Ground Zero Weekender '07

ASI Casper

24, 25 & 26 August. £65.
Huge well-developed woodland site. There is an onsite bar.

http://www.groundzeroweekender.co.uk/

Location is green placemark on this link


Some are already planning on making the trip across

Any of you guys going?

liamo333

Ooh sounds like fun:)

CrazyRabbit

Quick NOIP, start a list!

I'll have to think about it. It's not exactly nearby or easy to get to.

gandalf

Had I not committed to the people photography exhibition on Stephens Green that weekend I would have been tempted.

The Master

Private portaloo hire!!:eek:
Im sold

liamo333

We should organise a 'boards.ie' team. Noip where is that list????

o1s1n

.

kdouglas

sounds good, but ill just be back from interrailing so cant really ask for more time off work, looks like it's gonna be a great weekend though

liamo333

:eek: gonna cost around 270 for everything :eek:

liamo333

Take a look at some of the videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20pknDpg1G4

Shiva

I'd love to do something like that....in fact it occurred to me awhile back that it would be worth getting a few friends, loading up a car and grabbing a ferry to the UK and trying out a couple of airsoft sites over there.

The only thing that'd bother me would be filling up the car with airsoft guns and having them seized by a customs officer or guard here who may not realise they're legal, or indeed who'd just seize them to have them tested.

Dunno what the chances are of that happening, but it'd be my only concern.

ASI Casper

Many airsofters have travelled across before by ferry. Both from Belfast and Dublin. With no problems.
It's perfectly possibly to fly too. You just need to follow the proper procedures and make sure you arrive at the airport nice and early to check-in.

Ryanair even have flights to Bournemouth from Dublin. Although, Ryanair apparently have a 'no replicas' policy. So you'd need to get someone to take yours over or else post them out and back again or something.

o1s1n

Shiva wrote:

The only thing that'd would bother me would be filling up the car with airsoft guns and having them seized by a customs officer of guard here who may not realise they're legal, or indeed who'd just seize them to have them tested.

Dunno what the chances are of that happening, but it'd be my only concern.

I know what you mean. I feel the same way whenever I'm transporting airsoft guns anywhere. Nevermind the UK.

Still though, would love to go.

Shiva

ASI Casper wrote:

Many airsofters have travelled across before by ferry. Both from Belfast and Dublin. With no problems.
It's perfectly possibly to fly too. You just need to follow the proper procedures and make sure you arrive at the airport nice and early to check-in.

I might actually give customs, and probably Stena or Irish ferries a call and see what the situation would be. I'd love to go to something like that - and the missus is going on a shopping holiday with her girlfriends for 3 days in October, so she owes me one

CrazyRabbit

o1s1n wrote:

deleted

Erm...some people might misunderstand your post and believe you are stating the legal limits for airsoft guns in Ireland.

o1s1n

Never thought of that. Good point. Gone.

CrazyRabbit

o1s1n wrote:

Never thought of that. Good point. Gone.

Have to keep you on your toes.

And congrats on 3000 posts...if you are keeping count.

o1s1n

CrazyRabbit wrote:

And congrats on 3000 posts...if you are keeping count.

That would be the result of my girlfriend going away and me not knowing what to do with myself...that and giving out to you

liamo333

So whos going or wants to go?

Lemming

Damn that looks good ... and possibly something I might be able to get to - mind you I've yet to fire a shot at someone, so first things first ... must await the postie from both Scotland and Hong Kong

Would be sweet if I actually got an Inokatsu M60 before going to that event

Must resist urge to click "pay by credit card" ..... the guts of 1500 yoyo

On note of more practical matters ... what airlines actually allow airsoft kit?

liamo333

You can get the HSS for 60 return on foot. It would be alot less hassle than a plane.

Lemming

liamo333 wrote:

You can get the HSS for 60 return on foot. It would be alot less hassle than a plane.

Mind you I don't fancy walking the rest of the way :-p

CrazyRabbit

Lemming wrote:

Mind you I don't fancy walking the rest of the way :-p

Get a taxi.

liamo333

CrazyRabbit wrote:

Get a taxi.

No, get a mini bus.

Lemming

Or drive .. but chances of me getting my own set of wheels before August are a bit slim.

Interestingly enough, Aer Lingus do allow firearms checked in - Ryanair are too cheap to train their ground-staff evidently to not p*ss themselves at the first sign of something that looks real.

But mini-bus is probably the handiest number, unless there's a few people heading with wheels that are willing to take passenegers too (chipping in on costs of course)

CrazyRabbit

liamo333 wrote:

No, get a mini bus.

Skateboard, with mounted AEG.

liamo333

CrazyRabbit wrote:

Skateboard, with mounted AEG.

And shoot behind you for propulsion:D

Lemming

Flybe.com fly from Dublin into Southampton airport and seem to have a reasonable policy on anything resembling a firearm (yes we're not talking about firearms but lets not get pedantic .. you all know what I mean).

They're pretty cheap too last time I flew into southampton.

liamo333

good prices:D There and back for E16:D

ED E

Hmmm..that sounds cool....would go if we could get a gang going...Na Taibhse?

