Sails off to Seychelles!

Peter Reports:

The first container of used Australian sails left Canberra at 9.30 am on Wednesday 17 October 2007 to go overseas. This consignment is being shipped to Victoria, on the Island of Mahé in the Seychelles Islands off the east coast of Africa where there are presently over 200 fishermen/boats waiting for these sails.

There are enough sails in the consignment to fulfill their immediate need.

The islanders I saw while visiting the Seychelles and Mauritius showed excellent sailing skills and will immediately benefit from your generosity. They will put these sails to good use as fishing is their livelihood and the cost of petrol is fast becoming prohibitive for them to run their boats.

The Sails Program has recently received requests to visit numerous African and Central and South American countries and needs used sails to forward to these countries also.

I am happy to try to visit your club to talk about the “Sails Program” if you would like.

Donation of used sails were received from:-

§ Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (Sydney)

§ South of Perth Yacht Club (Perth)

§ Double Bay Sailing Club (Sydney)

§ Avalon Sailing Club (Sydney)

§ Clayton Bay Boat Club (Adelaide)

§ Connells Point Sailing Club (Sydney)

§ Mordialloc Sailing Club (Melbourne)

§ Noosa Rowing and Sailing Club (Queensland)

§ Some local Canberra sailors

I have asked people overseas to send photos of the sails being used and if we receive any photos back we will post them on the site.

Generous Donations

On Saturday 4th August Peter was able to collect a very generous donation of sails from members of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia

On Sunday 5th August Peter’s talk at the AGM of the Avalon Sailing Club on was greeted with enthusiasm by about 60 members.

PHOTO: ASC Commodore Peter Gale presenting Peter with a club shirt.

A number of the ASC members have kindly made offers to help our S.O.S. Program, one way or another.
Members have been very generous in donating sails and in giving publicity to the program in their newsletter, The Jib Sheet, downloadable as a PDF file from THIS PAGE

Albert Napier in the Seychelles told Peter last Thursday that he has 150 fishermen (boats) waiting for Australian sails, and growing at the rate of one a day!
Thanks to Australian donors,we now have enough sails to supply this present request!

Alexander Downer presenting sails to Peter

This meeting with Alexander Downer took place on the 13th June in his Parliament House Offices.
Alexander Downer said that he was very pleased to be involved with the “S.O.S” Awareness Program.
He very generously brought some sails over from the Clayton Bay Boat Club in South Australia.
Mr Downer said that there was a need for the program to assist fishing communities and he keenly supported the idea of Australians being involved with providing sails to overseas countries in order to provide an alternative to the use of petrol engines and to maintain sustainable living standards into the future as well as having the chance of saving lives at sea.

See Media Coverage Catholic Voice

A follow-up letter from Mr Downer indicated that he would be “more than willing to help your organisation in the future by transporting any more sails to Canberra that are donated by clubs and individuals within my electorate.”

Report on Mauritius, Seychelles visit

Sail demonstration – compass and charts (Grand River south-east Mauritius)

Note from Peter:
The recent trip to Mauritius and the Seychelles was most successful. Numerous “Sails” demonstrations were held in both countries using different sails and boats.
I taught for two days in the Maritime Training School in Victoria the Capital of Mahé, the main island of the Seychelles and was given an inspection and tour throughout the Maritime Training School in Mauritius. I taught sailing and “safety at sea” to the
students in the Seychelles and put the lessons into practice by going sailing on two afternoons with them.
In the Mauritius Maritime School there were no students there when I visited but they have a very wide range of courses – for beginners to the more advanced fishermen/students. Many fishermen and students cannot swim nor float and following a request for feedback I have recommended that swimming and floating lessons be initiated for Maritime and school students [through the east African Islands.

Discussions were held with government officials regarding the Sails Program receiving tax exemptions for sails, halyards, pulleys etc. The response has been positive so far, and transporting the sails via shipping or air services is being investigated and we are hopeful of a positive outcome.
Once the sails have reached Mauritius, the distribution – to the Seychelles, Madagascar, the Comoros, the Maldives and the east African coast using Mauritius as a central hub – will be by small fishing/cargo boats.

Fisherman Village Leader (Training/conference room Seafarers Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius)

Some fishermen do have sails on their boats but these are generally of poor quality and all of those I met were very impressed with the quality of Australian sails, and said that they could use them on their boats.
Other fishermen did not have masts but were ready to install one and have a sail attached to it ready for use.

Email from Albert Napier

Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 8:40 PM
Subject: RE: SAILS OCEAN SAILS (SOS)

Dear Mr Gately

Regarding your visit, the date proposed is okay. I have already organised meeting with fishermen in the district, at the Fishing Port, Victoria, demonstration with students at the Maritime School, meeting with officials from the Seychelles Fishing Authority and some businessmen (boatowners).

I’m negotiating with the church authority for your accommodation and I will let you know by Friday afternoon.

So far there around fifty fishermen that are interested in having sails, especially those that I had a meeting with. It could be more that the above mentioned figures.

Could you let me the exact amount of sails you bringing to Seychelles so that I can talk and negotiate with the authority to be
exempted from tax or duty.

Albert Napier
DIRECTOR AOS