13 replies to this topic

[Peelman]

Pretty cool news
http://www.alinghi.c...idContent=22608


Alinghi's America's Cup sails are to be shipped to Haiti for use as tents by the victims of January's earthquake. Spanish daily, El Mundo, reported that the shipment, which also includes 65 boxes of Alinghi team clothing, leaves today from Madrid airport as part of a wider Messengers of Peace charity arrangement.

The Alinghi carbon-fibre sails are strong, light and waterproof and will be re-cut and made in to tents at the camps through an on-site work programme. With hundreds of thousands still living in the island's temporary camps, the resulting 1,000 shelters will be shared as widely and equally as possible among survivors.

Newspaper article -

http://www.elmundo.e...1274113314.html

[Te Kooti]

http://www.elmundo.e...1274113314.html

Ernesto ... if this is true ... good on yer!

Well done!

[K38BOB]

http://www.elmundo.e...1274113314.html

Ernesto ... if this is true ... good on yer!

Well done!

Seems good in theory. Can't help but wonder if they couldn't be sold to be recut as sails and then donate the money to be spent on tents or whatever they needed.

[Tom O'Keefe]

Whatever, they would be "recut" for would have to be awfully close to a 90' foot turbo something. Remember all the sails are 3DL or 3DI so their continuous fiber load path orientation. Now on the down side to the tent idea, these are going to be really hot & humid tents in the tropical sun.

[DEAD MONEY]

So I guess the "lake boat" is gonna be thrown away as it will be pretty worthless without the $1 Million in Sails that are being turned into tents. Sorry but it sounds like a spoof as in it doesn't make any sense to me. Sell the boat AND the sails than donate to the Hatians or any other charity makes more fiscal sense.

[Bow Monkey]

This is just silly. There's no way the load paths are going to line up properly on those tents.

Now for the real question... Are those tents made in USA, Switzerland, or Haiti?!?

[pjh]

Sorry but it sounds like a spoof as in it doesn't make any sense to me.

Have to agree. This is absurd. The Haitians would get a lot more shelter if Alinghi would take the money they would spend on freight and re-manufacturing and just buy tents in Haiti!

When I see this, I think of: "The peasants have no bread." "Then let them eat cake."

[Teal67]

I honestly don't know that much about the 3DL fabric, but I was under the impression that the material was somewhat susceptible to damage from ultra-violet light. Wouldn't long term exposure of the sails to the tropical Haitian sun basically reduce the tents to shreds?

[Stingray]

Sorry but it sounds like a spoof as in it doesn't make any sense to me.

Have to agree. This is absurd. The Haitians would get a lot more shelter if Alinghi would take the money they would spend on freight and re-manufacturing and just buy tents in Haiti!

When I see this, I think of: "The peasants have no bread." "Then let them eat cake."

The material probably is better than normal tent material, but:

Maybe there is a constructed-in-Switzerland tax break for doing it?

They also don't say which AC sails these are; CZ didn't have that big a wardrobe, so maybe it is older V5 sails? I hope so, or else it could suggest CZ won't sail again with that size a rig.

[pjh]

Guess I'm just too much of a curmudgeon. Kimball Livingston has picked this up and it is legit... One Thousand Roofs

[dogwatch]

Maybe there is a constructed-in-Switzerland tax break for doing it?

Cut the cynicism, it doesn't suit you. Haiti relief charities for anyone interested.

[Jackt]

If I recall just after the Haiti disarster there was an artical on Alighi's website stating the sails were old V5 sails and the clothing was old stuff from the AC32 plus what was gifted by the team members .....so it wuold be good if you didnt streeeech the facts

[Stingray]

Maybe there is a constructed-in-Switzerland tax break for doing it?

Cut the cynicism, it doesn't suit you. Haiti relief charities for anyone interested.

Was just responding light-heartedly to maybe the best post so far

This is just silly. There's no way the load paths are going to line up properly on those tents.

Now for the real question... Are those tents made in USA, Switzerland, or Haiti?!?

Yes, obviously it is a decent cause. The effort was prominent in Valencia during AC 33 too.

[Magilla Gorilla]

I wonder if the Swiss tax office gets told there's about 200 million Euro's worth of sails being sent to Haiti???