Mrs Abshier, why do you cut up superyacht sails?
I was once allowed to sail a Farr 40 off Los Angeles. Shortly afterwards, I learnt that the sails are often disposed of when large boats like this one are sold. At that time, the pandemic had just broken out and many people on California's coast no longer had a home. I thought the sails could be used to provide them with shade. So I asked architecture firms in L.A. if they wanted to help me make something out of the used sails. One office agreed. That was five years ago. In the meantime, Sail 2 Shelter has taken over my life.
So what happened to the huge sails?
We used them to build a sunshade with a veranda for people who lost everything in a devastating fire in 2023. We have shown that old sails can also be turned into something very attractive. Because the owners of superyachts don't want their sails to end up in a bad environment. I am committed to ensuring that our work is really beautiful - it should be something they can be proud of. This can also be very simple buildings, for example a dry storage room. This is invaluable in any crisis, like in Ukraine or in a refugee camp in Greece, but also in California.
They also use sails from superyachts. A challenge?
Oh yes! My first superyacht sail donation came from the 250-foot "Mirabella M5" - two sails that together weighed five tonnes. The mainsail alone measured 1300 square metres! We brought them to LA and a shipping company transported the container with the two sails to Maui for me. Then to cut the sails in half just to get them into a building - that was a task! I learnt then that I can put the sails to better use where they are being decommissioned. So now I ask the skippers to unload them where they are needed.
Who will support you?
Individuals. I haven't been able to get the sailing or yachting industry on board yet. I have the feeling that people are saying: OK, that makes sense. It's better than throwing away the sails. But setting up the organisation so that everything works is expensive. What we do is so valuable. But getting donations for it remains a challenge. In mid-April I'm going to try at the World Yachting Summit in Monaco. I'm storing a lot of sails at my own expense for that long. Because I am convinced that second use is one of the most important and most underestimated economic factors. I want to show people that there is a better way than throwing it away. I've been told it's not feasible. But it is.
