Bill Haskell Reports on our December 6th Meeting

We are moving rapidly down the track towards the beginning of our week of intense competion on the 17th of March.   The home hosting situation is being resolved, we just have to sort out the smokers from the non-smokers, the pet lovers from those who develop all sorts of allergies and various other matters.

Arrangements for the Opening Ceremony at the Soldiers Point Bowling Club are firming up, the Sailing Programme is being finalised and the team numbers are just about all confirmed.

Several local craft are being "requisitioned" for the spectator fleet and the starters boat and crew are nearing finalisation.

I would like to wish all who will be involved in this event a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Bill Haskell Reports on our Meeting held Tuesday 4th October

We had a meeting of our Pacrim Committee here yesterday and discussed some of the following matters.   One was that we felt that we should notify our overseas visitors that it will be quite warm here in March.    The average temperature will be around 24 degrees Celsius. (75 degrees Fahrenheit)   Probably the best idea would be to have a look at our Bureau of Meteorology monthly climate summary HERE  http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/month/aus/archive/

We are at the other end of the world to some of you and our March can be a lot different to yours!

Just to give you an idea of Australia, have a look HERE

When you come back to this page, HERE is a real look at our country.    (Day trips to Alice Springs are simply not on!)  We are a very large country.     Most of our population lives around the coast.   Sydney is our largest city.    Our seat of government is in Canberra which is inland about halfway between Sydney and Canberra.

We are all really looking forward to having you here as our guests and also learning something about the countries that you come from.

We are busy arranging home share accommodation for all of you who need it, please let us know your requirements as soon as you can so that there are no last minute hiccups.

We must remind you all that entrance fees must be paid by the end of November.

Be sure to have a look at our Yacht Club Site  HERE

There are a couple of videos on this site featuring Hood 23's and Etchells.   HERE

The following may give you more of an insight to our great country!

These were posted on an Australian Tourism Website and the answers are the actual responses by the website officials, who obviously have a great sense of humour!
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Q: Does it ever get windy in Australia ? I have never seen it rain on TV, how do the plants grow? (UK).
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.
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Q: Will I be able to see kangaroos in the street? (USA)
A:Depends how much you've been drinking.
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Q:I want to walk from Perth to Sydney - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it's only three thousand miles, take lots of water.
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Q:Can you give me some information about hippo racing in Australia ? (USA)
A: A-Fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe.
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific which does not
... Oh forget it. Sure, the hippo racing is every Tuesday night in Kings Cross. Come naked.
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Q:Which direction is North in Australia ? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 180 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we'll send the rest of the directions.
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Q: Can I bring cutlery into Australia ? (UK)
A:Why? Just use your fingers like we do...
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Q:Can you send me the Vienna Boys' Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is  
Oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Kings Cross, straight after the hippo races. Come naked.
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Q: Can I wear high heels in Australia ? (UK)
A: You are a British politician, right?
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Q:Are there supermarkets in Sydney and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
A: No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter/gatherers.
Milk is illegal.
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Q:Please send a list of all doctors in Australia who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca which is where YOU come from.
All Australian snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.
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Q:I have a question about a famous animal in Australia, but I forget its name. It's a kind of bear and lives in trees. (USA)
A: It's called a Drop Bear. They are so called because they drop out of Gum trees and eat the brains of anyone walking underneath them.
You can scare them off by spraying yourself with human urine before you go out walking.
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Q:I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in Australia ? (USA)
A: Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.
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Q:Do you celebrate Christmas in Australia ? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.
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Q: Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you'll have to learn it first

Meeting 6th September, Bill Haskell Reports!

We conducted our usual monthly meeting of the Pacrim Committee yesterday morning with a full complement of members present.   

Matters discussed were as follows:

News of the day was that the the Russians are coming!!!  We have now created a good line of communication and indications are that there will be a full complement of crews and supporters.

Arrangements for home hosting are well under way and we have had a good number of expressions of interest from people prepared to accommodate our visitors.       As noted earlier, we will be able to home host 20 sailors and supporters from each country, numbers over this amount will have to utilise paid accommodation but rates in this area at this time are very reasonable.    We have a link to several holiday accommodation providers HERE.

The main venue for the sailing and most of the social events will be Soldiers Point so make sure that you mention this when discussing your accommodation with these firms.

A very good spot is the Soldiers Point Holiday Park which is adjacent to the Port Stephens Yacht Club and has several very well appointed cabins on site, have a look at their website HERE.

If you would prefer hotel style accommodation, the Salamander Shores Resort Hotel is only about 2 kms away from our Club   Website HERE

Just to give you an idea of how the programme will run, here is a very brief summary of the week:

Friday and Saturday 16th and 17th March    Participants arrive and meet their Hosts.

Saturday 17th     Welcome night at the Soldiers Point Bowling Club

Sunday 18th    Briefing and racing

Monday and Tuesday    Racing

Wednesday...Coach trip to the Hunter Valley and Vineyards

Thursday and Friday    Racing

Saturday       Farewell night at the Salamander Shores Resort Hotel.

Costs of attending all of these events is included in your $250 entry fee.
Extra attendees will be required to pay to attend social activities such as the opening and closing ceremonies and other events that they may choose to attend.   These costs will be ascertained shortly and published.   They will be very reasonable.

Some of the extra events and attractions that we will be recommending will be helicopter flights over our area, wine country tours, harbour trips to the northern shore, and many other activities that we, as residents, really enjoy.  

Links to some of these events are HERE

There will be spectator boats available so that supporters can follow some of the racing.

We are well under way now to making sure that you have the experience of a lifetime here with us at Port Stephens.

If you have any questions to ask, please use the email link HERE.

Bill Haskell is the Chairman of the PSYC Pacrim Committee

UPDATE AUGUST 9 2011

We had a meeting of our Committee this morning (Tuesday August 9th)..   Some of the matters discussed were as follows:

We have had definite acceptances from Tauranga (NZ), Bellingham (USA), Tatayama (Japan) and Canada.   We have not had a definite indication as to whether the team from Russia will be attending but we hope to hear from them very soon.   We will need to as we only have about 30 weeks until the big event!

Some countries have indicated that there may be more than 20 people coming from their regions.   We will be able to home host 20 but will be hard pressed to provide free accommodation for greater numbers than this.

So, we will shortly be posting details of some of the available paid accommodation for the overflow.  At this time of the year, holiday accommodation here is very reasonable.

Whilst on the time of the year.    The autumn is a very busy time on our waterway.  We have the Port Stephens Game Fishing Competition running for a couple of weeks from the end of February, if you are interested, here is a link to their site.   HERE

Following on from the Pacrim Regatta we have the Sail Port Stephens Regatta which is fast becoming a major event in the Australian yachting scene.  Details HERE

We must all remember that the deadline for entries is the 31st of October 2011, only 11 weeks away!

Our major sponsor the Port Stephens Shire Council is contributing quite a large sum towards the running costs of this regatta and our thanks are extended to them.   They have been a contributer to the Sister Cities movement since its inception.  For more info look HERE

We now have a page which will enable you to email us direct from this site if you have any questions to ask or other communications which you will find HERE

There is also a new page with details of the members of our committee HERE, complete with photos so that you will know who is who when you arrive.

 End July 2011

This is his article published in our Quarterly Magazine, the Quadrant in June this year.   Bill will update this page to enable you all to keep up with events as they eventuate.   We have to realise that March 2012 will be upon us before we realise it!!!!