Caribbean Relief Mission Leverages Boats, Sailboats and Mega-Yachts To Deliver Aid

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Dec. 17, 2017 - PRLog -- In their latest report, the YachtAid Global (YAG) - SuperYacht Aid Coalition 2017 Caribbean Relief Response shows over 40 vessels and delivering 195,000 lbs of aid to the Caribbean.  "In total, this brings us to over  60,000 meals, 35,000 hygiene kits, and more than 6,000 tools to help the rebuilding process" says Captain Zoran Selakovic, YAG Director of Operations & Strategy.  "We are proud of our many successful missions to help the Caribbean recover and rebuild, and with several more yachts lined up (https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pSBHXHSOT3uzBqONwtoO3XW9T7Pc-2Cm&usp=sharing) in the coming weeks, even more relief supplies are on the way."

"We are thrilled by the passion and diversity of the relief response.  The vessels range in size and scope including barges, boats, sailboats, and SuperYachts." says YachtAid Global Founder Captain Mark Drewelow. "We are collaborating with some of the industry leaders in disaster response to support the relief effort with various services. We thrilled to be working with  Humanity Road, LIFT Non Profit Logistics, Eco-Mer, Compassion Services International, Global Resilience Initiatives, Inc., Global Empowerment and We Do Better to name a few. "Together, we are approaching this issue with specialty services such as helping to identify unmet needs and underserved communities, assisting with online social media support, locating and providing pallets of aid, warehousing services, and facilitating delivery and distribution of the aid. These are the services we are providing to support YAG registered boats, barges, equipment and crews who are stepping up to collect and move the aid to where it's needed most."

15 islands and more than 40 million people were in the path of the Hurricanes Maria and Irma. The area of response for YAG includes the Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Anguilla, Tortola, Antigua/Barbuda, Dutch and French St Maarten, Turks and Caicos and Dominica.

One relief mission was the sailing vessel Enzo from Rhode Island (http://komonews.com/story/the-people-are-so-resilient-loc...) which delivered high-impact water filtration systems to communities across the US and British Virgin islands, Puerto Rico, Dominica and all primary, pre- and High Schools in Anguilla (http://theanguillian.com/2017/12/department-of-education-...), along with solar chargers, batteries, and mosquito netting. In total, Operation Enzo (https://www.facebook.com/operationenzo/?ref=br_rs) has provided over 200 million gallons of clean water over the next few years.

Other missions have involved international collaboration through their alliance with Eco-Mer, an organization based in France dedicated to help promote sustainable maritime ecology. Together, YAG and Ecomer have been able to has been able to run several successful missions providing construction materials, generators, tools and more to Dominica and Antigua.

The YAG team has also worked closely with the Hon. Dr. John Colin McIntyre, Minister for Planning, Economic Development & Investment of Dominica. At a roundtable hosted by YAG at Resolve Marine during the Fort. Lauderdale International Boat Show, the mission to bring relief aid to Dominica on board Resolve Marine's "Lana Rose" was born with representatives from Resolve Marine, Compassions Services International, Humanity Road, Resilience Systems, Knights of Columbus, Help Anguilla and Global Empowerment Mission.
After Dr. McIntyre shared his experience with Hurricane Mari (https://www.facebook.com/michael.capponi.7/videos/pcb.1517239821703696/1517238925037119/?type=3&theater)a, Michael Capponi with Global Empowerment Mission opened their warehouse to Dr. McIntyre to select over 200 tons of relief goods for the people of Dominica - one of the hardest hit islands in the Caribbean.

At that same meeting, Resolve Marine Group, who provides innovative maritime solutions, deploying salvage and emergency response resources (https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/pictures-resolve-marine-responds-to-harvey-irma-and-maria) around the globe, decided to donate "Lana Rose' - a 66m disaster response vessel with helo deck, hospital beds and state of the art command center - for this relief mission to Dominica.

YAG's Captain Forderer travelled to Dominica to personally oversee the delivery of the aid brought in by Lana Rose. While there, Forderer spent time with Roosevelt Skerrit, the Prime Minister of Dominica who shared his heartfelt gratitude on behalf of the people of Dominica for all that Yachtaid Global and partners have done for them.

As part of their long term plan for the Caribbean, the YAG team is working with the World Food Program and other organizations to strengthen relationships and ensure continued partnership to help the islands recover from the impact of hurricanes Irma and Maria.

"There is still much work to do, and YachtAid Global (https://www.facebook.com/YachtAidGlobal/) will play a big part in supporting these beautiful island nations' recovery from this disaster" Says Forderer. "While there are hard hit areas, much of the Caribbean is open for business and the best way to support the region is come visit, enjoy the beaches, shops, restaurants and bars. Whether you travel by sea or by air, tourism will restore the Caribbean economy, while reducing the need for relief aid."

If you are a boat owner and wish to transport aid by joining the Yachtaid fleet or make a donation to support their work please visit www.yachtaidglobal.org.

Photos: See Enclosed