast
Underwater conservation dive
The Blue Carbon Open 2023 champions from Exumas Golf Federation with signage presented by Bacardí
23 North
Golfer putting on coastline green at Sandals Emerald Bay
Underwater conservation footage in the Bahamas
Golfer walking the fairway at Sandals Emerald Bay
Golfers on cliffside putting green overlooking the Bahamian coast
The Blue Carbon Open 2023 tournament trophies with Bacardí

Event partners.

The Blue Carbon Open is presented with the partners below — each bringing the on-the-ground expertise, cultural roots, and resources that made the inaugural edition possible.

The Next Chapter

Something new is on the horizon.

After the inaugural Exumas edition, we've been quietly shaping what comes next — a return, closer to home, with room for more of the partners we've been building with. Details in due time.

Stay Informed →