Once upon a time, it was far far away, in a tiny little country called The Netherlands, there was a sailor who wanted to build a yacht that could sail self-supporting. Be off grid. Endlessly. No diesel needed. No petrol, no gas, just by generating your own energy. No water from hoses ashore, but rainwater caught by the deck. Living by the wind.
He gathered some enthusiastic people. They formed a team. Sponsors supported the project. All of this happened in the Netherlands. A ‘Duurzaam Jacht’ (Sustainable Yacht) was designed, developed and built. Hi-tech and low-tech, and everything ‘from the shelf. So many people followed this. This stage ended by baptising the Sustainable Yacht and she was called ‘Ya’.
The Ya drew a lot of attention, of people and press. Every Dutchman, sailor or landlubber, wanted to know how it was done. The Ya became a real demonstration yacht. She was invited to boat shows, events, conferences, and also to the international Dutch Maritime Museum in Rotterdam. This yacht has demonstrated successfully that everybody can sail a sustainable yacht and any wharf can build it. Over and over. It is time for a new phase.
From a demo yacht the Ya has grown to a fossil free sailing globetrotter. The Ya sails from the Netherlands to Mother Earth, by sailing her around. Summer 2020 the yacht will sail fossil free around the world and continues doing so till 2025. On every shore we exchange tips and tricks about sustainable living, because there is still an awful lot to learn. We are looking for local projects. Please mail us if you think of a possible one.
We also have a growing international interest. So we switch our communication from Dutch to English. We created the website www.fossilfreearoundtheworld.org. Have a look around. Please contact us if you have questions or you want to know about details.