Almost six years ago to the day, Nick Entwisle was gazing across hundreds of millions of euros-worth of megayachts from his desk at Pinmar. Age 65 and on the brink of retirement, Nick pondered the possibility of keeping himself busy by replicating the supermarket template and asking crew to pop a spare tin of beans aside for charity. Flyers were printed, a Facebook page created, and Yachting Gives Back was born. Fast forward and Nick’s retirement plans have vanished into a puff of smoke as he conducts this award-winning charitable machine.
SF. — Tell us about the Yachting Gives Back engine room. NE. — HQ is a steel container within Palma’s STP Shipyard and we’re there to receive donations every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from 09:30 to 10:30. Contrary to popular belief, this facility is not for storage, but for sorting. As items are dropped off, we instinctively know what to place on which charity’s designated shelf and, at the end of the shift, we load up our cars and distribute - it’s a slick operation. Only bedding and mattresses are kept in stock, but at our freebie self-storage in Marratxí (thanks Planet Space).
Dolly production line at Fundació Deixalles.
SF. — Do you literally take anything? NE. — Within reason, yes. Clothes, blankets, toiletries, and so on, are easily made use of, while the more weird and wonderful knickknacks are warmly received at Mallorca Sense Fam (food bank) charity shop, where profits are flipped into food. The staff at Tardor soup kitchen love a haul of surplus superyacht galley foodstuffs. Often an exotic selection – miso, harissa, tamarind – these ingredients add welcome oomph to the bland rice and chickpea staples.
SF. — What about damaged or broken items? NE. — Fundació Deixalles is our go-to solution. Their workshops can repair and resell domestic appliances, transform unwanted fabric into bags or rags, and do wonders with wonky toys. The Barbie doll production line is a delight. Missing appendages are replaced from a store of arms, legs, and heads, while dressmakers run up fresh new outfits on commercial sewing machines, with much of the material supplied by Yachting Gives Back. We’ve also financed at least three one-year becas (apprenticeships) at Deixalles, helping prepare youngsters for the wider workplace.
Delivering a bicycle to SOS Mamas.
SF. — When’s your busiest season? NE. — In theory now, in practice always. ‘Tis certainly the season to do a post-Med or pre-Caribbean clear-out but, such is Palma’s prestige as a global leader for superyacht refit, the shipyard genuinely never empties. I can recall only one shift this summer when not a soul visited our container.
SF. — You also spend a lot of time and money in supermarkets. NE. — Yes, once a month we do a ‘big shop’ for five key charities: Mallorca Sense Fam (food bank), SOS Mamas (helping vulnerable families), Es Refugi (homeless shelter and social dining), Can Gazà (shelter), and Siloé (shelter and support for those with HIV/AIDS). Basically, they send us a shopping list and we do a supermarket sweep on their behalf.
Cleaning products for Can Gazà.
SF. — Where does Yachting Gives Back get its funding? NE. — We are charmed to be on the receiving end of financial support from many different places. Superyacht Charities holds two Mallorca-based fundraising events each year – Seafarers Supper in Spring and Golf Event in Autumn – and each deliver a sizeable lump into our coffers. In addition, we have many local donors, such as the regular e3 Systems bike rides. Currently, we have the financial security to maintain our regularly monthly spending, plus a reserve for unforeseens.
SF. — Tell us about the unforeseens. NE. — A lot of the non-profits’ premises are terribly old, operating with equally old equipment, and we’re able to help with modernisation. We’ve recently donated a new fridge and alarm system for Es Refugi and replaced rotten shutters and a defunct washing machine for Siloé. Amusingly, it’s the first washing machine we’ve bought in quite a while as we’ve already upgraded most of them.
MY Tatasu with a generous donation.
SF. — Why would an affluent island like Mallorca need this level of charity? NE. — Scratch beneath the wealthy veneer and hardship is all around. I was asked to perform a brief address at Monaco Yacht Show this autumn and researched the latest statistics. Mallorca Sense Fam told me they were feeding 630 families each month, with 59 more on a waiting list. Es Refugi said there were about 600 people sleeping rough in Palma, and the same again living in shelters. These are not small numbers.
SF. — Did COVID-19 exacerbate the situation? NE. — Certainly. As an example, Tardor used to serve sit-down meals in a dining room setting, but the pandemic forced them to pivot into a takeaway-style soup kitchen. We’ve since lurched from a pandemic to a cost-of-living crisis and demand is so high – serving many hundreds of meals a day – that they’ve been unable to revert to that sit-down basis.
Dropping supplies to Es Refugi.
SF. — Shouldn’t the Spanish Government, the EU, be feeding their citizens? NE. — There have been many positive strides forward. In 2022, Spain passed a pioneering law obliging everyone in the ‘food chain’, including supermarkets, to have a plan against food waste. Products close to their best-before date must either have their prices slashed or be donated to social enterprises and/or food banks. This has had a huge impact. But there have also been steps back. EU funding for food banks was somewhat phased out after the pandemic and other external factors have had profound implications. Since last year, milk and cooking oil have been notable for their absence from the central ‘Banco de Alimentos’ - war and inflation are to blame. For this reason, the big monthly shop for Mallorca Sense Fam remains pretty consistent: a pallet of milk and/or a pallet of oil.
Receiving the Bowsprit Award at Monaco Yacht Show.
SF. — You’ve won an award for your endeavours. NE. — In September, I received the Bowsprit Award at The Honours organised by The Superyacht Life Foundation and Monaco Yacht Show. Don’t get me wrong, it was a privilege, but I am not Yachting Gives Back. I am just the guy who gets to say ‘yes’ to the charities’ plea for help and play Father Christmas with other people’s money. This Award is for our volunteers, our supporters, I simply collected it on their behalf.
SF.— How does the local community perceive Yachting Gives Back? NE. — In the early days they didn’t quite understand us, but gradually we’ve learnt a lot about life on the other side of Palma’s Paseo - and vice versa. Undoubtedly, there’s still unease at the obvious gulf, but we’re building a bridge between the two worlds and they’re incredibly grateful for our efforts. I’ve been told that, outside the framework of government, we are one of the most consistent supporters of charity in Mallorca and that makes me an immensely proud 71-year-old. Even if it means that my leisurely retirement hasn’t quite worked out as I planned…
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