Introduction from Islander

[islander]

Hello
Just to introduce myself - I live overseas - you will probably have to get out your atlas to find me. Ascension Island is the place; 8 degrees south of the equator, although I was born on St Helena Island, some 700 miles south. Had to come here to work and kinda stayed longer than anticipated. I have joined your club, as it looks to be the most informative one around. I haven't got a Delica yet but having read so many good reviews on it I have decided that this is the vehicle for me and for the terrain on Ascension. Am in the process of buying one from Japan, a Sporty looking Chamonix and shipping it to here via the UK; probably take 3 months to get here!!! By the way, I have visited Canada several times, absolutely love the country and normally visit my wife's family in Red Deer, Alberta. Now, I would be really shocked if some member says that they have been to Ascension...........

[marsgal42]

Welcome!

Never been to Ascension Island, but I know where it is, and have toyed with a really-off-the-beaten-track vacation some time. The shortlist includes the Falklands, Tahiti, and, yes, Ascension Island.

[The Pinkfingers]

Welcome. Having just looked up Ascension Island, I can confirm that I have never been there. Nor has my wife. What keeps you there? More work or fun?

Marsgal - would you really call Tahiti a vacation "off the beaten path"?

[mararmeisto]

That's actually a part of the Seven Seas I've not sailed (never been south of the Equator in the Atlantic). Closest I've been would be Aruba.

Judging from the map, that's practically the middle of nowhere - literally!

Welcome to the group. You seem to be determined to own one of these vehicles to have one brought to your island. I'd have to echo the previous question: what do you do on Ascension Island? What is there to do? Something with the RAF? BBC? ESA? (Ya, I looked it up on wikipedia and Ascension Island, Welcome.

[JMK]

Wow, who wouldn't want to go there:

Despite the unfavourable sea conditions, 11 teams took part in the Two Boats Club Rock Fishing Competition and provided enough grouper and eel for a delicious Fish Fry in the evening.

Congratulations to following winners:

Largest Eel
1st Place Ivan Thomas 11lb
2nd Place Darren Roberts 9 ¼ lb

Largest Grouper
1st Place Mark Greentree 8 ½ lb
2nd Place Krystal Clifford 6 ¾ lb

Heaviest Fillets
1st Place Errol Herne, Lionel Bo and Krystal Clifford 12 ¼ lb
2nd Place David Peters, Tich Fowler and Jeff Francis 6 ¼ lb

Special thank you to Jeff Francis and Cyril Leo for doing the weigh-in, Dutch, Lionel Bo and Richard Baker, for preparing a scrumptious Fish Fry and to Pamela Roberts for presenting the Trophies.

[islander]

For those who enquired about what I am doing on Ascension, I work at the BBC Atlantic Relay Station. Ascension is only 35 sq miles and is largely a Communications and turtle base. (Turtles come here from Brazil to lay their eggs on the beaches, some feat if you look at a map and try to figure how they navigate to this little dot withour GPS). It is conveniently placed to broadcast SW to South America and Africa; my wife, Sue, is a Communications Engineer responsible for making sure everything works - she works shifts and I am thinking that when we get our Delica I can go off into the wilds with the kids who love the outdoors (she does not particurarly like camping). Ascension is really barren and moonscape - in fact NASA used this place to monitor it's moon missions back in the 60s/70s and the first message from the moon was said to be intercepted here. There are those sceptics who I think that the whole moonlanding thing was engineered her; Neil Armstrong was actually bouncing up and down on Ascension, ushering those famous words "the eagle has landed" and looking around the place you tend to think that this is very possible. Anyway, I am deviating from the main subject of the Delica, but until it gets here you will appreciate that there is little else I can write about.

[konadog]

Looking forward to pictures of your delica bouncing up and down on the moon...

[BCDelica]

Welcome and congrats on the Delica, like everyone else can't wait to see pictures of your Delica on your home turf! On Google earth there even appears to be many craters north of the airport!?

Grew up on a small Island, 49°32'1.51"N and 124°46'9.93"W, and as a teenager felt it was the most isolated spot to spend adolescence (was wrong BTW, and wouldn't change anything now of course).

Cheers,
Kevin

[Erebus]

Now, I would be really shocked if some member says that they have been to Ascension...........

Can't say that, although I would love to visit. Closest I've come is phoning the BBC station on St Helena during a shortwave contest about 15 years ago. Had to laugh -- it took fewer digits to dial the BBC studio in the middle of the South Atlantic than it did to call long distance within Canada.

I also enjoyed writing the address on the QSL card request:
BBC radio
St Helena Island
South Atlantic Ocean.

Welcome to the club!

Would it not be easier to ship your Delica to South Africa and have it come north on the supply ship rather than south from the UK?