August 16, 2009

Day of the Cross Bay Walk






Well, what a day for it! The weather was very bad right up to and during the walk. For this reason Kev and Ian decided to not go out on the tractor, in fact we were not sure the walk would go ahead at one point. For those not familiar with Morecambe Bay conditions out there are very dangerous and there have been deaths on many occasions apart from the walks, hence the need for caution. Here is a report from one of the two stations we set up..GB2GSB at Arnside Knott.

We set off on time as planned for what promised to be an enjoyable day covering the 25th Anniversary of the Galloway's Society for the Blind Cross Bay Walk. We set off in sunshine but looking across the bay we could see this would not last long once we were in Cumbria. It started to rain not long after we arrived at Arnside Knott and changed our original plan of operating from the hillside in favour of an area that afforded us some shelter from the wind and rain. The team today consisted of Frank G8BME, Brian G0RDH and Steve G1TLQ, Gary M0RGB was hoping to join us later. Setting the 80m Dipole antenna up went well, and with the aid of Andrew G0LWU, who later went round to our other station GB4GSB at Kents Bank, things went smoothly after a minor adjustment to the dipole. Considering our location plans had changed we did well in scouting a location for the antenna and planning a safe and methodical way of getting the station on air. Our station consisted of a K2 Tranciever running 100w into an 80m dipole, and a zero noise floor that most amateurs can only dream about. It was a good call to operate from the car because a few bad weather fronts moved in but did not last long. 80m was very quiet considering this was the lighthouse and Lightship weekend and from contacts we made and listening around it soon became evident that overall conditions were poor with many stations suffering with QSB. Most of the stations worked were Lighthouse stations and despite the poor conditions we were able to make contact with stations around the UK. Early afternoon saw a break in the wx and we got to see some spectacular views from Arnside Knott that no other location could afford some of which have been included for you too see. 73 Brian G0RDH

August 02, 2009

Morecambe Cross Bay Walk Special Event Stations


Members of Sands Amateur Radio Contest Group will be operating a number of Special event Stations on Saturday 15th August to celebrate Galloways Society for the Blind "The 25th Anniversary of the Cross Bay Walk" led by Queens Guide Cedric Robinson MBE.

The walk generally takes around 3 hours and needs The Queens Guide to navigate between Arnside and Kents Bank safely because of the quicksands around the bay that have taken many lives over the years.

The first appointment was in 1536. Cedric is the 25th appointed Queen’s Guide to the Sands, Cedric a local fisherman has been leading the walks since 1963.


The callsigns to listen out for are:

GB2GSB located at Arnside Knott which overlooks Arnside and a good part of the walk.

M0SCG/M will be operating from the tractor which follows the walkers and can be used if anybody becomes too exhausted or ill during the walk.

GB4GSB Located at the end of the walk at Kents Bank.

A special certificate is on offer for amateurs and SWLs who work any of the stations. To obtain a certificate an A4 SAE and a cheque for £2.50 made out to SARCG should be sent to our QSL Manager

Ian Maude (G0VGS)
21 Colwyn Avenue
Bare
Morecambe
Lancs
LA4 6EQ

Once printing costs are covered, any money left over will be donated to Galloways Society for the Blind.

Some interesting Internet sites worth visiting.

http://www.galloways.org.uk/main/pages/baywalk09.html

http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/country/sandwalker.shtml