Capt. Mark Drewelow accepted the International Superyacht Society’s Distinguished Crew Award Thursday night on behalf of all the captains and crew who have volunteered with YachtAid Global, a charitable organization he founded three years ago.

YachtAid Global identifies schools in less fortunate communities around the world and acquires supplies to help them. Yachts aid in the transport and deliver of the materials.

Drewelow was the long-time captain on M/Y Dorothea, stopping at many small villages along Central America. When Drewelow left yachts in 2003, he vowed to find a way to get much-needed supplies to those children.

He launched YachtAid Global to match traveling yachts with the donated goods that needed to be transported. The captain and crew on S/Y Vivid delivered simple supplies to a school on Komodo Island in Indonesia this summer and noticed that the children were constantly dodging Komodo dragons outside their classrooms. The captains suggested that YachtAid Global build a fence around the school. The fence was completed in September.

“Some of what we do are simple projects that mean a lot to the kids in these schools,” Drewelow said. “It’s morphed into an entity where owners are now starting to notice. The focus of the owners is shifting to use their vessels as a tool.”

YachtAid Global is always in need of vessels traveling to remote villages, mostly in Central America but also in Alaska and Indonesia. The schools are pre-cleared so all the entrance and clearance issues have been worked out ahead of time. For more information, visit www.yachtaidglobal.org.

Tony Hambrook, managing director of Alloy Yachts in New Zealand, was awarded the ISS Leadership Award on Thursday night. He has led the company for two decades. Two of Alloy Yachts’ vessels one top design awards at the gala celebration Thursday, the 131-foot (40m) M/Y Allogante for best power yacht of its size and the 169-foot (51,7m) S/Y Mondango.