Lemming

I'm bumping this because it's the 8th of July.

I'll need to take a look at what's involved in driving down to Ground-Zero (considering it's not my car and I'm borrowing it and would be driving it to another country), so there's a possibility of loading up kit for a few people and driving over whilst they fly or something. Or could see about sorting a coach-trip.

As I posted earlier in the thread, flybe.com have a decent policy for this sort of thing as well, and they fly into quite a few southern English airports.

If the mods are up for it, I'd like to get a thread on Ground-Zero, plus information on travel to/from and a list of those interested in going.

Lemming

I've compiled a list of ferry prices (for 2x adult + car) and google map routes, and I'll be sorting airline stuff shortly too. When I'm done I'll post it all up so people can see what's what.

Can anyone give me numbers of decent coach-hire places, so I can enquire from that end as well?

kdouglas

fair play Lemming, not sure yet if i will be going, would love to go though

Lemming

Okkayyyy .... here's all the information I have so far, with prices subject to change (obviously).

I've got 'H' from Ground-Zero getting back to me tomorrow with quotes on taxis/mini-buses locally that can pick peoeple up from either Bournemouth or Southampton airports.

I also need to get a coach-hire quote from our end, although I imagine that may not be terribly cheap ....

Ground Zero Information:

Location: Somerley Estate, Ringwood, Hampshire (See Map, taken from Google Maps)


Start: 16.00, Friday 24th August
Finish: 15.30 (approx), Sunday 26th August

Campsite & Venue is open en-masse at mid-day on Friday, with exceptions being made for people travelling long distance who might be travelling up the day before or some such.

Pretty much anything is permitted camping wise, except open fires or anything that will burn the ground of the estates such as fire-bins. Such thigns are allowed once they're put on blocks or something to sit off the ground. The lads seem fairly flexible about what goes and what doesn't, but a heavy dose of common sense would be order of the day I expect.


Ferry travel:

Both ferries listed are of the fast-boat variety to keep travel time to a minimum where possible. I've also listed ferry travel as including thursday 23rd and Monday 27th for round-trip purposes. It's not a trip from Dublin to Cork in the car ...

Also, prices are listed as 2 adults in a 'standard' car 3/5 door car. I think it'd be better to have someone riding shotgun to navigate and keep the driver accompanied since it's both a long trip and in case something happens.

navigation guide: Holyhead to Ringwood (Google Maps)

StenaLine: €360.00

Thursday 23rd August - Dun Laoghaire to Holyhead, Depart: 11.10, Arrive: 12.49
Monday 27th August - Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire, Depart: 15.30, Arrive: 17.09

Irish Ferries: €349.00

Thursday 23rd August - Dublin Port to Holyhead, Depart: 8.45, Arrive: 10.34
Monday 27th August - Holyhead to Dublin Port, Depart: 17.15 Arrive: 19.04


Airline travel:

I've excluded Ryanair, despite flying into Bournemouth airport which is the closest possible since their return flight on Sunday is early in the morning meaning that anyone flying via Ryanair wouild miss the last day of the event. They also have zero-tolerance rules regarding firearms or replicas etc. which they would lump Airsoft under, so anyone wanting to bring stuff with them would be stuffed.

All of the listed airlines do permit items such as AEGs be carried, although they'll be treated as firearms (I couldn't find anything explicit on this, but it's about the only terms and conditions I could find that was relevant) and will require a secure transport box and ammo transported seperately. They also require prior contact before reserving your tickets.

All prices exclude landing charges, etc.

Flybe: (Dublin - Southampton)
Friday 24th August - Depart: 08.55, Arrive: 10.20 - €36.64
Sunday 24th August - Depart: 18.55, Arrive: 20.15 - €8.33

AerLingus: (Dublin - London Heathrow)
Friday 24th August - Depart: 08.50, Arrive: 10.15 - €19.00
Sunday 24th August - Depart: 20.10, Arrive: 21.25 - €29.00

BMI: (Dublin - London Heathrow)
Friday 24th August - Depart: 09.05, Arrive: 10.25 - €59.00
Sunday 24th August - Depart: 19.45, Arrive: 21.05 - €68.00
Sunday 24th August - Depart: 22.05, Arrive: 23.20 - €44.00


It looks like you can get coaches easy enough to Bournemouth, at about £20 each way, although not the only option

Transport from London Heathrow to Bournemouth/Southampton/South
LondonToolkit Transport guide

Lemming

I'll update the above when I get more information back from the lads at Ground Zero.

My thinking, given the hassle that air-travel of AEGs will incur, is to either sort out coach-travel from Dublin, or else to get a car or two to load up ONLY the AEGs/GBBs/etc. and whatever camping equipment might be best carried in a car, along with the kit of the people in the car obviously. Everyone else would then bring the rest of whatever it is they're bringing with them and fly into Southampton where transport could be arranged to do a mass pick-up.

Fallschirmjager

just saw over 400 people are going from all over the UK...jeeze that would be a blast...also if you are going early, i can heartily recommend the Bovington Tank Museum near Bournemouth...it is a truly great way of burning off time...everything from ww1, tons of ww2 stuff (a working tiger tank!) to stuff right up until today...

are any of the teams from North or South going??

