Due to the impact that tropical cyclone Evan has had on the islands of Fiji, YachtAid Global is coordinating relief to be delivered via at least one megayacht—and potentially more.
YachtAid Global’s assistance was requested by David Jamieson, the owner of Yacht Help Fiji, a Fiji-based firm providing clearance assistance, cruising information, fuel brokering, and more to megayachts visiting the islands. Capt. Mark Drewelow, founder of YachtAid Global, reached out to Big Fish’s captain, Winston Joyce-Clark, since the two had joined forces on previous relief projects. Joyce-Clark in turn coordinated with Big Fish’s agent in the area, Carol Dunlop of Yacht Partners Fiji.
Big Fish is presently in Auckland, New Zealand and plans to arrive in Fiji on December 31. “We are all onboard for this drive,” Joyce-Clark says. Big Fish has already volunteered to deliver whatever items are collected. According to Yacht Partners Fiji, necessities range from food and medical supplies to hammers, clothing, and schoolbooks. Regardless, “Preferred items are anything that anyone wants to donate,” Dunlop reports. “Everything will have a use. We will have no problems in getting it all into Fiji. Nothing will go to waste.”
If you’d like to help, the following list outlines just some of the things that Dunlop says are important:
- canned food, condensed milk, soups (not dried)
- dried food/fruits, crackers
- toothbrushes, toothpaste.
- pens, pencils, and school notebooks, plus educational tools and books for schools
- baby and adult clothes
- bedsheets, blankets
- hammers, screwdrivers, saws, nails, and other basic construction tools.
- basic medical supplies: topical antibiotics, paraffin gauze, bandages, cough medicine, vitamins.
YachtAid Global is getting more specifics as information from Fiji becomes available. To put the storm into perspective, the satellite image above is from December 17, as Evan was making its biggest impact on the islands, a category 4 storm. In addition, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s Coastal Services Center says that Evan is the strongest tropical cyclone to hit Fiji in 15 years.
To donate, contact Drewelow at YachtAid Global.
UPDATE, JANUARY 7, 2012: Big Fish delivered an impressive two tons’ worth of donations (above) when she pulled into Lautoka, Fiji on New Year’s Even. Among them were 24 boxes of medical supplies, 129 bags of clothes, plus myriad containers of food, toys, kitchen equipment, and more. Fiji Red Cross and DISMAC, the Fiji disaster-management organization, are distributing the items, worth about US$42,000, to communities in need.
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