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The Islander - Thursday 19^th November 1998

VISIT OF MV BREMEN

On the afternoon of Tuesday 17th November the cruise ship MV Bremen anchored off Clarence Bay. The ship, owned by Hapag Lloyd Seetouristic of Germany is in the middle of a long cruise which started for most of the passengers in Tenerife. They stopped at The Cape Verde Islands on their way here and will continue on to Saint Helena, Tristan Da Cunha, South Georgia, The Falkland Islands and Antarctica. The hardy travellers will then cruise around the peninsula until February 1999 before leaving for Tristan, Capetown and then up the East Coast of Africa before returning to Europe via the Suez Canal.

MV Bremen Anchored off Clarence Bay (Georgetown) (MT Maersk Ascension is in Background)

The Bremen is capable of carrying up to 160 passengers, although at present it has just under 100, and 95 crew. It was specifically built to be used for expedition type cruises with a top grade strengthened hull for smashing through ice and only 12ft draft for ease in shallow water. Since it's commissioning in 1991 the Bremen has sailed from the Arctic to the Antarctic and even cruised the Amazon River.

The MV Bremen Homepage (German language only) is at http://www.hapag-lloyd.com/schiff/sea/ger/bremen/msbremen.htm

CABLE & WIRELESS DIRECTOR VISITS SOUTH ATLANTIC

Nick Kourmarianos, Managing Director of the Cable & Wireless Caribbean & Atlantic Islands Region visited the South Atlantic in early November.

Nick's trip took nearly two weeks out of his already full schedule. Based in Cayman, he had to travel first to UK to get the RAF flight into Ascension the morning of the 3rd. After a brief pit stop he joined the RMS and spent a couple of days of enforced and enjoyable free time before arriving in Jamestown on 5th November.

Over the next two days we followed a very full schedule of meetings with Government, Business Leaders and Councillors, finishing with a cocktail party, hosted by C & W at which Nick underlined the Company's commitment to the island. Another two pleasant days on a glassy sea brought us back to Ascension, where the rounds of meetings began again. Whilst here, Nick presented Long Service Awards to Larry Henry for 25 years service and to Anita Stevens and Geoff Augustus for 15 years, he also presented a National Diploma Certificate to Paul Bennett.

Nick left for Cayman on 12th November, he has been in touch since then and said how much he enjoyed the South Atlantic experience and what an eye-opener it was after his travels around the Caribbean. It was a good visit, enjoyed by all at C & W and we hope Nick will be able to return next year when we celebrate our centenary of service to both Ascension and St. Helena.

John Cavana
General Manager.

SUE RYDER FUN DAY
STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT

Cedric Henry
Treasurer

Some of the "Crowd" watching the Sue Ryder Football match

SUE RYDER CHARITY FUN DAY
SUE RYDER TEAMS AND MATCH RESULTS

Sue Ryder would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone above for entertaining the large
crowd and showing their good sportsmanship throughout the day
We will be back !!

SITUATION VACANT

Cable & Wireless
Ariane Technician

Cable & Wireless (Ascension Island) are offering a 2 year contract for an Electronics Technician at the Ariane Tracking Station in Ascension Island.

Ariane is part of the European Space Agency, and this station tracks the Ariane 4 and 5 rockets during the launch trajectory until the delivery of satellites into orbit. Minimum qualifications: HNC (or equivalent) in Electronics, Telecommunications or related subject and 5 years experience in operations and fault-finding down to component level. All communications with the Space Agency is in French, so knowledge would be useful, although training will be given if necessary.

Interested persons should contact either John Cavana General Manager, Cable & Wireless or Pete Johnson, Station Director, Ariane Station.

