4:06 AM Sat 20 Mar 2010 GMT 'Haiti street tents in Petit Gouve' . Tom Braidwood is calling all yachties to help the survivors of the Haiti Earthquake. One of the biggest problems the Haitians are facing is enough shelter. The wet season is quickly approaching and a solution is needed as soon as possible. As all yachties know, there are thousands of old sails lying around in garages and containers all over Australia. Tom's plan is to turn these old useless items into tarps and tent shelters. Tom has approached Michael Coxon, Managing Director of North Sails (Australia) who is excited to be involved and has offered the use of his loft to turn the sails into shelters. Sail will be cut into squares,edged and eyeletted to produce usable tarpaulins. Debbie of Haitian Christian Mission Australia is also on board is thrilled to be able to ensure the shelters reach the people who need them most. Check out what else the Haitian Christian Mission do at www.hcmaustralia.org.au . WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP? 1/ Provide the sails! Do you have unwanted sails from yachts > 40ft? 2/ Volunteer time in the loft. Sailmakers please contact us if you can help in any way. Email sailorshelp_haiti(at)7mail.comand for further information and delivery details. Follow our progress on our blog site - http://sailorshelphaiti.blogspot.com Haitian President Réné Préval pleads for more old sails and lines - .. . by Belinda Braidwood Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:

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