Donate unwanted sails to save lives
by Daria Blackwell / OCC 9 Jan 2020 01:15 UTC
Peter Gately with bails of used sails bound for the Pacific Islands © Sails Ocean Sails
Australian recycles sails by providing them along with sailing skills to fishermen in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He departs next in March 2020.
Peter Gately, founder of "Sails Ocean Sails" (SOS), offers coastal fisherman security by providing them with old sails. The sails can be used in place of engines to save fuel, approach fishing grounds noiselessly, and return home safely should engines fail. SOS is a self-funded charitable programme that was started in 2005, and since then has helped island fishermen in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Timor Sea and in Africa.
Peter will be visiting Tonga from Australia in March 2020 and relies on used sails (such as jibs or small mains), equipment (such as charts, life vests, pulleys, ropes etc.) and navigation instruments to give to his students and the fishermen. Peter is a missionary and an avid sailor. SOS has visited Samoa, Timor Leste, Mauritius, Seychelles, Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Papua New Guinea and Kiribati. He received a request from the Tongan Maritime school recently to help with the teaching of sailing & navigation to the students and to the fishing people. Peter lives in Canberra, Australia, and used sails and equipment should be sent there.
For more information contact Peter via email at
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This article has been provided by the courtesy of
Ocean Cruising Club.