RESCUE MISSION TO SAVE TRISTANIAN LADY

Pictured left is Felicity Glass of Tristan da Cunha who was recently involved in a dramatic sea rescue just off the Falkland Island. Felicity had only been back on Tristan for 8 weeks after a year spent in the Shetlands, whilst her husband completed a course for the Fisheries Department, when she was asked to accompany her sister to the Falkland Islands. Felicity's sister, Sandra Rogers, had been suffering a kidney complaint and was journeying on the M/S Explorer to Port Stanley in order to fly by Tri-star for urgent treatment in the UK.
The ship had just left South Georgia when Sandra became very ill with blood clots in her leg and lung. As her condition worsened it was decided to launch an immediate air/sea rescue and ion the evening of Tuesday 3rd November, despite treacherous weather conditions n RAF Sea King helicopter was dispatched from Mount Pleasant. HMS Sutherland and RFA Gold Rover moved to support the rescue attempt and acted as refuelling stations for the helicopter. Unfortunately the helicopter could not land on the Sutherland and fuel hoses had to be winched to it as it hovered only a few feet above heavy seas.

On arrival at the M/S Explorer, Felicity and Sandra were quickly winched up to the Sea King which after making one more refuelling stop, made all haste to Port Stanley and the King Edward Memorial Hospital. Once on the mainland it was determined that Sandra should be immediately medi-vacced to the UK and on Wednesday 4th aboard an RAF Tri-star, the sisters accompanied by a specialist medical team, set off for the final leg of their journey.

The expedition vessel MV "Explorer" anchored off Georgetown (October 1998).

Sandra is now under expert care at Gosport Hospital where her condition is steadily improving. It is hoped that she will be able to return home in January next year.

Felicity is also looking forward to getting home and will leave on Tuesday aboard the cruise ship Bremen for Tristan via St. Helena.

Felicity would like to thank all those involved with the rescue of her sister, mainly the RAF, Royal Navy, RFA and the Governor of the Falklands. Their kindness, help and professionalism was much appreciated.

C.Parker

Thanks for the Memories……

Ascension is a strange Island; 42 volcanoes scattered around 30 odd square miles of dust, rock and ash. It is also amazingly beautiful. However much one enjoys its solitary beauty, there is one aspect of the Island that cannot be appreciated from afar, and that is the friendship and spirit of its people.

Living on Ascension has been an immense privilege. We have had the chance join in a community in a way that would be impossible in the UK, and have appreciated too the way in which we have been accepted by everyone we have met, particularly the Saints. The friendships we have made will remain with us for ever, and the kindness that you have all shown to Chris, I, and the girls will always be part of our treasured memories.

Not unnaturally as we approach the end of nearly fifteen years of life on "The Rock" we have reflected on the past years, their joys and their upsets. Like everyone else here, the past years have contained many happy times, and a few not so happy times. Without doubt the not so happy times would have been far worse, if we had not been surrounded by such a wonderful community.

As much as we want to leave to start a new life in the UK, there is also sadness, as we also realise that we are leaving behind many friends, some of whom we will see again, others maybe not. It would be unfair to highlight individuals in a farewell note after all these years, so we will just say a fond thank you and farewell to you all, and a special thank you to those to whom we have been closest - you know who you are.

Now comes the hardest part of the tour, saying goodbye. Good luck to you all in the future, long may the good times continue. Hopefully one day we just might see you again.

Goodbye and thanks for the memories.

With best wishes
Chris, Graham, Kelly and Katie.

Letter to the Editor
Bobby Robertson in Saint Helena Writes . . . . . . . . .

Dear Sir,
This letter is to let those Saints on Ascension know that the fight against taxation of off-shore people here goes on and will go on until the idea is forgotten. Do not be fooled also by the suggestion of limited amounts. There are some here who would be quite content to bring you guys and girls down to their earning levels. I am still putting every effort into organising support for the idea. The Saints on Ascension can help in this area by writing to the different councillors and asking them where they stand on the matter. A commitment now from them will halt in its tracks any future move in this direction.

Our economy here benefits from off-shore workers. There would be many more cases of hardship for the Social Services to face without the funds to families that you send home. Conditions on the Island here are bad enough as they are. I shudder to think what conditions here would be like if all the off-shore workers came home at once. I do not think we would cope. In fact I doubt if we could. It is essential to our economy, fragile as it is, that you guys stay where you are, earning what you do and creating a kind of prosperity here for us. For example, I doubt if any building would take place if you guys stopped investing in the island. That would have a knock on effect that would cripple us really bad.

