Cal Poly Humboldt announced in late November 2024 that its forthcoming research vessel will be called the R/V North Wind, selected through a survey that collected about 5,190 votes from students, staff, alumni, and neighbors.

From Coral Sea to North Wind

The new $8.5 million boat, funded through the state polytechnic investment, is scheduled to arrive in February 2025. It will succeed the aging R/V Coral Sea, which has trained generations of marine science students since the 1970s but faces retirement by 2026 when stricter California emissions rules would require replacing all five of its engines.

Hands-On Marine Training

University leaders say the vessel preserves Humboldt’s tradition of at-sea coursework—students learning seamanship while collecting fisheries, sediment, and water-quality data off the North Coast. Naming consultations included tribal organizations, reflecting longstanding partnerships in a region where marine resources carry cultural as well as scientific weight.

Visible Legacy in Arcata

While the boat docks away from campus proper, its research programs feed classes housed in Arcata and draw undergraduate crews from Cal Poly Humboldt’s natural resources colleges. The North Wind name nods to prevailing offshore patterns and the cold, productive waters that define Humboldt Bay’s working waterfront and research economy.