Water without waste is an initiative of Marja Kok, born and raised in the Netherlands.
Water and yachting have always been an important part of Marja’s life. Sailing from childhood on, she (and her partner at that time) completed in her mid-twenties a wooden seaworthy boat building project. After a 13 years career in marketing and management of several author’s rights societies, she decided to follow her dream to go sailing for ‘a while’. This while turned out to become a nautical career developing from charterskipper via entrepeneur in sailingholidays to captain of superyachts.
In these 17 years of sailing around Med, Caraiben and the Americas her natural concern for nature, environment and sustainability became stronger. Not spilling any drinking water, electricity or food and trying to produce as less garbage as possible, became a natural habit living on a boat often in remote, pristine areas with few garbage disposal areas and no recycling facilities. Life on a boat can be a circular economy on its own and is a great lesson for life.
The constant newsfeeds about plastic pollution in the oceans and her own experience on superyachts made her willing to make a difference in the awareness and behaviour of the nautical industry. After her latest job as captain of a 32 m sailing yacht, she has put her energy in the attempt to reduce the usage of plastic water bottles on superyachts via a survey, publications and seminars. Marja has a strong belief that, although sustainability is not yet on top of the topiclist of superyachts, it will become more and more important. In her opinion the high end nautical technical knowledge & financial health in superyachting are perfect ingredients for a responsible, example giving, change making industry and should also be considered as a high potential marketingtool.