So, you guys, fairly far from home, dig in there and yield nothing in the way of taxation. Support here is growing and in the next week or so I am going to try and get Constituency support for the cause. I went round the Councillors here yesterday and canvassed them on their thoughts about off- shore taxation. The results were nine councillors against the idea, one for the idea and two don't knows. Get your relatives here to get the councillors here to publicly commit themselves to the idea of NO OFF-SHORE TAXATION.

Regards
Bobby Robertson.

CSR 10th ANNIVERSARY

CSR celebrated its tenth anniversary at the Volcano Club last Saturday with drinks, good food, good music and with good friends both on and off Base. Over 600 personnel and island friends helped us celebrate our decade of service to our Air Force Client and our good relationship with our Ascension friends.

CSR is a Joint venture between Computer Sciences Corporation and Raytheon and was formed in 1987. They put together a proposal and bid on the Eastern Range Center Technical Contract, which Pan Am and RCA had retained for over thirty years. Needless to say, CSR was successful in winning the contract and started our partnership with the United States Air Force on Ascension in October 1988. In 1993, we were again successful in winning the 45th Range Technical Contract for another six-year term. We are presently in our last year of this contract and we are actively working towards being successful in the next contract period.

Again, to all of our friends that helped us celebrate this milestone, "Thank You" for your support and we will see you all at our 15th Anniversary Party.

NEWS FROM ASCENSION AUXILIARY AIRFIELD
By Maj Jeff Lowdermilk

We recently had a team on base to test our new fire alarm systems in 10 of our dormitories. This was to upgrade our antiquated systems in these facilities, provide better fire protection for residents, and reduce the almost daily occurrence of false alarms. The testing was accomplished very successfully with the cooperation of dormitory residents, our construction inspector, and Fire/Security. Additionally, the on-going dormitory construction project to modify five of our dormitories will have this same new system installed during the construction. In conclusion, please treat all alarms on the US base seriously as none of us wants to see someone injured due to complacency.
I would like to publicly recognize the professional efforts of the American Legion Post on the US base. This group is quite modest, but their efforts have been monumental in the local community for many years. This group of military veterans numbers about 70 members and is headed by very sound leadership with Mr Don Powell as the Post President. Aside from picking up litter along Queen's Highway, they have contributed funds to Two Boats School for computers, St Mary's Church, St Helena Hospital, St Helena Children's Orchestra, Ascension Scouts and Guides, and several charities in the US to include the National Emergency Relief Fund. Additionally, they have purchased new football nets for the Georgetown Football Field. I salute all American Legion Post members for their sincere dedication to a multitude of worthy causes.

The double elimination softball knockout tournament at Moon Valley Stadium continues. The results since my last article are as follows:

Wednesday, 11 November	Monday, 16 November	Monday, 23 November
Bad Boyz	24		Fire/Security	26	Scheduled for 1730 hours	
A-Team	10		A-Team	21	

Friday, 13 November	Wednesday, 18 November	Wednesday, 25 November	
Georgetown	17	Georgetown		Final Game(s)
Admin		16	Bad Boyz		Scheduled for 1730 hours
			Scheduled for 1730 hours Awards Presentation

Monday, 16 November	Friday, 20 November	
Admin		33	Fire/Security	
Bulldogs	9	Admin	
			Scheduled for 1730 hours

On 17 November, the US base entertained six VIPs. These individuals included Colonel Byron Evans (45th Logistics Group Commander), Colonel J. Carlton Tickel (Headquarters Air Force Space Command Director of Civil Engineering), Lieutenant Colonel Mike Coolidge (Space & Systems Missile Center Detachment 8 Commander), Lieutenant Colonel John Morrill (45th Civil Engineering Squadron Commander), Lieutenant Lateef Hynson (Executive Officer to the 45th Logistics Group Commander), and Chief Master Sergeant Paul Zima (45th Space Wing Command Chief Master Sergeant). Unfortunately, Brigadier General Randy Starbuck could not visit Ascension as he was tasked for another unanticipated trip. With exception to Colonel Evans, none of this group had previously traveled to the island. This group was given an orientation visit to Ascension Auxiliary Airfield and exposed to a number of operational issues. I would like to thank everyone who made this visit a resounding success.

