Vanuatu and the Solomons need our help
Cyclone Pam left destruction and death behind in the Pacific. It's up to us now to help the gentle people of these remote and vulnerable islands. The Ocean Cruising Club is coordinating efforts among sailors to get things done on the ground. Please do what you can to support those is position to assist.
Sailors band together to get relief to
cyclone stricken Pacific islanders
Dartmouth, Devon, United Kingdom – On Saturday the 14th of March, Cyclone Pam devastated the South Pacific island nations of Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, leaving death and destruction behind. In Vanuatu the emergency has been big enough to trigger International Aid so whilst the job is massive, many planes are already arriving with supplies. Temotu (North East Solomon Islands) has been affected as badly as Vanuatu but, as fewer people live there, it has not triggered an International Aid effort, leaving them with little help. Members of the Ocean Cruising Club, many of whom have visited these islands and made friends among the residents, have asked how best to reach out with assistance that will have the most beneficial impact on the lives of those most affected.
Information for Immediate Release
Contact:
Daria Blackwell
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17th
March 2015
Sailors band together to get relief to
cyclone stricken Pacific islanders
Dartmouth, Devon, United Kingdom – On Saturday the 14th of March, Cyclone Pam devastated the South Pacific island nations of Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands, leaving death and destruction behind. In Vanuatu the emergency has been big enough to trigger International Aid so whilst the job is massive, many planes are already arriving with supplies. Temotu (North East Solomon Islands) has been affected as badly as Vanuatu but, as fewer people live there, it has not triggered an International Aid effort, leaving them with little help. Members of the Ocean Cruising Club, many of whom have visited these islands and made friends among the residents, have asked how best to reach out with assistance that will have the most beneficial impact on the lives of those most affected.
Jim Thomsen, s/v Tenaya, responded, “There
are many international organizations that will be helping Vanuatu. One
organization, Sea Mercy, has their own sailboats and focuses on reaching the
remote islands that are usually the last to receive aid.” Sea Mercy is now preparing to
send her Disaster Relief Fleet (DRFleet) to join the Disaster Relief &
Recovery efforts in Vanuatu, providing the care needed for the less populated
and often forgotten remote islands during such difficult times.
Chris
Bone of Oceans Watch responded that it
would be best to have a larger impact in Temotu than a small impact in the
whole of Vanuatu so they are currently concentrating efforts there. They can
also help the smaller northern group of Islands in Vanuatu if it looks like
they will miss out on aid assistance. Jim Thomsen reports that remote Tanna may
have been the hardest hit island in Vanuatu.
OCC
Member Tom Partridge and his partner Susie have been living in Vanuatu for 4
months while his yacht Adina was tied down in a cradle in the Port
Vila Boatyard. They were fortunately in New Zealand when Cyclone Pam struck.
Late yesterday they received the news that Adina
was undamaged and that all yachts in the boatyard were unscathed. They are
returning to Vanuatu at the weekend and have offered to stay on to coordinate
relief efforts on the ground.
Cyclone
Pam has left a huge amount of damage in its wake. Some lives were lost, many
houses were damaged or completely destroyed. Fruit trees are gone, gardens
washed away or covered in debris, and just root crops left in most instances.
Chris
Bone reports, “To date we have used donated funds to pay for an assessment of
Fenualoa Island, where we have a good knowledge of all villages. They need ~60
tarpaulins and emergency food. They also need chain saws to clear fallen trees
from houses and gardens. We are going to provide some emergency food. We hope
World Vision can supply the tarpaulins (they do not provide food) and we have
ordered two chainsaws to be loaned to villages and we will be providing fuel. We shall supply a chainsaw mill, too, so that
bigger trees can be utilised for building supplies, and are delivering
vegetable seeds for planting. OceansWatch is a registered charity in New
Zealand, the US, the UK and the Solomon Islands, with 8 years’ experience in
the Pacific. We are seeking guidance from our Solomon Island directors as to
where our efforts are best placed. We have raised NZ$3,000
so far with more promised. But our
greatest need is experienced skippers and crew to sail our boats from New
Zealand to the islands as soon as possible after cyclone season.”
The Ocean Cruising Club commends the strategy of
these two organizations to reach those hardest hit and least likely to receive
immediate international aid. OCC Commodore John Franklin says, "these two
organisations, along with assistance from OCC member Tom Partridge in Port
Vila, seem to have in place the infrastructure to make a real difference to the
plight of the islanders - please support them."
Sea Mercy
http://www.seamercy.org/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=20
Contact Richard Hackett directly at info@seamercy.org or 541-935-5846
Contact Richard Hackett directly at info@seamercy.org or 541-935-5846
OceansWatch
For more information about the Ocean Cruising Club,
please visit the OCC website at www.oceancruisingclub.org.
About the Ocean Cruising Club
The Ocean Cruising Club exists to encourage
long-distance sailing in small boats. A Full Member of the OCC must have
completed a qualifying voyage of a non-stop port-to-port ocean passage, where
the distance between the two ports is not less than 1,000 nautical miles as
measured by the shortest practical Great Circle route, as skipper or member of
the crew in a vessel of not more than 70ft (21.36 m) LOA; associate members are
committed to the achievement of that goal. This standard distinguishes the OCC from
all other sailing clubs. It’s not about what you are or who you know, but
simply what you have done, that matters. Our membership as a whole has more
experience offshore than any other sailing organisation – in the number of
circumnavigators, in the range of extraordinary voyages members have completed,
and in the number of solo sailors, and female sailors among our ranks. This is
what sets us apart from other organisations, even as it draws us together as a
group. We bring the spirit of seafaring to our association by always being
willing to assist any fellow sailor we meet, either afloat or ashore.
With a central office in the UK, though it has
no physical clubhouse, the OCC is, in a way, the “home port” for all of us who
have sailed long distances across big oceans. With 48 nationalities and Port
Officers in as many countries, we have a more diverse membership and a more
international reach than any other sailing organisation. Our Port Officers and
Regional Rear Commodores represent the frontline interaction with our existing
members and the recruitment of new members.
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