Even after nearly 13 years of publishing MegayachtNews.com, we find ourselves astonished, in a good way, at the response certain stories receive. Such is the case with the coloring initiative we launched in early April. We wanted to give your kids something fun to do, while raising money for many more children who were without meals due to the pandemic. Clearly, we found kindred spirits: Hundreds of you downloaded our illustrations package. The four works of art here are among the ones you and your designers-in-training sent us: truly super superyacht sketches, by super kids.
The initiative was born out of news stories lending advice to ease children’s anxiety due to the pandemic. Knowing how much kids love to color, and especially how coloring is soothing and therapeutic, we offered 10 superyacht sketches for your kids to color. Additionally, we thought it was a good opportunity to do some good ourselves. We planned to make a donation to the non-profit organization No Kid Hungry. It strives to end hunger in the United States, which has risen dramatically due to COVID-19. Since schools are closed, thousands of children lost their primary source of nourishing meals. No Kid Hungry is working in communities across the nation to ensure these kids get the food they need.
We thought a number of positive reactions would result. Well, “a number” turned out to be well more than 700 and 200. About 700 of you read the article, and 200 of you took advantage of the download. That’s a lot of boxes of crayons and packages of markers put to good use.
The topmost super superyacht sketch comes from 11-year-old Liam Hemp. He chose the Mangusta GranSport 45 to color. As to why he chose this particular yacht, his dad Patrick confesses, “I think speed is everything to him.”
Eight-year-old Lilly Keehan and her five-year-old brother Brenden each chose the Heesen illustration. If their bright color choices don’t cheer you up, nothing will. (Click each image for an enlarged version.)
Finally, six-year-old Xiao Peng Hoekstra made outstanding use of his favorite color, green, in coloring a Vripack design. Though it’s tough to see, he’s taken the liberty of adding his own super superyacht sketches to the mix, beneath the yacht. They’re all features he firmly believes a yacht should have. From left to right, they are: a Formula 1 steering wheel; a slide; a boat bed; a TV; an aquarium, complete with goldfish; an iPad; and lastly, candy.
We think he’s onto something with the candy…
Sara Gioanola | Heesen
Wonderful story!