Major Jeff Lowdermilk

ASCENSION PREMIERSHIP 1998/99.
By Crocky

Results - Tables - Fixtures - News

Results:
Sat 14 Nov	Bellboys	2	Two Boats Rowdies	1
5pm		D Plato, A Thomas 	D Henry
		Referee: M Cranfield	Man of the Match: A Crowley (Bellboys)
		Booked: A Williams

Sun 15 Nov	Travellers	2		Harts	2
3pm		A Piesse, T Reynolds		A Bennett (2)
		Referee: P Crake		Man of the Match: A Bennett (Harts)

Sun 15 Nov	Rangers	4			Roustabouts	2
5pm		O.G., Freddy Maggott, 		T Leo (2)
		K Bennett(2)			Man of the Match: P Robinson (Rangers)
		Referee: M Moyce		

SHARP DRESSED BELLBOYS RISE TO THE TOP

Bellboys took the top spot this week by beating Two Boats Rowdies 2 - 1. Both teams were excellently turned out in new kits, Bellboys in white & red and Rowdies in yellow & green. After Dale Plato had put the Bellboys ahead early in the 1st half Rowdies must have thought they had earned a point when they equalised with about 10 minutes to go. However, with time almost up Andre Thomas scored his 3rd goal of the season to clinch all 3 points and take Bellboys to the top of the table.
'Net Buster Bennett' tried to keep Harts on top by scoring yet again this week, but Harts were only able to secure a 2-2 draw with Travellers, dropping them to 2nd place. Harts were hoping the win was in sight when Simon Williams saved Timmy Reynold's penalty, only to be disappointed when Timmy put the rebound past the Harts goalkeeper.
Rangers opened their scoring account this week with a 4-2 win over Roustabouts. At one point the game was finely balanced at 2 all but then Kurt Bennett had his say with 2 goals to seal the victory for Rangers.
Consolation for 'Net Buster Bennett' as he remains top of the Hot shot table with a goalscoring average of 5 goals per game. Other consistent goalscorers include A Thomas (Bboys), D Henry (TBR), A Piesse, and T Reynolds (Travellers).

Premiership Hot Shots

10 Anthony Bennett (Harts) - 4 C Young (T/B Rowdies) - 3 T Leo (Roustabouts), S Henry (Harts), D Yon (T/B Rowdies), A Piesse (Travellers), A Thomas (B/boys) - 2 N Thomas (G/town), T Reynolds (Travellers), D Henry (T/B Rowdies), K Bennett (Rangers) - 9 players on 1 goal each.

Fixtures:	Sat 21 Nov: 5pm - Travellers v Roustabouts
		Sun 22 Nov: 3pm - Harts v Two Boats Rowdies	5pm - Georgetown v Rangers

Travellers vs Roustabouts on Saturday. Can Travellers make it third time lucky for a win or continue their trend of all draws? Harts take on Two Boats Rowdies this weekend as they attempt to put themselves back on top with a win. Or will TBR prove that last weeks loss against Bellboys was just a momentary lapse of concentration?
Sunday will also see current Champions Georgetown return after a 3 week break. Are they ready to move up the table or will the break leave them rusty in the midst of the fast paced action? Be at Georgetown Stadium this weekend when battle commences!

Referees:

We now have a set of linesman flags, a whistle, referees book and red & yellow cards. This will be kept at the Cable & Wireless main office in Georgetown. If you are officiating for a game the equipment can be collected from the duty operator and should be returned immediately afterwards

 

Thankyou:

Thanks to Cable & Wireless for allowing us to keep the referees equipment at their office and to Glen Smith for obtaining the rule book.

Last updated: 21/11/98 All articles © copyright 1998 The Islander Newspaper. All rights reserved.

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