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Suzanne van der Veeken : “One of the movement's leading voices.”

Financial Times

My name is Suzanne van der Veeken. I sail, I walk, I write. Living nomadically. This page is for journalists, podcasters, conference organisers and brands.

Sailing: over 50,000 nautical miles across 100+ boats, five Atlantic crossings, Yachtmaster Offshore (RYA). I founded Ocean Nomads, a community for sailors and crew who care about the ocean.

On foot and in the van: 2,000+ km solo thru-hiking with tent and wild camping, often with my dog. Six years of vanlife across Portugal, Spain and Morocco.

Beneath the surface: AIDA Freediving Instructor.

Background: Master's in Tourism Destination Management, Bachelor of Commerce. Co-author of peer-reviewed research on tourism destinations' vulnerability to climate change. Two books: Ocean Nomad (2017) and Salz auf der Haut (Delius Klasing).

Over the years I've been featured in the following publications (click on the logo for the articles / videos)



Financial Times
CNN
Lonely Planet Traveller
boot Düsseldorf
SIC Notícias
Antena 3
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Yacht magazine (Delius Klasing)
Hürriyet
Yachting World

Speaking

  • boot Düsseldorf (Germany). Speaker twice at the world's largest boat and watersports trade fair.
  • NomadCity Conference, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (2017). Talk: The power of (dis)connection: The rewards of sailing across the Atlantic. On the programme alongside Upwork, Hotjar, Toptal and other remote-work and digital-nomad speakers.

Invited summits

Our Ocean Conference 2017, Malta. Selected as one of 100 youth ocean leaders from 50 countries for the Our Ocean Youth Summit, the invitation-only youth track of the EU-hosted ocean conservation summit launched by John Kerry in 2014. That year the conference generated 700 commitments and €6 billion in ocean protection pledges. I met Sylvia Earle (founder of Mission Blue, former NOAA Chief Scientist) and President Faure of Seychelles in person. Other attendees included John Kerry and Peter Thomson, UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean.

Academic publication

Tourism destinations' vulnerability to climate change by Veeken & Calgaro. Peer-reviewed, indexed at Semantic Scholar. Grounded in my Master's in Tourism Destination Management.

Books



Suzanne van der Veeken with Sylvia Earle at the Our Ocean Youth Summit, Malta, October 2017.
With Sylvia Earle at the Our Ocean Youth Summit, Malta, October 2017.
Suzanne van der Veeken with Danny Faure, President of Seychelles, at the Our Ocean Conference, Malta, October 2017.
With Danny Faure, President of Seychelles, at the Our Ocean Conference, Malta, October 2017.



International press

Television and national news

Portugal: SIC Notícias, “Missão para proteger o oceano conta com um cão na tripulação”, 2 June 2022.

Spain, July 2024, Porto do Son rip current rescue: with co-rescuer Manuel (16), seven swimmers saved from a rip current at Playa Río Sieira. Covered across:

Sailing press

Dutch press

Dominica: first thru-hike of the Waitukubuli National Trail after Hurricane Maria

114 miles, 14 segments, 12 days, with hiking partner Jonathan Buckman. Hurricane Maria devastated the trail in September 2017. We were among the first to complete the full thru-hike once it reopened.

Long-form interviews and podcasts

Author profiles


Interviews, podcasts, speaking, partnerships? Reach out via the work with me page or contact form.

Topics I speak on: hitchsailing and crewing across oceans, slow travel and low-carbon adventure, thru-hiking solo with a dog, vanlife in Portugal, Spain and Morocco, Ayurveda for nomadic life, conscious living and reconnection with nature.