Blick vom Steuerstand eines Motorboots auf das Wasser

About us

Boats for Life was founded in mid-2025 to remove a simple but expensive obstacle: training. Protecting the ocean takes people who can skipper a boat and operate a radio. That is exactly where we start.

Our mission

We lower the barrier for committed ocean protectors. Organisations apply with us, and training is delivered heavily discounted or free through our partner school Bootsschule1.

Non-profit

Boats for Life is a non-profit initiative. We do not pursue profit and enable training slots for organisations working on the water.

Application

Training slots

greater operational capability on the water

The founders

Daniel Abt

Co-founder · founder of Bootsschule1

Daniel Abt is the founder of Bootsschule1 and has been training people on the water for many years. At Boats for Life he contributes his practical experience, his team and the right courses, so that support turns directly into real qualifications.

„Marine conservation is rarely short of commitment, what is missing are practical prerequisites. If a licence or a radio certificate is missing, a boat cannot be deployed at the decisive moment. That is exactly the hurdle we want to remove.“

Aaron Perner

Co-founder · animal welfare activist

Aaron Perner served with Sea Shepherd in West Africa and today works in animal welfare in Germany. The idea behind Boats for Life grew out of a simple experience: people who want to help should not fail because of a missing course or a missing licence.

„In West Africa I saw how much a single operational boat can change, and how often it fails because of a piece of paper. That paper is exactly what we pay for now.“