Sea Mercy Captain Program - I need your advice

[Rich Hackett]

I would really appreciate advice and feedback from owners and captains regarding our "Sea Mercy Captain Program" in the South Pacific.

A little background (very short version)... we are a US based, 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides Floating Health Care Clinic's (staffed with US based health care volunteers and supplies) for the remote islanders in the South Pacific (please visit the website for more info on the program). The Kingdom of Tonga is our intial partner, but we also have 10 island nation partners waiting for us to begin operating a FHCC for them when resources are available.

Here is where I could really use your advice and feedback...

Our initial plan was to purchase the vessels for each island nation (very heavy upfront costs), but after discussions with former captains and owners of vessels we have sailed with, they suggested that there may be owners either located in, or desiring to relocate to, the South Pacific that would be willing to partner with us and "sail with a benevolent purpose". This would greatly reduce the upfront costs, allow us to build this fleet of of "floating clinics" much faster, meet the health care needs faster, and provide a program to vessel owners that would compensate them for sailing in the South Pacific.

We have created the Sea Mercy Captain Program on the website that details the program. I would like your feedback on this concept and any concerns or questions that we should address to better meet the needs of the vessel owners.

Thank you in advance for your time and feedback!

Richard Hackett
President and Founder
Sea Mercy
www.seamercy.org

 

[prv]

Don't think this would really be applicable to individual yachts. But you might be able to forge a partnership with a tall ship operator? The Picton Castle comes to mind - although mostly a sail training ship (something people pay to join for the experience) she does carry small cargoes of donated goods around the islands. I believe there's also a Baltic schooner out there with a more explicitly humanitarian mission (but not medical per se). Not suggesting these particular vessels necessarily, but something similar.

I could imagine someone who really wanted to operate a large sailing ship but couldn't make the finances stack up on berth fees alone might be interested in a combined operation.

Pete

 

[duncan99210]

You might do better reposting this on the Live Aboard forum where there are more blue water folks.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

The majority of people on this forum operate smallish yachts - anything from 18-50' long - with the majority being between 30 and 40'. Anything much bigger than 50' long starts to need professional crew.

I love the idea, and if I sailed in the Pacific, I'd love to help. I don't, though - I sail of the West Coast of Scotland, and although there are plenty of small islands, they are covered by the NHS!

However, I think that realistically, the majority of vessels that are run by amateurs are too small for your purposes. How many people do you require to run a clinic? Most people's yachts are sized for 4-6 people at most - and long distance cruising usually uses some of the space for stores, reducing the number of berths available. Things like water supply and so forth will be sized for the needs of the regular crew (often a couple; occasionally a family), with little spare. Electrical power will be sufficient for the boat's equipment, with very little margin beyond that. The boats are almost invariably sailing craft, so they can't keep to a schedule as easily as a power boat - but a power boat uses vast amounts of fuel, so is uneconomic for long distance cruising.

As I mentioned, the crews are small and usually family members; how would your clinic staff relate spending long periods of time with people who are well acquainted with each other, and used to each other's ways of doing things? How would they cope with having to learn at least the basics of sailing, so they could be of use while on passage?

You may be fortunate and find a few medically trained people who are long distance cruisers. However, they may well not be in current practise - indeed, they probably are not if they are long distance cruisers. You might have to consider professional development and indemnity issues.

There is a precedent, though! One of the pioneers of long distance cruising, Bill Howell, was a dentist, and used his dental skills at remote ports of call; I remember some rather gruesome accounts of heroic dentistry in his book "White Cliffs to Coral Reef".

 

[Rigger Mortice]

When I read this http://www.globalsurance.com/resources/tonga/
I find myself wondering if a boat moored up somewhere is necessarily the best way of delivering improved services in Tonga. Why not work within the existing system?