The president of PAHS was please to be one of the people at a "brunch" in Placentia on August 5th. to welcome a group of Basque people here on a sailboat, the "Pakea Bizkaia."

Hosted by the town the sailors also visited Castle Hill  National Historic Site and the O'Reilly House Museum where they saw evidence of early vists by the Basque. They also took part in celebrations going on at this time. The boat they are sailing is part of a project  to promote environmental care, encourage education in values, popularize sailing and use it as a teaching tool, build a relationship with other cultures, and promote Bizkaia to the world. Bizkaia is a small province in the North of the Iberian Peninsula.

The crew on this 20 meter long sailboat each specialize in a different area such as: health, education, kitchen area, maintenance, etc. They are visiting Newfoundland because of its long history with the Basque.  The first Basque were in Placentia back in the 1500s.