Our visit to Phillip Island - San Remo Rotary Club

Last week Terry and I and 5 (non-Rotarian!) friends had our three nights at Ocean View Beach House from the Chaplaincy Auction last November. We were pleasantly surprised at the accommodation and the configuration suited us perfectly.
On our first night we descended on the PIs and San Remo Rotary Club, (they knew we were coming!) We were greeted warmly and had a very pleasant meal and evening. Our guests Jim won the bottle of red and Helen won the bottle of white!
Stevie Guilmartin, a very enthusiastic Rotarian, has recently been to Tibet with a group of non Rotarians and they erected solar panels on the roof of an orphanage. As this place gets a heap of snow in winter, my question was, “How do the panels work when covered in snow?!”
Unfortunately all members of their group suffered from altitude sickness in varying degrees, (no wonder at over 4000m!) but all made a significant contribution to the health and well-being of these lads.
Phillip Is.-  San Remo is a small club, but very hardworking. Soon they will be staging their Ball, and they also run a very successful Art and Photographic Show. And the Channel Challenge!
The Channel Challenge, now in its 27th year, is Victoria's premier biathlon event starting with a 550 metre swim out from the picturesque fishing village of San Remo across to Newhaven, on Phillip Island.
The swim must be completed in the 15 minutes of slack high tide across the Channel, followed by a two kilometre run from Newhaven back across the iconic bridge to the San Remo Hotel.
The event itself is the centrepiece of a day-long festival based on the San Remo foreshore and includes an arts & crafts market, carnival for the kids, animal nursery, food stalls, tug-of-war competition, fashion parade and many other activities.
It is conducted by the Woolamai Beach Surf Lifesaving Club and is a major fundraiser. Rotary runs the excellent market. The lifesavers provide excellent safety for the swimmers and are there ready if a swimmer is in trouble or just needs some reassurance.