Zoran Selakovic

Born in what is now Croatia, but what was then part of Yugoslavia, Zoran Selakovic – yacht captain-turned-instigator of humanitarian and relief projects worldwide – was introduced to the water at an early age. It belied the turmoil of homeland conflict, and later in life the horrors of devastating hurricanes and the impact they had on his friends, that would shape his future and help define a superyacht community determined to give back. “My childhood was pretty idyllic,” he says, “I spent it by the sea on the Adriatic coast, swimming and sailing with friends. My grandparents had a small boat that during the summer would be used to visit nearby islands. It was a fantastic way to grow up.”

As he was coming of age, the Balkans conflict broke out. “I specifically remember the summer of 1991,” Selakovic recalls. “We were visiting friends on the seashore and the news broke out of the barricades and the beginning of the conflict. Essentially for the following weeks we were under siege, and I remember the contrast of being trapped, unable to leave this area on one side, and on the other side the tranquillity, the peace, the calm of the sea and spending those days on a beach or on the cliffs looking out to sea and thinking that there was this whole world out there and that I wasn’t alone – that there was hope, and that one way or the other things would be okay in the end.”

Selakovic went to study in the US, in California, and it was here that his love of the sea was not only rekindled, when he decided to take up sailing again, but positively ignited. He did his various skipper’s tickets, and cruising and racing became part of his life. It led him to make friends in different parts of the world, including in the Caribbean, and it was his friends’ experience when hurricanes Irma and Maria hit the Caribbean that reshaped Selakovic’s future once again.

“I was deeply affected by the hurricanes in 2017 that impacted my dear friends there – Irma and Maria had completed devasted entire communities,” he says. “My friends lost everything – their homes, their businesses, their boats, everything they had. I was trying to send them care packages, which were much needed, and it made me realise how inadequate that was and how little only one person could do.

“That’s when I met Mark Drewelow, founder of YachtAid Global,” he continues. “I said I was good at organising things, and he said that it looked like there was quite a response from the yachting community and why didn’t I see what we could do. Within two weeks we had over 100 superyachts reaching out from across Europe, North America, and even the South Pacific, saying they would be arriving in the Caribbean and asking what could be done.” It made me realise too that more intentional and strategic engagement would be needed.”

It led to Selakovic working full time on planning and carrying our relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts and, subsequently, to taking the role as Director at YachtAid Global – an organisation that works not only in disaster relief but also across science, conservation and humanitarian projects all over the world.

Selakovic is quick to point out, however, that YachtAid Global is merely the facilitator, and that it’s the yachting community itself which forms the core of the various relief and humanitarian efforts. “YachtAid Global has from the beginning more than 17 years ago been a superyacht community organisation,” he confirms.

“We exist because the community wants us to exist, and we could never do that without the direct support and participation from the community. In many ways, YachtAid Global is a collaboration and altruism sustainability platform through which we connect and work together to carry out these initiatives in way that they are truly sustainable. Our initiatives have included building the first public library in the Galapagos, which 10 yachts got involved in; Operation Swimway, which focuses on the protection of marine corridors where marine life migrates; build back better programmes, and initiatives to combat the impacts of climate change on coastal communities; educational programmes; and clean water access for remote communities, to name just a few.”

Perhaps the most striking thing is just how involved the yachting community has become – to date, more than 300 yachts have taken part in various YAG initiatives. It suggests that there’s more to the yachting community than the idea of pure consumerism that so many believe to be the case. “I think there’s a growing momentum,” Selakovic confirms, “growing interest among yacht owners to participate and see how they can give back and how they can be part of the change. The challenge in the past was perhaps a lack of knowledge about how to do so – but many yacht owners are not new to giving through their own family foundations and other philanthropic interests.

“And maybe for some, the idea of a yacht and crew being part of that portfolio was not a natural fit – but now, with information available about how the crew can participate and be an extension of these philanthropic interests, there is awareness. I think superyachts do a lot of good,” he concludes, “and it doesn’t really get as much coverage as other news and media does. I think the capacity that we as a community have is tremendous for doing good, but a number of our initiatives are also done discreetly and anonymously, because many owners have a desire to really do good but not necessarily to be getting public recognition for it. In fact, many superyachts exist to be a part of the movement in protection and conservation of the ocean, and many have saved lives in the aftermath of hurricanes. People don’t realise, but there’s much more to superyachting than meets the eye.”

Zoran Selakovic was one of three recipients of a Bowsprit award at the 2023 edition of The Honours, organised by The Superyacht Life Foundation and the Monaco Yacht Show, which seeks to recognise the exceptional and inspiring people of the superyacht industry who are inspiring change in the industry and beyond.