Unwanted visitors spurred yacht crew to collect food, donations, and manpower to help Hurricane Helene and Milton victims. Two uninvited visitors swung through the southeastern United States this fall and trashed the place. The power couple, Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, spawned tornadoes and intense flooding that killed hundreds of people and destroyed homes, businesses, and towns in six states. We looked for bright spots in the storms and found a maritime industry quick to help. Hurricane Helene was a big hit to Florida boaters, said sport fisherman Capt. Ryan Harrington of Reel Estate Charters, in the Tampa Bay area. The surge affected marinas, boats, the surrounding waters, and left five feet of water in his neighborhood. This Florida native had never evacuated, but Helene changed his mind. He and his family left before Milton arrived and they returned to find their home minimally damaged. But, as a full-time guide, he is out of work for a while. “I can’t fish now, one boat is damaged, so is my marina, the water is brown, and we have a red tide,” Harrington said. “But I consider myself blessed, it’s nothing we can’t live with. These people have nothing left,” he said of his neighbors. So, he headed down the street to help. First stop, a single dad with a kid and 4 feet of water in his house. Harrington took furniture to the street and ripped out drywall. When others asked how they could help, he said, “Show up at my house at 7 a.m.” And they did. He put 30 pounds of meat on the smoker to share each morning and was first in line to buy tools and supplies at the hardware store. “We did 53 houses,” Harrington said. “Most were total strangers; people in shock and not sure what to do. I have no training for this, I’m not military, or a first responder.” But he did get a taste when his friend Capt. Jamie Hough in Charleston, South Carolina, was hit by a storm. “I felt guilty we didn’t get hit,” Harrington said. So, he teamed up with Hough after Hurricane Ian hit Fort Myers, Florida. They delivered donations and served free meals to those affected. Hough had been on the cooking competition MasterChef and promised to buy a disaster relief food truck if he won. He didn’t win, but he created Southeast Rescue and Relief, anyway. People ask how Harrington can spend his time and money to volunteer. “I don’t know, but it will all work out,” he said. “There is an underground cult of people who do this,” he said. “We don’t want it to be a full-time job, but it kind of is.” After a summer working on a yacht in Ohio, Chef Adrienne Gang watched the weather as Helene and Milton headed to shore. Gang has helped after hurricanes before, including Dorian and Ian. As Helene hit, she connected with crew, friends, and social groups for donations, loading them into U-Haul trailers and driving to the hard-hit Asheville, North Carolina, area with a Florida group. There, they fed first responders and recovery and reconstruction crews, including nurses bushwacking to find people desperate for insulin, oxygen, and medical care, and teams of construction workers removing debris. “We did 1,000 meals a day to support people supporting the community,” Gang said. The chefs, volunteers, and locals served breakfasts, chilies, jambalayas, and shepherd’s pies, packed with carbohydrates, vegetables, and high protein. Several locals joined to help, even though they were tired and downtrodden, with no running water where they were sleeping, Gang said. But these volunteers found purpose and could see how much their contributions mattered. “It gives the community hope. Every day was a little bit better,” she said. Grateful for her 20-year yachting career, Gang said relief work is even more impactful and humbling. “I would challenge crew to volunteer to help and service communities impacted by storms,” she said. “In the yacht community, there is a strong desire to be able to help, I encourage it for a more solid and valuable reality.” Many marine industry businesses and employees stepped up after the disastrous duo hit. With Florida stores in the path of both hurricanes, Nautical Ventures prioritized the safety of staff and their families. “We evacuated all our employees, paid for days they couldn’t work, and told them to be safe,” said Company Chairman and CEO Roger Moore. Fortunately, both stores survived, and a complex logistics operation paid off, according to Logistics and Marina Manager Teresa Drugatz. The hurricane plan called for moving boats from coast to coast in Florida, pulling some out of the water, securing others, and safeguarding properties. Employees worked hard and they were happy to come in early or stay late if asked, she said. “What could have been a very strenuous situation ended up working out fantastic because of how everyone from all seven of our locations worked together, most without ever meeting,” Drugatz said. The experience set a storm preparation standard for the main location in Fort Lauderdale, she said. “…For when the time comes for us.” Other maritime businesses, including Boat Owners Warehouse (BOW) and Lewis Marine Supply, set up fundraisers and donation sites to collect goods for those affected. Store Manager Drew Smiley of BOW Fort Lauderdale helped organize items for delivery to the company’s Sarasota store to distribute to local organizations, including the American Red Cross and government agencies. Company delivery drivers also picked up contributions from clients on their routes. Then there is “Five.” He is a three-month-old labrador retriever mix puppy from North Carolina being fostered by former yacht chef Adora Wisdom in South Florida. To help after the storms, she contacted an animal rescue group with dogs from affected areas. Currently, Wisdom is special projects director and sales and charter with Luxury Yacht Group and seeks Five’s forever home. Call her at 954-579-6836 for details.