YachtAid Global Calls on Yachts for Emergency Aid for Fiji

With Cyclone Winston having wreaked havoc across Fiji, YachtAid Global and the superyacht industry are mobilizing now to provide aid to the island nation.

The storm is the most powerful ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, with winds up to 201 miles per hour, offshore swells reaching 12 metres and reports of widespread damage coming in from Fiji. With widespread devastation reported across the sea-girt nation, the superyacht industry is in a strong position to provide aid.

YachtAid Global will match monetary donations up to $3000 USD and is putting the call out to yachts across the Pacific, and in Australia and New Zealand in particular, to deliver aid as soon as is practicable.

Yachts able to deliver supplies from one of the pick up points of Cairns, Brisbane, or Auckland are being called on to assist the peoples of Fiji. Supplies will be documented by the donors and then transited to Fiji through an established protocol, ensuring ease and speed of which crucial resources can reach the people of the Fijian islands.

Yachts in the region able to help with aid delivery, please contact captain Mark Drewelow. To make a monetary donation please go to YachtAid Global and quote FIJI, or to donate supplies in Cairns, Brisbane or Auckland, please contact Dhardra Blake, here.

YachtAid Global leverages the generosity and support of the superyacht community in serving coastal communities in need, and welcomes participation from all corners of the industry.

The non-profit has created guidelines in conjunction with their Fijian partners to ensure space onboard yachts is filled with supplies which the Fijian people are most in need of. To learn more about the goods needed in Fiji, or to learn about becoming a collection point, please contact Mark Drewelow or Dhardra Blake who will be very pleased to send through a donation protocol document.

On the ground, SeaMercy Fiji’s, directors, David Jamieson and Nigel Skeggs, with other NGOs and businesses, will assist yachts in handling the cargo they’re carrying, including helping them with proper documentation to streamline the process.

Air partner support of the effort is being provided by Michael Rettig and his non-profit LIFT  and YachtAid Global is looking forward to working with other industry partners around the region to help the Fijian people.

Fijian Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama has declared a nationwide state of emergency and a curfew is in place across the country. The effects of the cyclone are particularly poignant with the devastating effects of Cyclone Pam, which decimated areas of Vanuatu, still fresh in the minds of people across the Pacific.

YachtAid Global, in partnership with yacht agents and other NGOs and volunteers, was able to load superyachts with water, medical supplies and other necessities in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam, successfully delivering aid to Vanuatu’s outer islands. In some cases these superyachts were the first responders to reach these devastated communities with life-saving water and other critical aid.

All funds collected by YachtAid Global for Fijian aid will go to post-disaster recovery, and three cargo collection points are being established in Cairns, Brisbane and Auckland. YachtAid Global is working with SeaMercy Fiji and other NGOs, as well as businesses, to ensure resources are delivered within a formal protocol with ethical and transparent handling of aid cargo during its receipt and distribution.

*Image credits: Photo credit: Frank and Peggy