Maine Sailors Collect Used Sails to Help Haitians

A Maine sailor is collecting used sails to provide shelter for Haitians during their rainy season. 

From John Eide [email protected]

A note to my fellow sailors in Maine:

Haitians still have a pressing need for food and shelter as they recover from the massive earthquake that struck in January. As a member of the Maine sailing community, I'm organizing a drive to collect used sails to be shipped to Haiti to be used as makeshift shelter. The rainy season is starting early this year in the Caribbean, so the faster we can get our used sails to Haiti, the better off the estimated 770,000 homeless will be.

Maine Sailing Partners in Freeport is willing to be a drop-off point for your sails, March 5 until March 19, M-F 8:00 to 5:00.

Pope Sails and Rigging, in Rockland will accept sails in the mid-coast area, March 5 until March 19, M-F 8:00 to 5:00.

Portland Yacht Service will accept sails in Building 11 during the hours of the Maine Boatbuilders Show, March 19, 20 and 21.

They will then be trucked to Miami where two organizations, Haiti-Life and Shake-a-Leg, have the infrastructure in place to ship the sails to Haiti.

Please contact your friends, fellow yacht club members, other sailors, anyone you know who might have old, used sails taking up space and ask them to donate to the people of Haiti.

Deadline for donations will be Friday, March 19.

The fine print:
Shake A Leg the Miami collection point, and Haiti-Life, the shipper to and distributor in Haiti are both 501c3 organizations so your donation is tax deductible. Shipping from Miami to Haiti is funded by Project Medishare, also a 501c3.
Any sail will be accepted, other than torn, shredded or delaminated sails.
Please have the hoist and foot lengths available so we can properly tag the sail.

Thanks for your help,
John Eide
[email protected]
I've been actively sailing the Coast of Maine for over 30 years in a classic wooden boat; have made two trips to the Caribbean on her; helped Bruce Schwab prepare Ocean Planet for the start of the Vendee Globe Race, including the transatlantic delivery; race yearly in the Wooden Boat races; done four Marblehead-Halifax races.

Maine Sailing Partners
24 Noble Drive, Freeport, ME 04032
207-865-0850 or 888-788-7245

Pope Sails & Rigging
237 Park Street, Rockland, ME 04841
207-596-7293

Maine Sailing Partners http://www.mesailing.com/
Pope Sails & Rigging http://www.popesails.com
Shake-a-Leg http://www.shakealegmiami.org
Haiti-Life http://www.haiti-life.org/
Project Medishare http://projectmedishare.org/