Setting sail for charity

by Jeni Bone on 27 Dec 2011 Rivergate Marina and Shipyard Brisbane recently welcomed luxury motor yacht ‘Slojo’ for an eight-week stay, before she continued her journey to the Pacific Islands for charity.

Captain Bruno Herregods and his crew have raised $70,000 for YachtAid Global, which coordinates the delivery of humanitarian and development aid to underprivileged children in coastal communities.

After docking the 48m yacht at Rivergate to undertake routine maintenance and repairs, the crew took advantage of the time to load books and toys onto the yacht for donation to island schools during their next mission.

Captain Herregods praised the Rivergate team for its support and assistance during their stopover, and said 'the Marina staff were amazing'.

'No request was too big to handle and everything was dealt with immediately. It was sad to say goodbye, but it won’t be the last time we see you all.' MY Slojo will return to Rivergate for two months in 2012 after touring the Pacific Islands.

YachtAid Global orchestrates the delivery of humanitarian, development and conservation aid to coastal communities worldwide. The organization was founded in 2006 by Captain Mark Drewelow and is a registered nonprofit providing tax benefits to donors.

'We utilize a network of volunteers who coordinate logistics, patrons who sponsor supplies and yacht owners and crew that offer to transport them,' explains Mark. 'We deliver to schools, medical clinics, cultural centres and other organizations in remote and isolated locations including Alaska, Indonesia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, French Polynesia, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Belize, Vanuatu, and more. We work with an impressive roster of yachts to provide the owners and crew with an outlet to give back in a unique way that does not change the course of their cruise.'

For further information about YachtAid Global see http://yachtaidglobal.org/wp/