Yachties Helping the People of SXM (V2.0)

Yachtie Friends: a great many of us have been fortunate enough to have had safe harbour here in Saint Martin. As well, many of us have received vaccinations and boosters, on one side of the island or the other. In these challenging times, health authorities on both sides of the island have been generous and have helped to keep us safe. As Kim and I have been beneficiaries of this generosity, I wanted to find a way - a tangible way - to say thank you.

Two years ago, when the world went sideways, a few of us reached out to you, our yachtie friends to lend a hand to the people who were feeling the financial squeeze when the tourist industry vanished pretty well overnight. A great number of you answered the call and we were able to provide substantial funds to K1 Britannia Foundation on the Dutch side, and Trait D’Union France Victimes on the French side.

Even now, two years down the road, there’s still a lot of stretching going on to make ends meet. On the Dutch side, K1 Britannia has done a remarkable job helping to keep thousands of people fed while retaining their dignity (for clarity, K1, headquartered here, works all over the Caribbean since 2014, including being first on the ground in Haiti after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in August, 2021). For our last fundraiser, on the French side we worked with Trait D’Union, who went out of their normal area of activity to distribute food when it was most needed. Their normal activity is working with victims of domestic violence and their families, as well as victims of sexual assault. They provide food and shelter, legal and counselling services to thousands of French side residents. These are both organizations I can readily endorse.

Supporting these two organizations represents an opportunity to say thank you to this place we love in that tangible form I was hoping for. If you’re feeling the same way, either of these two organizations would be happy to be the beneficiaries of your gratitude.

I’ll encourage both of the organizations to spread the word around that us cruisers are good folks and really high-quality guests of the island. Thanks in advance for your generosity.

Ritchard Findlay, S/V Sayonara 2