Capt. Mark Drewelow, who founded the highly impactful charity YachtAid Global 19 years ago, died suddenly on March 1. He was 60 years old.
Born into a military family, the son of a U.S. Marines fighter pilot, Drewelow grew up on bases in Florida, Hawaii and Southern California. Sailing, surfing, and body surfing were each a passion throughout his childhood. After attending college in Southern California, Drewelow headed to Europe on a six-month bike tour. It was the summer of 1984, and toward the end of the trip, he sought ways to extend his time there. A chance encounter on a beach in Puerto Banus, Spain led him to learning he could work aboard yachts in the area. Drewelow spent two summers doing just that, and never looked back at working on land for the next 18 years.
In fact, he worked his way up from deckhand to mate/engineer and ultimately captain aboard a 107-foot (32.6-meter) motoryacht. It was a pivotal period that didn’t just shape his yachting career. In fact, it later led to his years of giving back. That yacht, Dorothea, was his home for 14 years, 10 of which took Drewelow, the crew, and the owner on a circumnavigation. In visiting nearly six dozen countries, he experienced first-hand the positive impact interacting with local communities made. It struck him that regardless of how poor the residents were, they gladly assisted Dorothea and other yachts when they arrived.
Once back in California, Drewelow established C2C, the first licensed, bonded, and insured superyacht agent in California. Based on his years of cruising, C2C provided services along the entire Pacific seaboard, from Alaska to Central America and out to the Galapagos. That was in 2003. But, he couldn’t shake that so many of the schoolchildren in the cities and villages he’d visited and that C2C’s clients continued to visit lacked basics like crayons and paper. Inspiration came in 2006: discover what the communities needed, and ask the crew and owners going there to buy and carry boxes of pencils, scissors, and more. This was the foundation of YachtAid Global, whose tagline became—and remains—“Changing the World Without Changing Course.”
Over the past nearly 19 years, YachtAid Global has coordinated more than 300 yachts in upwards of 25 countries. Its humanitarian-aid focus has expanded just as significantly, too. Many of its efforts have centered around delivering emergency disaster relief, especially following natural disasters. In some cases, YachtAid Global can mobilize its yacht partners to be on site before any other non-government organization. For instance, in 2015, the yacht Dragonfly arrived in Vanuatu following Cyclone Pam, the country’s worst-ever cyclone. Dragonfly’s owner authorized the captain and crew to load medical supplies and other aid items in New Zealand about a week after the storm. The yacht additionally took medical personnel and search-and-rescue teams to the outer islands of Vanuatu to assess the situation.
Similarly, YachtAid Global was among the relief organizations helping the Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian in 2019. The storm was the strongest to hit the Abacos and one of the strongest hurricanes ever on record, period. Yachts produced clean drinking water from their watermakers for the communities, plus transported disaster and recovery teams around the region. Most recently, just this year in Mexico, YachtAid Global and superyacht crewmembers delivered supplies to a food bank. These included materials for repairing the building.
In 2009, Drewelow received the Distinguished Crew Award from the International Superyacht Society for his work with YachtAid Global. Ever humble, in accepting the award, he said, “The actions of a few really can make a difference to the many.” Five years later, the U.S. Superyacht Association presented him with the Beacon Award, which recognizes a person or company making a difference in the superyacht community.
As much as he was devoted to yachting and humanitarian issues, Drewelow continued to bodysurf. He competed in and won international events. At the time of his death, he also was the coach of Team USA Bodysurfing, which competed internationally as well.
Drewelow is survived by his wife and two children, and the countless colleagues and recipients of his generosity through YachtAid Global.
YachtAid Global yachtaidglobal.org
West Dean A.
So sad to learn of Captain Mark’s passing. It is truly a shock to the yachting community. Mark was a gentle, decent, caring humanitarian, and he will be missed terribly.
Calm winds and fair seas, my friend.