Burgess says it’s been “overwhelmed” by the responses from their fleet’s owners, captains and crew to their efforts to help Caribbean communities affected by the region’s recent hurricanes.
The global superyacht
charter, brokerage and management firm says many have a “strong sense of allegiance” to these islands, which are a popular destination for most large motor and sailing yachts.
Hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria left a trail of devastation across much of the Caribbean during September and early October.
A spokesman for Burgess said many of its owners, captains and crew had “led from the front when it comes to finding proactive ways to assist”.
Motor yachts Sequel P and Katharine are currently en route to the Caribbean, loaded to the gunwales with essential supplies to help with relief efforts.
From its official Twitter account, the crew of Katharine tweeted: “Today we loaded 5,200 jars of donated baby food and a pile of plywood in France, which the crew will deliver to the hurricane ravaged island of Anguilla in a couple of weeks”.
“Katharine is working alongside YachtAid Global in an effort to assist the local communities of the Caribbean to get back on their feet,” continued the crew.
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“We cruise to the Caribbean every year and are always given a warm welcome by the locals, and so the crew are eager to give back and to do our part to help the communities on Anguilla and other islands to recover from these devastating hurricanes, and we challenge all other yacht crews to do the same.”
Motor yacht Va Bene is already in the Caribbean, having delivered aid to Dominica.
The yacht’s crew is also working with YachtAid Global. They arrived from Palma de Mallorca fully loaded, went back to Antigua, loaded again, and returned once more to Dominica.
Updating Burgess during the return leg to Dominica, Captain Nick Line said: “We were so humbled by the welcome we received and how helpful everyone was, from the clearing agent to the officials. Everyone pitched in to assist in the offload, customs cleared us out before we had even finished and within 8 hours of arriving we are now on our way back to Antigua to load more supplies.”
“We really could not have asked for, or received, any more help than we were given,” he added.
Motor yacht Va Bene is now in Florida to participate in the Burgess sales line-up at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show from 1 to 5 November.
From the US, motor yacht Grey Matters carried a yacht-load of charitable donations in early October, delivering aid taken on board in Fort Lauderdale to St Maarten and Barbuda.
Donations included batteries, flashlights, clothing, baby food and products, hygiene products, and medical supplies.
The vessel Slipstream has also joined forces with YachtAid Global and EcoMer launching an initiative to round up donations of materials such as carpentry tools, construction equipment and machinery which are desperately needed by the islands for the rebuilding efforts.
The crew of Slipstream will deliver these essential supplies to the Caribbean in December and they will also be volunteering logistical hands-on support to local communities over the course of the winter.