Sailing with 'Sophisticated Lady'

Ahoy Friends!

Here is a update on the progress of our school being built in Ile La Vache, Haiti.

At the present time the movement of rocks and the raising of funds continues.

We have recently purchased a horse and a mule that Phelix has been using to move the stones from the beach up to the land we have bought with hopes to start building this December, 2009. While I, on the other hand, have been touring the US spreading awareness and performing a series of concerts to raise funds for the The Good Samaritan Foundation Of Isle La Vache, Haiti. The foundation has been working hand in hand with the Rotary Club of Tortola in the British Virgin Islands on this cause, who has recently financed the present school teachers salary for the 2009/ 2010 season.

Our original plan to break ground at the end of october was delayed due to lack of funds but as the fund raisers continue and we draw closer to our mark, new developments in awareness bring hope for the people of Ile La Vache.

One of these developments is a movie flmed on our last trip to Haiti with food and the much needed engines for the fishing indrusty. The film, "TO HAITI FROM THE HEART" is now available and may be purchased for US$20 by going to www.BeansMusic.com . For all you Beans fans the musical sound track is by yours truly along with some live footage of my fund raising concert shot at Myetts in Cane Garden Bay in the BVI's last spring.

The movie is a heartwarming adventure/documentry about people helping people to help people who in turn help the people who help them realise that by helping them they have in fact helped themselves. The message is about reaching out to an island in the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

All the proceedes from this film are going directly to The Good Samaritan Foundation (GSF) of Ile La Vache, Haiti, to help build this much needed school and huricaine shelter. The school plans can be found on the school page on the site www.GoodSamaritanOfHaiti.com along with other information about the GSF.

Thank You All for your Friendship and Patronage

  Yours Truly,
  Michael 'Beans' Gardner
  co-founder, Good Samaritan Foundation of Haiti

Pirates in the Caribbean!

Michael Beans & Capt Rick

Some of you may remember or already know my good friend Michael Beans... He is a local singer/songwriter in the Caribbean that performs a nightly pirate show called "Happy Arrrr..." in the Rob White Bar on Marina Cay in the British Virgin Islands. We've been taking our guests to the Happy Arrr... show for years, and everyone always comes away feeling great! Michael is such a charismatic and energetic entertainer, and he does such a wonderful job of getting the crowd involved in his show every night... It's just a fantastic feel-good time!

Long before Michael's career in entertaining started, he became an avid scuba-diver and took on the mission of searching for lost shipwrecks famous for the treasures in their holds that lay hidden on the ocean floor. One such expedition led him to the island of Haiti where it was rumoured the famous Canadian Schooner 'Bluenose' had floundered on a reef in a storm. After many months of searching the reefs, they finally found what was left of the wreck. It was shortly after this that his team discovered the cashflow from their sponsors back in America had ceased to flow... The rest of the team headed off to determine what the problem was, leaving Michael to mind the camp in Haiti until their return. They never returned.

Here is an excerpt from Michael's website in reference to his album 'Bluenose':

"BLUENOSE" Point Est, Ile la Vache, Haiti, 1976...A stranded 19-year-old staring out at the raging sea that claimed the mighty vessel...Like Bluenose, he too was abandoned to that desolate island reef. While engaging in a treasure hunt to pick her bones clean and turn her famous remains into furniture, the project failed. Michael Beans stayed behind to watch camp for a crew that would never return. In his loneliness, he wrote these songs to pass the time and keep his spirits up. Ten years later he recorded "Bluenose" in St. Croix with his band, "The Beans Traveling Minstrels" to mark the end of an era.

Michael was taken under the wing of the locals in the small town of Ile la Vache after having lived through things that no one from our world could understand. He was forever grateful to them for helping him, and has devoted most of his adult life to helping them in return. He formed "The Good Samaritan Foundation" in Haiti, expressly to help the children whom he'd come to love so much, and who didn't stand a chance without some kind of outside help.

Since then almost all the proceeds of the sales of Michael's CD's have gone to support his cause in Haiti. Most recently, Michael's efforts have attracted the helpful attention of the Tortola Rotary Club, and they have resigned themselves to help the cause. The Rotary Club has just finished rounding up a small collection of outboard engines that can be used by the locals in Haiti to help with their fishing, and together with the Good Samaritan Foundation are preparing to send them on a ship to their destination. This is great news for Ile la Voche.

We've been following around with Michael for quite some time now... and wherever there's a good cause, you'll find Michael. He even followed us down island to help with a fundraiser for a local childrens orphanage in St Lucia! Michael's Pirate Parties are always a great time... he really knows how to show people a fun-filled night, lots of laughter and dancing, and all in support of great causes!

Some of you may remember that WindInMySails teamed up with Michael in another project earlier this year... we've started work on a series of "MIchael Beans Island Tour" DVD's, and the first one is due out soon! These DVD's will be in support of the same great causes with the Rotary Club and the Good Samaritan Foundation to help the children of Haiti.

There will be more posted soon, and in the meantime you can check out Michael's own website for more info on the charities, and his music CD's!
www.BeansMusic.com

UPDATE!
This page was put up before our latest adventure found us being the ones to take on the mission to Haiti...
Find more of the story and some of our pictures online here:
Haiti Photo Gallery

For more information regarding the current fundraising events for GoodSamaritanOfHaiti.com and the DVD's that are being sold in support of the cause, please contact us direct for current information.

Here are some recent pictures of previous fundraising concerts with Michael Beans...

Beans in St Lucia
Beans in St Lucia