Boat International – June 2017

ur industry

needs to wake up and be more responsible,”

says Charlie Birkett. “There are some amazing

crews and owners out there who are already

doing incredible things but we need more to

happen.” This is the ethos behind Y.CO’s

Clearwater project, which aims to support the

charter and management fleets and company

as a whole to achieve a more sustainable

ecological future.

The primary focus of the project is

environmental, with the first aim being to

reduce the use of plastic across the community.

It has been reported that the planet is fast

approaching the point where there will be as

much plastic in the oceans as fish – a situation

that is as “scary” as it is “ridiculous”, says Birkett.

The project has started with immediate

effect in the Y.CO offices, which are now

plastic-free thanks to a partnership with S’well

water bottles. “It has only taken us three weeks

to go plastic-free but before that we had 10 years

of loads of plastic bottles arriving every week

that would eventually end up in the bin,” says

Birkett. “It is only on a small scale but it is such

a quick turnaround; imagine what the whole

industry could do if we really focused on it.

There is no reason why our entire fleet

shouldn’t be running plastic bottle-free.”

Clearwater has also joined forces with

Plastic Oceans Foundation, organising

screenings for crew and Y.CO staff

of A Plastic Ocean, the foundation’s

feature-length documentary highlighting

the environmental dangers of our disposable

lifestyle. “It is a good starting point because

it is accessible,” says Hatty Campbell. “It’s

upsetting; you are seeing what we are doing

to the world that our children are going to

grow up in. You can’t help but be affected by

it and feel passionate about it afterwards.”

At the heart of the Clearwater project is the

crew of more than 100 yachts that Y.CO

manages. “The crew are the reason we created

Clearwater in the first place,” says Birkett.

“They are the stakeholders, decision makers

Dragonfly helped to deliver

more than 62,000 litres

of water, treated more than

250 casualties, arranged and

facilitated three medevacs and

delivered six tonnes of medical

and food aid. It is hoped that

Dragonfly’s mission will help

inspire other superyachts

to get involved in the future

WHAT'S NEXT FOR Y.CO’S

CLEARWATER PROJECT

Plastic revolution

Y.CO joins forces with sailor

and eco champion Emily Penn to promote

plastic bottle-free yachting.

Superyachts to the rescue

What can superyachts do in times of crisis?

And how can they be better supported to help?

Your crew, your responsibility

How crew can take centre stage – simple

hacks for effective improvements on board

to help the environment.

The next generation

What the next custodians of the oceans think we

should be doing. How can those entering

the industry change its future?

The future of the yacht

Incorporating fuel and carbon offsetting. How

can we build a sustainable ecological future?

and purchasers; they are in charge of

everything. The idea is that by educating

the crew they will help educate other parts

of the industry.”

As part of Clearwater a “plastic hero” will

be nominated on each yacht to help motivate

the rest of the crew to be more environmentally

aware. Clearwater will also encourage crew to

get involved in charity projects while on board.

Yachts that go above and beyond environmental

expectations will also be acknowledged through

official accreditation.

“The crew are intelligent people, so the idea

is to inspire them rather than to preach to

them,” explains Birkett. “We want them to

think about the destinations they are visiting.

For example, when they go to Antigua, rather

than hitting the bars every night perhaps there

is a local school they could go and help at or

a beach clean they could get involved with.”

One yacht that is leading the way in the

industry is 73 metre Dragonfly, under the

expert guidance of Captain Mike Gregory.

The yacht has been plastic-free for the past

four years and in 2015 stepped in to offer aid

in Vanuatu after the Pacific nation was

devastated by Cyclone Pam. Dragonfly helped

to deliver more than 62,000 litres of water,

treated more than 250 casualties, arranged and

facilitated three medevacs and delivered six

tonnes of medical and food aid. As well as what

was achieved on the ground it is hoped that

Dragonfly’s mission will help inspire other

superyachts to get similarly involved in the

future. A video that was created of Dragonfly’s

mission in Vanuatu has been watched nearly

140,000 times.

“The video is as important as the work we

did in the country,” Gregory says. “It shows that

we can all make a difference. I think as an

industry we are a little bit behind and we could

definitely do more. It comes down to education

and providing a support network to achieve

these goals.”

“A lot of yachts don’t know how to help,”

adds Campbell. “They need someone like Mike

to stand in and tell them how they did it and

how they prepared the yacht in order to do so.”

In terms of influence, Y.CO hopes that the

Clearwater project can have a ripple effect

across the superyacht community and perhaps

even further afield. “A lot of our clients are big

decision makers,” concludes Campbell. “This

could have a real impact on a much more global

scale. We have got an audience and I think we

should do something good with it.”

Find out more about the Clearwater project and

watch Dragonfly’s Vanuatu mission video at y.co

Dragonfly's crew included

a doctor and five others

trained as emergency

medical technicians. The

crew treated more than

250 casualties in Vanuatu

and helped hundreds more

with fresh water, food and

shelter. Vanuatu's prime

minister Joe Natuman

thanked them personally

One yacht

leading the way

is 73 metre

Dragonfly, under

the guidance of

Captain Mike

Gregory. In 2015

she stepped in

to offer aid in

Vanuatu after

it was devastated

by Cyclone Pam

Dragonfly took a 1,600

nautical mile detour in

March 2015 to arrive in

Vanuatu and offer help to

Cyclone Pam victims on

the Shepherd Islands. More

than 80 per cent of villages

there had been destroyed

and had no fresh water

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