Yvon Chouinard

The Voyage

Yvon Chouinard is the climber, fisherman and businessman who built Patagonia (the clothing company) into the moral compass of the outdoor industry. From its 1973 founding the company committed 1% of all sales to environmental causes (the original "1% for the Planet" pledge, since adopted by thousands of companies). Chouinard himself is a lifelong fly-fisherman and the author of the foundational book Simple Fly Fishing; his early-career mountaineering put up many of the first ascents in Yosemite that defined the sport.

The Stewardship

In September 2022, Chouinard, his wife and two children transferred ownership of Patagonia — valued at $3 billion — to a specially designed trust and nonprofit, dedicating all future profits (~$100M/year) to climate and conservation. It is widely regarded as the largest single act of corporate-to-conservation transfer in business history. Patagonia's foundation has funded marine protected areas, salmon recovery, coastal community resilience, and the dam-removal programme on the Klamath River — the largest dam removal in U.S. history.

The Vessels

Chouinard does not own a yacht. He is included here because the conservation ethic he established — that you can build a successful business while putting the planet first — is the cultural permission slip that lets a modern owner buy a Wind Voyage rather than a conventional explorer yacht.

Why this voice on Wind Voyage

Half the people who can write a $150M cheque for a yacht today are wearing Patagonia on the weekend. The brand Chouinard built tells them that environmental seriousness and personal taste are the same axis. Wind Voyage is built on that axis.