The Charles County Amateur Radio Club put on their first special event station in almost 4 years on Saturday, October 13th at Mallows Bay, on the western side of the county, with a picturesque view of the Potomac River and the Virginia shoreline.
The “Ghost Fleet of Mallows Bay” consists of more than 200 ships, many of them wooden hulled vessels built to serve as transport ships during World War 1. With the 100th anniversary of the end of World War 1 approaching on November 11th this seemed like an appropriate time and location for a special event.
The morning started out looking rather ominous with dark clouds, a chilly wind and some brief showers. Despite the weather, our crew went right to work setting up a 80/40 meter dipole, a MFJ-2980 40 meter vertical, a 20 meter dipole and a 20 meter vertical. If that wasn’t enough we also had a VHF antenna should anyone need to contact us on 2 meters.
We operated on both 20 and 40 meters, using President Bob’s (NW3M) Yaesu FT-857D and Activities Manager Jeff’s (KB3SPH) Yaesu FT-450D. Bob’s radio was powered with a 12 volt battery connected to an MFJ-4416C power conditioner. Jeff’s radio was also powered with a 12 volt battery with the charge being maintained by a solar panel (When the Sun finally made an appearance) and charge controller.
There were a grand total of 15 licensed amateurs (14 CCARC members and 1 visitor) who signed in, along with 6 visitors. Of note was Charles’ (AA3WS) 92 year old father-in-law, Arthur Willett, who is the last living person to have worked as a ship salvager at Mallows Bay. Arthur brought along four display boards that he stood on easels with photos and a write up of the history of the ships (Or, more correctly, the hulls) still visible at Mallows Bay. Among the photos were two aerial views of the ships when they were first burned in Alexandria in the late 1920s or early 1930s. It is unfortunate that the weather started out so poorly as Arthur’s display was most interesting and it is a shame that more people did not have the opportunity to view it. Other visitors included one of Boy Scout Bob’s (KB3KOW) scout troops and a member of the Charles County 4-H Robotics Team who put on the robotics presentation at last week’s (October 5th) monthly club meeting. (More on him a little later.)
With 2 stations operating simultaneously I believe that everyone who wanted to operate had an opportunity to do so. There were 57 contacts made on the 40 meter station and 16 on the 20 meter station. Of note was Jayne (W4VJU) who was racking up contacts on 40 meters while I sat at the 20 meter station getting skunked. I did make 1 contact and then used the opportunity to check in to the American Legion Amateur Radio Club net, the first time I’ve ever had the chance to do so since becoming a member of the American Legion ARC on March 22 of 2012. 20 meters remained quiet so I relinquished my seat to Erich, the lad from the 4-H club. About that time the skies cleared, and the 20 meter band opened up. Young Erich got a “baptism under fire” working Texas, Kansas, a mobile in Oregon along with a few other states and I believe that his final contact was with England, somewhere near the Welsh border. He seemed to handle himself well, thanks to Michelle (N3YRZ) who sat with him and guided him through making contacts.
We were competing with 4 US contests and one in Europe, making 20 meters difficult at best.
Saturday’s special event could also qualify as a fall picnic. Rick, Jayne’s husband, brought along some delicious chili. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought so as there wasn’t any leftover. We were also treated to side dishes from Pam (KB3SWS) and Michelle (N3YRZ) as well as cookies from Michelle and Hattie, President Bob’s XYL. (If I missed anyone it was unintentional. I wasn’t keeping track of who brought items.) AA3WS showed that not only is he our “Mr. Wizard” but he is quite the culinary artiste’, grilling both hot dogs and burgers to perfection. If anyone went away hungry it’s your own fault.
1600L (2000Z) came before I realized it and we had plenty of hands to tear down and put things away. Thanks to everyone who contributed, as the old local news columns used to recap “A good time was had by all”.
If you’ve read this far, to answer your question, the last CCARC special event station operated on April 18th & 19th of 2015 when we operated from the Dr. Samuel Mudd House as part of the commemoration of the pursuit of John Wilkes Booth after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Hopefully it won’t be another 3 and a half years before our next special event.
73, Art, AA3RT
Erich working 20m