Dragonfly Expeditions

08/02/2024

Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues:



I was born in a little town on the western shore of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay. I loved the tidal creeks that fed the wetlands and marshes off of the wooded hills behind my house and I especially loved seeing the sailing ships and skipjacks out on the glittering expanse of the Chesapeake Bay. As I was growing up and into my young adulthood, the ideal travel company of my dreams was the legendary, Miami-based Windjammer Barefoot Cruises. It represented to me adventure, exploration, and the intrigues of the tropics. After decades of shepherding my expeditionary tour company of Florida and the Caribbean Basin, Dragonfly Expeditions www.DragonflyExpeditions.com, I have decided to add the chase of my dream for resurrecting the Windjammer brand and its extraordinary culture of adventure travel to my life's accomplishments.



In April of 2023, I outright purchased the 100-year-old sailing schooner and former Windjammer standard bearer, the S/V Mandalay which was moored off of the Carenage of St. George's, Grenada. Now, in August of 2024, I, with my business partner, the accomplished and innovative sports travel entrepreneur Zack Luttrell, am launching a public capital raise to raise the money for the Mandalay's restoration and the future purchase of a second schooner for our cruise line.



For those who have confidence in my business accomplishments and abilities, we are excited to offer you the opportunity to get in on the ground floor and go along with us on this adventure. If you only wish to cheer us on from the sidelines, we welcome that also. I aspire to make this company the pinnacle of my entrepreneurial life and to set about accomplishing a dream that had its beginnings in the thoughts of a little boy who fervently marveled at the mighty sea from the cliffs above its shores. I welcome all who are willing to share this dream with us.



To learn more about this project and indicate your interest in investing, visit our Vicinity page here. https://marketplace.vicinitycapital.com/offers/69

12/03/2019

Last night, The Knight Foundation announced that the Abandoned Vehicles of the Everglades project of our sister company, Adventure Life Productions, a collaboration between Alison Klapper León and myself, with our brilliant photographer partner, Matt Stock, is one of 44 winners in the 2019 Knight Arts Challenge Miami, a community-wide search to find and fund the best ideas for engaging and enriching Miami through the arts.

This year’s 44 winners represent a broad variety of disciplines, including visual art, theater, music and dance. Learn more about our project below.

For the 11th year, Art Week Miami will kick off Monday with the announcement of the winners of the Knight Arts Challenge. This year, 44 artists and arts organizations will share more than $1.8 million...

11/13/2019

Please join the (Dragonfly Expeditionary) Club this Sunday morning as we help restore Key Biscayne's Bear Cut Preserve to its original pristine state by gathering and removing trash

Bear Cut Preserve Cleanup!!!!!! Andrew Otazo has a dream! This inspiring young environmentalist wants to see the Bear Cut Preserve, an ecosystem consisting of mangroves, hammocks and coastal forests abutting the fossilized reef and the northern boundaries of Key Biscayne's Crandon Park, free of tras...

07/16/2019

Join the Dragonfly Expeditionary Club for a spectacular evening of Polynesian Dining, Entertainment and History at the Mai Kai, Friday 7/26/19 https://mailchi.mp/a7f09e7dfbb4/spectacular-evening-of-polynesian-dining-entertainment-and-history-72619

06/18/2019

We are proud to announce that the Dragonfly Expeditionary Club, a member company of Dragonfly Expeditions has formed a community partnership with WLRN Public Radio (91.3 on your FM dial). Tune in to learn more about this great new friendship.

02/02/2018

Hey guys! Check out the new Dragonfly Expeditions trailer!

Dragonfly Expeditions, the oldest and most prestigious tour company in South Florida, hosts distinctive tours and excursions for corporate groups, individual...

01/15/2018

PREMIERE SCREENING: "BATTLEGROUND EVERGLADES" - DANGEROUS SEAS” EPISODE - A South Florida PBS (WPBT2 - WXEL) Speaking Sustainably Film Series in partnership with the Deering Estate.

You are invited you to a complimentary reception and screening of the Battleground Everglades, Dangerous Seas, on January 24th at 7pm at the Deering Estate Visitor Center Theatre | 7:00 - 7:30 PM Reception | 7:30 - 8:00 PM Screening | 8:00 PM Q & A with Host, Charles J. Kropke and Producers

DANGEROUS SEAS” EPISODE: South Florida is at the epicenter of a world-wide threat from sea level rise. Dangerous Seas examines how Florida's porous Biscayne aquifer, the source of South Florida's drinking water, is endangered by rising oceans and other contaminates.

The program also journeys to a remote Florida Bay mud flat, to discover how sea level rise contributes to dwindling bird nesting populations. In Everglades National Park, audiences can watch scientists studying how sea level rise is affecting critical peat soil, a building block for Florida’s storm-vulnerable coasts. This episode also showcases a well-known Florida artist using his own creativity to inspire environmental restoration.

The BATTLEGROUND EVERGLADES 6-episodes series explores the struggle to save one of the world's most revered wetlands: Florida's Everglades. Devastated by a century of drainage and development, the entire Everglades watershed is suffering from man-made pollution, habitat destruction and species decline.

Hosted by Charles J. Kropke, our company's CEO & documentary producer, author and well-known Everglades expert, the 6-part series showcases dramatic challenges and innovative solutions to restore this World Heritage Site. As more and more countries battle sea level rise, invasive species, algae outbreaks and other environmental issues, the Everglades is poised to become a beacon of learning and hope.

Charles has spent more than 30 years researching the Everglades and knows its origins, its people, and its importance in a world of climate change. This informative, entertaining and urgently needed series begins airing in February 2018.

SOUTH FLORIDA PBS

South Florida PBS has taken the media lead to meet the challenge of saving the Everglades. Its 2015 documentary, “The Unseen Everglades” was called by former Undersecretary of the Interior Nathaniel Reed: “The single most important documentary ever made… on Everglades restoration; a priceless educational film.” And now, the same Emmy-Award winning production team has produced a series of 6 special programs, Battleground Everglades, which explores the maze of proposed solutions to the problems of the Everglades and zeroes in on its numerous facets which play a role in our lives.

EVENT IS FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC | CLICK BELOW TO RSVP
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/premiere-battleground-everglades-at-the-deering-estate-tickets-41877591002?aff=es2

01/12/2018

Just a little bit of everything you can discover in our Cuban Heritage Tour

Contact us to +1 305-774-9019

Travel Channel features Dragonfly Expeditions top tour the "Cuban Heritage Tour"