Sails Ocean Sails is a renowned self-funded charity that was started in the year 2005 for redistributing some used sails Australia to people residing around Pacific for fishing. Many of them who have already received used sails from the charity have relied upon the outboard motor since World War II because they have lost their knowledge on sailing and also the traditions that go along with that.
Peter Gately is the founder of the Sails Ocean Sails charity. He said that many fishing boats get stranded by the sea coast regularly because either the petrol gets finished or the motors stopped working. In these cases, the fishermen are not able to return home and they drift for some days or even weeks. If they have a sail in hand, they have the chance to return to their village which also offers them a sense of safety and security.
Many representatives of the program have visited several villages that comprise of fishing people in the Timor Sea, Indian Ocean, Africa, and Pacific and they have been able to teach them the art of sailing and how to maintain safety while fishing at the sea in several Maritime Colleges while they are in their own country.
Peter has also reported that the Maritime School Director in Tonga has asked for assistance from them so that they can teach more and more fishing people about sailing. He has agreed to visit Tonga in the month of March next year. He will take all the equipment, instruments, and sails along with him for giving them out to the students as well as the fishermen.
Peter Gately remembers that he was fortunate to carry 33 sails when he visited Samoa in the year 2006. He has high hopes that he will be able to do the same kind of trip next year with support from the sailing community of Australia.