Rally organisers and cruisers in the South Pacific are working together to bring much-needed aid and supplies to areas of Vanuatu which have been devastated by recent tropical cyclones. The island nation was ravaged by Cyclone Judy in late February, closely followed by Cyclone Kevin just one week later.

Published 1 year ago, updated 2 days ago

Luc Callebaut and his colleague Victor Taburiaux, organizers of the Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500 (GLYWO), sparked the idea of their rally members bringing aid to Vanuatu following the devastation caused by cyclones Judy and Kevin. Very quickly the idea gained momentum and before long Viki Moore from Island Cruising NZ and Lyndon Tambyln from NZ aid organisation Byond Disaster Relief became involved in the mission.

“The GLYWO will visit seven islands of Vanuatu in May 2023 and our participants have already bought wheelchairs and crutches (that was all done before the latest Tropical Cyclone). However, now that so many more people are in need, we realised we can bring more to help Vanuatu,” said Luc.

“With sailors being in a unique position to bring necessary supplies to the local communities they visit, the GLYWO fleet of 20 boats has already committed to bring emergency relief items like Family Water filter kits, tool kits, shelter kits, water storage solutions, solar lights and more, that have already been donated through the Byond Disaster Relief NZ organisation.

Viki Moore from Island Cruising NZ and Lyndon Tambyln from NZ aid organisation Byond Disaster Relief have already organised three pallets of aid, which are being shipped to Opua in the Bay of Islands where items will be distributed to seven of the GLYWO boats who have volunteered to take the supplies to Vanuatu.

The aid includes food-grade water buckets, first-aid supplies, clothing, four large PVC tarps (which can fit a small village underneath one or can be cut up into smaller sizes to suit), school reading books, grab bags and other items.

Byond Disaster Relief is a registered Charitable Trust and works on projects predominately in the South Pacific, but also in other parts of the world where natural disasters have taken place.

The GLYWO are also working with WattsofLove to provide solar lights to people living in the remote islands who will have lost their gas generators, solar panels and 12v battery banks and thus will need, more than ever, light after dark.

Luc says the aid efforts are transparent and he is keeping things simple.

“Too often, donations end up feeding a heavy bureaucracy with too little trickling to the people in need,”  he said.  “We are transparent and keep things simple and will make a video showing our meeting the communities and giving them what we brought from all of us participating in this mission.  The joy and relief we will bring, all together, will be worth any effort and generosity on our part.”

How you can help:

If any cruisers or organisations would like to be part of the team, but are not able to go to Vanuatu with GLYWO, you can still be part of the team behind the scenes by helping with donations to buy more solar lights and water filtration kits. There are two ways to help:

Donate material goods and drop them in Bay of Islands Marina in Opua, or in Whangarei in New Zealand before the end of March, or Noumea, New Caledonia by April for the fleet to bring them to Vanuatu;

Or – donate money on the fund raising platform.

Locations details for drop off points in Whangarei and Noumea are still being finalised, but people can E-mail Luc for more information.

This project has quickly gained the support of a number of organisations including:

• Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500
• WattsofLove
• Byond Disaster Relief NZ
• Island Cruising Association NZ (ICA)
• Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA)
• Noonsite
• Bay Of Islands Marina in Opua, NZ.

The GLYWO fleet is currently in New Zealand and will be sailing to New Caledonia at the end of March where it will cruise during April, before sailing to Vanuatu and visiting there in May for four weeks, delivering the aid and supplies gathered.

Other Organisations Planning to Help

Sea Mercy
https://www.seamercy.org/

Jonathon Robinson from the Fiji based Sea Mercy organisation, which has been instrumental in helping cyclone ravaged areas of Fiji, told Noonsite that while they have reached out to government officials, “to date, the Vanuatu National Disaster Management Organisation has not requested any assistance from us.

“We will know a lot more about what aid is needed and where, once the rapid assessment reports are in,” said Jonathan.

“As with TC Harold, I would expect the Vanuatu Government only to accept requested aid and have just republished a link on our facebook page to my Noonsite article of January last year.”

Natural Disasters:  Advice for Cruisers who want to Help

Donate Responsibly

WCC World ARC Rally
https://www.worldcruising.com/world_arc/event.aspx

Paul Tetlow, Managing Director of World Cruising said World ARC participants provide practical gifts to the communities, particularly in Tanna and Erramango, each year that the Rally passes through.

“In this year, when arguably the island communities are in greater need after these recent events, we are pleased to be visiting with two fleets of World ARC later in the year which will help to provide support to those communities who we have an on-going relationship with.

“However, As WARC won’t be there until July, we will wait to see how the situation is to see what support is best for when our boats arrive.”

Down Under Rallies
https://www.downunderrally.com/

John Hembrow, organiser of a number of rallies “Down Under” that will be visiting Vanuatu during the year, said a number of rally participants were planning to take supplies to villages on islands where they will be visiting, including Tanna, Erromango, Efate and Aneityum.
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Anyone interested in donating goods or wanting to help can contact Luc Callebut on:  [email protected]

Or donate money on the fund raising platform

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Related News:

• Cyclone Kevin Follows Hot on the Heels of Cyclone Judy – Noonsite
• Cyclone Judy Heads for Northern Islands – Noonsite
• Earthquake Strikes near Cyclone Hit Vanuatu – Radio New Zealand

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Related Links:

• Grand Large Yachting World Odyssey 500
• WattsofLove
• Byond Disaster Relief NZ
• Island Cruising Association NZ (ICA)
• Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA)
• Noonsite
• Bay Of Islands Marina

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