Back in the beginning, a 120-footer was considered something of a rarity. It was a big boat showing up and trying to help in the wake of a natural disaster. Now, some 20 years after YachtAid Global’s founding, the boats that participate tend to start at 130 feet, and there are many of them with the ability to make a far greater impact all around the globe.
“With some boats, it becomes part of their program,” says Steve Jackman, who handles communications and marketing for YachtAid Global. “We’re working with charter organizations as well. We’ve had a couple charter clients that have engaged, whether it be them coming into a stop in a community we’re already engaged with or going in and doing some of the conservation work on the coral reefs.”
Today’s yachts are also built for more remote explorations, a trend that gives YachtAid Global a chance to access locations that previously were out of reach. “These boats are now going to French Polynesia. They’re going to Galapagos. They’re going down to Grenada,” Jackman says. “That’s an opportunity to reduce the cost of shipping items to these places, and they can actually make some big improvements to the places they’re going.”
Crew on the biggest boats, Jackman says, are one of the biggest assets when it comes to making an outsized impact. These teams are already trained to run a large-scale operation with a lot of moving parts. “I was in Grenada for a month building boats after Hurricane Beryl, and there was a yacht with 46 crew living on it,” he says. “You drop off a yacht crew of 10 or 15 people who live and work together, they’re a machine. The efficiency of their work is unparalleled.”
He compares the impact that YachtAid Global has to the Red Cross and similar humanitarian organizations. YachtAid Global has always included disaster relief in its mission, he says, and is now adding a focus on what happens long after the first-wave disaster response is over.
“We’re shifting more toward the rebuilding,” Jackman says. “Going in after the initial responses are done and helping with the infrastructure, improving education, and the continued focus on conservation. It’s not always the sexiest work, but some of the stuff with coral reef nurseries is going a long way. There’s work to be done.”
Local Focus
YachtAid Global does a lot of work with local groups to help ensure transparency about where donations are flowing. The organization also aims to help with long-term community rebuilding after a natural disaster hits, not just bringing supplies in the immediate aftermath.
