In October 2015, a yachtsman from Jersey gave up his sailing dreams and donated his £25,000 yacht to a Channel Island charity set up to support refugees and migrants in the port of Calais in northern France.
Michael de Petrovsky was so moved by the plight of people living in the makeshift camp known as ‘the Jungle’ when he visited that he donated his seven-berth yacht to the Jersey Calais Refugee Aid Group. The group was set up by history teacher Bram Wanrooij, who saw the camp while returning from a family holiday.
Yachtsman Mr de Petrovsky travelled to Calais with crews of construction and aid workers from Jersey to help build emergency shelters for the migrants and refugees. His boat was entered into a raffle to raise money to build more shelters to help protect people who are based there over the coming winter months.
Mr de Petrovsky’s yacht, Contango, is well known in local sailing circles and has competed in the Commodore’s Cup at the Royal Channel Islands Yacht Club.
Ghazi Najib, who has played an integral role in organising aid trips to Calais in recent weeks, said that he had been overwhelmed by Mr de Petrovsky’s generosity. He said that the donation would help him achieve his goal of buying 45 emergency shelters for the ‘Jungle’ at a cost £1,400 each. He said that each shelter can house up to 20 people.
Mr Najib said: “Michael called me and said he knew I was trying to raise the money and said his yacht had been for sale for eight months. He just gave it to me, put it in my name and said ‘do something good’.”
Picture courtesy of the Jersey Evening Post