From: Tony Cadney G0HUZ <tonycadney@...>
Date: 22 February 2025 at 13:21:10 GMT
To: Suzanne Cadney G0LUZ <suzanne.cadney@...>
Subject: Maritime mobile in Bay of Biscay

?

Hello Friends and Radio Ops.

?

We are now 150miles off the coast of Portugal on heading 36 Degs and due into Portsmouth on Monday 24^th Feb.

We have been at sea for seven days since leaving Bermuda as we tracked a violent storm some 150miles north of us. We ran along the 32^nd parallel before changing to a north easterly course approximately 250miles off the coast of Africa.

?

Suzanne and I removed the antenna feeder and counterpoises late on the afternoon of 20^th Feb. Again this was not for the faint hearted with 45knt winds across the deck as we crawled on hands and knees removing the 70+ cable ties and releasing the stainless steel clamps that support our antenna. During these operations the ship was pitching and rolling in such a manner such we dare not put anything down and expect it to stay.

?

During the two months on board we made many very interesting contacts the most memorable have been those with ‘simple stations’ 100w to a wire dipole or end-fed.

Conditions at sea and in the lower latitude are never as predicted and “Mid-day drop out” caused by solar noise is noticeable in the extreme.

We would like to thank all those tenacious individuals who searched the bands for our very weak signal and secured a QSO, albeit plagued with QSB. Namely: Colin G0UJK, Peter G7ULL Robert G4TUK, Steve M0BPQ, Terry M0TNE and Scott M0BLH.

Strangely there often times when our 5w of CW or 7,5w of SSB produced arm-chair copies in both directions One station In Seattle California commented “Holy Moses you have got to be kidding me, 7.5watts off the coast of Africa” The recipient had IC 7300 with 100w to an end fed in his back yard. A similar situation occurred on the last day of operating (20^th Feb) on 12mtrs 500miles SW of the Azores. I was working into the Mid USA (Ohio) one minute only to called by a MW0 station in Port Talbot the next. Both were SSB contacts that lasted over 15 minutes and were solid both ways. With both stations running no more than 100w to inverted ‘L’ wires or similar.

Unfortunately, conditions rapidly deteriorated before we had a chance to alert the /MM group by e-mail.

The fascinating aspect of operating on a ship that is underway is that the conditions one day are not often repeated the next day especially on the higher frequencies.

Also the many stations that recall working us before as ‘maritime mobile’ over the past 10 years.

?

We are next /MM in May when we will be heading towards the Mediterranean and Croatia.

Hope to work you then if not before!

?

73 de Tony es Suzanne.

?

?

?