FINN(COM) DAILY RECORD: MONDAY, 06 SEPTEMBER 2004
Compiled by J. Brock (FINN)
INTERNET NEWS:
Two weeks later than planned, the Ozone Hole over Antarctica has opened up. The European Space Agency reports that though the hole usually opens in early to mid August, lasting until December, this year there was a significant delay.
FIBS NEWS DIRECT 06 SEPTEMBER 2004 (Sian Ferguson)
MARCH AND SHOOT VICTORY:
The Falkland Islands Defence Force were victorious in Friday’s March and Shoot exercise, beating 26 teams from MPA. I asked Team Captain Tom Blake (TB) about the win.
TB: We won the overall cup. On the march-time we were the quickest and we came third in the shoot. That gave us a big enough margin to win it overall.
SF: What was the March and Shoot about?
TB: Basically it was a 20K run with a shoot about half way and with weight of about 20lb. There were teams of four - a fairly basic thing.
SF: And, who were you against?
TB: There were 26 teams from MPA - a number of teams from the RIC and various other units at MPA.
SF: Were you pleased overall with the team’s efforts?
TB: Absolutely. We were expecting the RIC to be fitter than us. We knew it was going to be tough. Also, the route was marked out. There was no navigation involved and not much of a chance to use local knowledge for picking the best route. We are therefore very pleased to get the shortest march time. We are pleased with the shoot as well because they were shooting at 150 metres with X4 sight. We had a X1.5 sight.
SF: Joining Tom on the winning team were Major Peter Biggs and PTEs Craig Paice and Stuart Doyle. The course started over the east end of Pleasant Peak and ran through to the north side of Colorado Pond Range before teams made their way back.
FALKLANDS OIL PROSPECTS:
Several North American companies have expressed an interest in Falklands oil exploration, the Mineral Resources Committee heard this morning. Phil Richards of the British Geological Survey is to accompany Desire Petroleum on a marketing tour later this month to encourage more interest. The committee approved funding for the trip this morning. The tour comes after Desire Petroleum completed a 3-D seismic Survey of the North Falkland Basin, the preliminary results of which have been interpreted and are said to be encouraging. The trip for marketing the data will first go to Huston Texas, where around 8 companies have already expressed an interest and then move on to Canada where two other companies have enquired about oil prospects in the Falklands. Also at the meeting, Phyl Rendell gave an update on progress to the Geological guide to the Falklands that is being compiled at the moment. She said she hoped the book would be ready for print by Christmas and would provide good information for this year’s tourist season. So far, the book will consist of around 50 pages and will cost less than £10.00. Phil Stone from the British Geological Survey, Emma Edwards and Former BGS expert Don Elders have been working on the text and illustrations. Phyl said a draft copy would be brought to the committee before it goes to print, hopefully in the next month or two.
GUN AMNESTY A SUCCESS:
The month-long Royal Falkland Islands Gun amnesty came to an end last week. Sgt. Tom Whistler tells us the initiative was a great success, with a number of items being handed in. Both registered and unregistered firearms will now be destroyed.
HAPPY HOUR COULD BE A THING OF THE PAST:
Happy hour may be a hit in the Falklands but in the Island community of Guernsey politicians are calling for a complete ban on cut-price drinking sessions. Happy hours encourage binge drinking and it should be stopped. Meanwhile, here in the Falklands, Chef Medical Officer Dr. Roger Diggle (RD), spoke out at the last Health Committee meeting about the affects of drinking and smoking on health in the Falklands. I asked him whether he thinks happy hours should be banned here.
RD: The answer to that is quite complex. If there are no happy hours, people will obtain cheap alcohol. Here there is not a lot of evidence that happy hours are actually contributing to binge drinking. In the UK, there very definitely is. But there is no doubt that binge drinking is dangerous. Binge drinking is a problem here. We have not had any deaths but we have certainly had a number of young teenagers admitted to hospital, who have been really quite seriously ill for short periods of time.
SF: What measured do you think we can take to reduce this?
RD: The key thing is that people have got to understand the dangers of alcohol. And, that’s by education. You may be aware of the Health of the Nation paper that I wrote two or three years ago. From that was formed an alcohol strategy group. They produced a paper and part of that was looking at methods by which alcohol consumption could be moderated and made more sensible. Also, there’s a teenage health group as part of this and they identified heavy drinking as a significant problem. I think that primarily it’s a question of educating people at school age and it’s also a question of individuals when they see their friends consuming too much, having the courage to say to them to stop. I also think there is a responsibility on the publicans as well to ensure that people don’t drink too much.
Alcohol is safe for most people and the sad thing is it’s a proven medical fact that women are not able to tolerate as large a quantity of alcohol as men. What does concern me is the alcohol consumption in young women. In the Falklands it’s really quite significant. It’s been noticed in Europe, particularly in Britain that the incidents of cirrhosis of the liver and other alcohol related diseases in women aged 35 is really quite significant. That’s a worrying trend.
HARBOUR NEWS:
The Seabulk Condor arrived at FIPASS on Friday and left yesterday. The Valliant came into Stanley Harbour on Saturday for a crew change and left the same day. The Gambler arrived at FIPASS on Saturday and is due to stay until the end of the week, waiting for a reefer to tranship. The Gloria arrived in Berkley Sound on Sunday and left this morning, while the Sil came in on Sunday and left the same day. Catches of Loligo average 11 tonnes over the weekend with the highest catch of 18 tonnes. Average finfish catches are at 12.3 tonnes and the highest Red Cod catch was 38 tonnes. Catches of Blue whiting have been around 25 tonnes.
(100X Transcription Service)
