While much of yachting media focuses on launches, luxury, and lifestyle, Yachting International Radio chose a different path. One rooted in advocacy rather than access, and accountability rather than image.
Founded by veteran broadcaster Rhea Rouw , YIR was built to tell the stories the industry often avoids, while still understanding how that industry functions commercially.
Rouw’s perspective was shaped long before yachting entered her world. She was raised in her father’s logging camps in northern British Columbia. Isolated, seaplane only communities where hard work forged strong bonds, but where hierarchy and silence often concealed deeper problems. It was an early lesson in how tough industries protect themselves, sometimes at a human cost.
That understanding carried into a 28 year career across newspaper journalism, television production, and radio broadcasting in Canada, alongside running her own small business. By the early 2000s, she had developed both editorial credibility and a sharp understanding of how media, money, and influence intersect.
In 2005, Rouw sold everything and relocated to Europe. More than a decade later, observing the superyacht industry from Ibiza and Mallorca, the parallels became impossible to ignore.
The same dynamics she had seen in logging camps were present again. Rigid hierarchies, discretion confused with silence, and serious issues buried beneath reputation management and commercial interests.
“The nautical industry is still very much male driven, plus there are deep rooted problems such as sexual abuse, racism, prejudice and inequality. Challenging that is what the radio station is all about.”
Rhea Rouw, Majorca Daily Bulletin
Yachting International Radio launched on Valentine’s Day 2019 as a direct response. Within two months, it became clear that radio alone was not enough. The platform expanded into a full multimedia network, now comprising more than 18 shows spanning crew welfare, mental health, environmental responsibility, diversity, innovation, and the business mechanics that underpin the maritime world.
YIR does not ignore the commercial side of yachting. It interrogates it. From ownership structures and refit economics to workforce sustainability and long term industry viability. The result is coverage that speaks not only to crew, but to leaders, operators, and decision makers who understand that reputational risk and human cost are business issues.
Today, YIR reaches more than one million maritime professionals each month. Feedspot ranks it as the #2 yachting podcast worldwide, positioning it among the most influential independent platforms in the sector.
Crucially, advocacy has not excluded access. YIR is an official live stream partner of both the International Palma Boat Show and the Balearic Yacht Show, demonstrating that credibility, commercial understanding, and critical journalism can coexist.
Where Silence Once Lived
For crew members who felt unheard, or deliberately ignored, YIR has become a platform of record. A place where difficult conversations are not only allowed, but expected.
Listeners describe it simply and consistently. Essential. Fearless. The platform that actually represents crew.
Industry Recognition
#2 Yachting Podcast Worldwide. Feedspot
Official Live Stream Partner. International Palma Boat Show
Official Live Stream Partner. Balearic Yacht Show
28 Years in Professional Broadcasting
Rouw rarely talks about growth metrics or content strategy. She talks instead about the crew member who finally felt heard. The conversation that should never have been taboo. The slow shift of an industry beginning to understand that ignoring problems privately is far more damaging, commercially and culturally, than addressing them publicly.
That is the work.
Everything else follows.
Learn more about Yachting International Radio here.
