The yachting community is mourning the loss of Capt. Peter Evans. Capt. Peter Evans, a well-respected captain and a founding member and president of the Professional Yachting Association (PYA), passed away on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. Evans spent most of his yachting career in Antibes, with his last role as skipper of Kingdom 5-KR. After meeting his wife Joëlle in England, Evans moved to France with her and began his long career on yachts. He started on board Malahne in 1976 but eventually worked his way up to a captain. “He was a gentle, fair and creative soul, who turned up at college with a skateboard of his own making, fashioned from a pair of roller-skates screwed onto a plank of wood, to ‘practice his surfing’ back in the early 70’s (his classmates had never seen such a thing before at that time!),” Evans’ obituary stated. “He worked hard, always looking out for the wellbeing of his crew, as well as doing his best for his bosses.” Evans’ contributions to the PYA began in the industry’s post-war history, when new international legislation threatened the takeover of commercial yachting by merchant Navy officers, according to PYA. Evans became a founding member of the PYA shortly after this and was able to persuade the MCA to help create the Master 3000 Yacht CoC and the Chief Engineer Yacht CoC. He also reached a critical juncture during his time as president, when the ILO’s Maritime Labor Convention, 2006, was entered into international law. The legislation was written for commercial shipping without any consultation of the yachting sector. Evans initiated a PYA work group which again persuaded the ILO, Nautilus, and the MCA to develop the MLC-compliant Large Yacht Code. “In his typically quiet way, Peter made some significant contributions to the evolution of the yachting industry as we know it today,” the obituary stated. Apart from his work life, Evans and Joëlle filled their family life with exciting trips and adventures, like camping in their home garden to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and sailing the Caribbean. Evans enjoyed time in nature and had a knack for identifying birds flying high above. Evans was brave in the face of his Parkinson’s diagnosis, always patient, with a gentle smile, and a cheeky twinkle in his eye. “Right until the end, he dug deep, even finding the strength to build his grandchildren a hut in the garden with Jo this summer,” his obituary stated. “He will be sorely missed by his family and the loyal friends that he made over the years, as well as by those who worked under his kind leadership in the yachting community.”