The Islander - Thursday 10th September 1998

PUBLIC NOTICE

No. 32/98 (Replacing Public Notice No. 4/97)

IMMIGRATION PROCEDURE FOR YACHTS

Ascension Island warmly welcomes members of the sailing community.

Arriving yachts may anchor in the area to the North of the Pierhead. They must not anchor in any position that could obstruct the arrival and departure of ships or the unloading of cargo. They must not tie up to any buoy or mooring in Clarence Bay.

Landing is permitted only at the Pierhead steps, Georgetown. A landing fee of £5.00 per person is payable at the Police Office.

All persons visiting Ascension must have an Entry Permit granted by the Administrator. At the earliest opportunity after arrival the Master of any yacht must report to the Police at the Police Office (open from 8am to 4pm daily). Except in cases of emergency, the crew of any yacht arriving outside these hours must wait aboard their vessel. Emergency messages may be passed on VHF to the Maersk Ascension or via Ascension Radio. The Master should bring ashore details of his vessel, a crew list and crew passports. No person may take leave of a yacht at Ascension without prior permission from the Administrator.

Permission will normally be given for a yacht to remain for 72 hours and for the crew to come ashore between the hours of 7am and 11pm unless they have a special pass issued by the Police to stay ashore overnight. This pass will give details of the Island sponsor with whom the visitor must stay. (Sleeping rough on-shore will not be permitted). Applications for such passes will not be accepted after office closing hours. In certain circumstances, e.g. to effect repairs, yachts will be allowed to stay for longer periods.

The master and all crew members are required to take out medical insurance (ideally in advance of arrival) to cover medical costs including, if necessary, medical evacuation by air to country of origin. If medical insurance is not taken out in advance, then a local medical insurance cover must be taken out on arrival at Ascension, the cost of which is £4.00 per person a day.

It is stressed that there are very few facilities available on Ascension, although visitors will be made welcome at the four clubs on the Island. These offer a good assortment of drinks, interesting company and simple meals. There is an excellent little museum; several challenging walks; and some magnificent, wild volcanic scenery to savour. There are two golf courses - one of which is described in the Guinness Book of Records as "The worst in the World".

We are sorry, but because fresh produce and other provisions are sometimes in short supply, occasionally they may not be available for sale to yachts' crews even though on sale to the Island community. If in doubt please ask the shop staff.

The landing of animals is strictly forbidden.

We hope that you have a very happy stay. Ascension has a lot to offer the intrepid traveller.

R. C. HUXLEY
Administrator
Administrator's Office
Georgetown
3^rd September 1998

INTERNET NEWS

Administrator's website now on line!

(www.ascension-island.gov.ac)

I'm pleased to announce that H.H. The Administrators website is complete and finally went on line last Monday morning.

Internet connected readers can find the web site at www.ascension-island.gov.ac. There are eight main pages:

The Administrator's home page welcomes the reader to the site, gives him/her a brief description of the island, displays a photograph of the Administrator's office and invites the reader to sign the on-line visitors book - Anyone is very welcome to sign the visitors book (especially residents past & present). Entries will be scanned periodically for interesting "signings" and I will try to get these published in The Islander regularly.
The Ascension Island Background page goes into quite some depth about Ascension including its History, The users of the island, Geography, Climate, Wildlife, Population and the settlements of Georgetown & Two Boats.
The third page is an interesting short biography of the Administrator.
This page gives instructions to interested persons on how to go about visiting Ascension Island.
The Ascension Island Links page links to another twenty-five Internet web sites around the world, which relate to Ascension in one way or another.
The Ascension Island Police detachment page goes into quite some depth about the Police's role on the island and includes photographs of the Police station and the staff (A more recent photo is still required though).
The Ascension Island Savings Banks also has a descriptive page and photos.
Finally the biggest pages are devoted to the Ascension Island Post Office which has been modelled on the Royal Mail's corporate image and gives an in-depth description of the Post Office's function. Saint Helena and Ascension postage stamps are all viewable on line and there are also guidelines to stamp enthusiasts on how to purchase the stamps.

I've really enjoyed doing this site which will promote Ascension Island into every corner of the world. I'd be grateful for any feedback from anyone who views the site - Thanks.

Nathan Prince - email: ncprince@atlantis.co.ac

News from Cable & Wireless

'Atlantis' lnternet & E-mail Bureau Services

For Customers who are In transit, here on holiday or a resident without access to the Internet and e-mail services, why not come along to Cable & Wireless Customer Services where these services are available to the Public.

These services are available at the normal Internet usage charge, of 10p per minute plus a one-off Bureau charge of 50p per session.

Initially these services can only be offered Mon - Fri 08:00 to 1700 and will not be available on weekends.

Weekend Internet Special

The reduction in the Internet charges from 10p per minute to 5p per minute during weekends will continue.

International Call Price Reductions

Cable and Wireless is pleased to announce another call rate reduction.

With effect from 1^st October 1998, calls to the Falkland Islands will cost Only £1 50 per minute for I.D.D. and £1.95 per minute when connected via the Operator.

	Old Rate	New Rate
I.D.D	£1.95 per minute.	£1.50 per minute.
Operator	£2.60 per minute.	£1.95 per minute.