Lemming

Fallschirmjager wrote:

just saw over 400 people are going from all over the UK...jeeze that would be a blast...also if you are going early, i can heartily recommend the Bovington Tank Museum near Bournemouth...it is a truly great way of burning off time...everything from ww1, tons of ww2 stuff (a working tiger tank!) to stuff right up until today...

are any of the teams from North or South going??

I think the Northies have a few folk going from the ASI forum thread regarding Ground-Zero. Dunno about anyone from the Republic though, hence me making that rather large post to beat the war-drum (in case you can't tell I'm rather keen on going).

NakedDex

I've been dying to go to this since I read about it orginally but alas I left booking the time off until too late. My most hated co-worker and my boss both have a week off that week which procludes me from booking it. That is unless they were to meet with an unfortunate accident. Dare I live the dream...

liamo333

NakedDex wrote:

That is unless they were to meet with an unfortunate accident. Dare I live the dream...

That can be arranged for a small fee. PM me:D














(I was joking BTW)

NakedDex

So I'm not allowed PM you???





<cries>

Lemming

Ok, I've a sticky here for sign-ups and general information only. Any discussion of Ground Zero can be done in this thread.

So get signing up folk .. come on you *KNOW* you want to!

NakedDex

Closing date for apps? I'm trying to get time off to get to this but it's not too forthcoming. I may not know for a couple of weeks. It may also come to the situation where I will have to quit in order to make it, which I'm almost willing to do

Lemming

There's no closing date as such, unless you plan on pre-booking for Ground-Zero itself, in which case - August 1st is the closing date. Obviously, sorting your transport as quickly as possible is in your own best interest given that airfares and ferry trips tend to be cheapest when booked a while in advance.

I'm not organising & paying for people's flights or what-not; That I leave to them. I'm just trying to get as many people together as is possible so that we can plan movement of AEGs and the like as needed.

I'm looking at coaches (either from Dublin, or as pick-up from airports in the UK) and the like in case people need them, but if I'm doing something like that, people need to confirm that they'll go. If someone says they'll go, I book something, and then they back out, regardless - they will owe money unless someone else will take their place.

The advantage to pre-booking for Ground-zero (besides not having to worry about the hassle of booking at the venue on the friday) means we can also get our own private group porta-loo. Given there'll be a good few hundred people at this thing, that's not a bad idea ...

gandalf

Sigh as I said to you I'd love to go but Operation Newgaff will be in full swing that week along with the fact that I've already signed up for the peoples photography exhibition that very weekend.

Lemming

*BUMP*

Sorry folks, trying to keep this alive and generating interest. Looks like there's a bit more movement on the ASI forums too.

Lemming

Nonex suggested calling ryan air about transport of airsoft kit, but alas, ryan-air were most vocal in blanket refusal, so please whatever you choose to do ...

DO NOT USE RYANAIR or else you'll be told to bugger off at check-in.

Flybe have an additional charge per locked case (all arms need transported in locked cases as well as ammo in seperate cases) which is £17 per flight, so not the cheapest but not a ryanair number either.

You will need to ring them after making your reservation to let them know so they can add a note to your check-in information.

NakedDex

Ok I'm most certainly out now due to work. However, BMIbaby should allow flights with arms in the hold as opposed to lockups. They may insist that your cases be locked however. Give them a try.

Also, a warning, if you're bringing over GBB's, discharge all mags COMPLETELY first. They'll stop you from bringing gas cans but they won't realise there's a mini cannister in the mag so it's a safety issue that you'll have to be aware of. The last thing you want is to get your bags back and realise the valves have destroyed themselves mid flight.

ASI Casper

The valves can usually be unscrewed completely from most mags. Thereby completely removing any pressurisation worries.

Lemming

NakedDex wrote:

Ok I'm most certainly out now due to work. However, BMIbaby should allow flights with arms in the hold as opposed to lockups. They may insist that your cases be locked however. Give them a try.

Sorry, that's what Flybe stipulate; your kit should be in a secure case of some description, so they are going into the hold with the rest of the luggage, just locked so that baggage-boi doesn't get any funny ideas about having some "fun".

Also, a warning, if you're bringing over GBB's, discharge all mags COMPLETELY first. They'll stop you from bringing gas cans but they won't realise there's a mini cannister in the mag so it's a safety issue that you'll have to be aware of. The last thing you want is to get your bags back and realise the valves have destroyed themselves mid flight.

I was planning on picking up some gas over there anyway, but cheers for the info

Lemming

Right .. that's me booked in. Flights sorted, although I'm going to delay notifying flybe about the "special cargo" as long as possible so I can figure out a cheaper (safer) way of getting it over and back.

Holding off on making the booking for GZ as long as possible in case others decide they're interested (which to be honest is looking p*ss poor representation from the rep. of Ireland contingent)

Lemming

Well, pre-book closing date has been and gone and last check of the website puts pre-book numbers at 1012.

Yes ... over battalion-size numbers, with enough for at least two full companies per team.

You KNOW you do not want to miss this guys ...