With the consortium still looking for funding for their bid to build two new classic ships to carry 1,600 passengers from Southampton to Sydney (and vice versa), they are proposing a unique membership scheme to help them with short-term funds in order to be up and running by 2017.
Here's what they say:
"As
you know, we need to raise a considerable sum of money to realise this
dream; as directors of this project, we’ve sunk a bit of our own money
and a lot of time into preparing everything needed to get in front of
major investors but we need a bit more to create a “fighting fund” to
speed up the process and to cover some vital expenses. This is where you may be able to help us.
We
are thinking of creating an exclusive Club which we will call "The
Members' Scheme", available only to the first 500 people who apply, who,
for a one-off subscription fee of £99, receive the following benefits:
Before we secure investment to build the ships:
- Each member gets exclusive founder status with certificate and other merchandise
- Members will have access to a password protected exclusive section on the website with detailed insights on project progress
- Members will receive details of progress and all plans ahead of the general public and will be invited to comment on designs and ideas
- Members will have direct access to the directors of the project
- Members will receive an invitation to attend a special annual gala dinner, charged at cost, with relevant and important guests in attendance.
Once we have secured the investment, members will be able to:
- Visit the shipyard at a discounted price to view the ships and be shown around
- Benefit from a guaranteed ticket on each vessel’s maiden voyage at a discount of 5% in addition to any other benefits available
- Book further tickets in advance of the general public
- Receive an on board spend of £250 in addition to any other benefits available
- Enter an exclusive members’ Prize Draw to win 2 special “£10 Pom” tickets.
Joining
The Members' Scheme is something of an act of faith. However, by
becoming a founding member, your assistance and support will certainly
help us make our dream become an amazing reality. If we are
unsuccessful in obtaining the necessary investment to build the ships,
we will refund the balance of the unspent subscriptions raised through
The Members’ Scheme to each member equally on a pro rata basis. Note we
will only launch The Members' Scheme if we obtain take-up from a
minimum of 100 subscribers.
We look forward to hearing from you.
The Project Orient Team,
Asif Mashhadi, Mark Dugdale, Larry Sylvestre, Julian Tudsbery & Nigel Lingard
Well, that's their message, and you can help, contribute and become a Scheme Member by going to their website and registering your interest at www.sailtoaustralia.com.
We at World of Cruising know Nigel Lingard well from his days as managing director of Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, so people can be sure this is no fly-by-night organisation, and we are keen to support the venture and highlight the great opportunity involved (it is certainly WAY more realistic than Charles Palmer's rather ludicrous attempts to build Titanic II - the story of which has all gone very quiet recently!).
Editor Simon Veness started his cruising days on line voyages between Britain and South Africa in the late 1960s and 1970s, and will happily vouch for the fact it is a cruise experience very different from most today and one you will long treasure. So give Project Orient a look - we think you'll like it.
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