An Offshore Buzz: AA4XX's Smith Island Bumblebee Adventure
Special to the The ARS Sojourner
For TFBB's 2002, I decided to operate from uninhabited Smith Island (smithisl.jpg), which is a part of the Zeke's Island National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Smith Island is located just north of Cape Fear, NC. Bald Head Island lies due south, and the Cape Fear River (ferry.jpg) flows along the western edge of the island. Both "Old Baldy" and Oak Island lighthouses (oaklite.jpg) can be seen from this area. The only hitch in this plan was that the local charts didn't show any dry land within a couple miles of the desired operating site.
However, from previous kayaking trips in that area, I knew that there was a rock wall which was about five miles long (longwall.jpg) which runs the entire distance between Ft. Fisher and Smith Island (terasrv2.jpg).
This wall was built around the time of the Civil War and is composed of zillions of rocks (seawall3.jpg). Its purpose is to keep the fresh water from the Cape Fear River from invading the adjacent salt water estuary.
At high tide, the water flows over some parts of the wall and through many parts of the wall. At low tide, the water is several feet below most parts of the wall. I made the decision to kayak to the Smith Island end of the wall at high tide, so I would be able to select a site which would offer the best chance of staying high and dry during the entire contest.
Fellow QRP'ers will probably be interested in the equipment that was chosen for transportation to the wall. The criterion was pretty simple: "If this item is not absolutely essential to the task, it stays home." Items that made the cut had to be small enough to fit "into" or "onto" the sea kayak.
Having said that, it it amazing how much stuff one can fit into a kayak with a little planning. The radio gear and camera were put in drybags before being placed in the hatches, which kept those items bone dry.
The longer items, like the two DK9SQ masts and base support poles, were lashed to the fore and aft decks. Essential items (gear.jpg) included: a change of clothes, spare paddle, life jacket, various other water safety items, two DK9SQ masts, accompanying 6' ground stakes for the masts, 3 gallons water, sunscreen, sunglasses, wide-brimmed hat, food, SW 20+, paddles, headphones, battery, phasing controller and cables for the 20M phased array (for additional info, see http://www.natworld.com/ars/pages/back_issues/2000_text/1100_text/phased.html, RF-1 antenna analyzer, 1-liter water bottle, tent.
All the gear was loaded into the kayak within 15-20 minutes. No one would ever guess my mission by casual observation (kayak.jpg). The kayak was launched from the Ft. Fisher State Recreational Facility about 8 a.m.
Despite fairly brisk headwinds, the Smith Island end of the wall was reached by 11 a.m. The estimated paddling speed was about 2 mph.
The paddle through the estuary was quite interesting, as there are a number of small islands that beg further exploration, and there are many species of birds in the reserve. The water is shallow throughout the route, so avoiding sandbars and oyster beds is a real challenge.
Upon reaching the Smith Island end of the wall, the kayak was hauled up onto the side of the wall (wall2.jpg), and I scarfed down two banana sandwiches, some yogurt, and plenty of water. The sun was quite intense, so I wore long pants and a collared long sleeved paddling shirt and a floppy hat for sun protection.
The constant winds mitigated the unusually hot temperatures and high humidity, resulting in reasonably comfortable operating conditions. I quickly learned to tread with great care on top of the wet wall, as it was covered with slick algae.
The antenna system and radio gear (qrpgear.jpg) were set up and checked out within 45 minutes. The two masts (array.jpg) were mounted on PVC support poles, which were simply jammed into the rocks (antbase.jpg).
I breathed a sigh of relief when it became obvious that the array was working well. Most stations could be readily nulled by several S units by switching the phasing switch from E/W to N/S. N4BP/BB and N1EU/BB in particular were 599+ throughout most of the contest when I was phasing N/S.
Later in the day when West Coast stations started making their appearance, the array was switched to E/W, at which point N1EU and N4BP dropped down to "S3" and West Coast stations could be readily worked at the 1-watt level.
Activity on 20 meters was frenetic, with many stations being heard from all call districts. It was quite a thrill to be operating in such a special location under good operating conditions.
Fellow QRP'ers repeatedly demonstrated exceptional listening skills, patience, and a friendly attitude throughout the contest. About midway through the contest a wildlife officer paid me a visit.
He was mighty curious as to what kind of fishing I was up to those two 33' fishing poles. He had a good laugh when I explained that he was witnessing a bumblebee contest. He mentioned that the poles could be seen from a mile away!
After the contest ended, it took about 45 minutes to dismantle the station and to reload the kayak. With the wind at my back, the return trip took only two hours, ensuring an arrival at Ft. Fisher well before sunset. I'd like to offer a special thanks to the folks at ARS for sponsoring this fine event, and also to the many operators who participated in TFBB's 2002.
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Paul Stroud, AA4XX, is an avid QRPer, outdoorsman and kayaker living in Raliegh, NC. He is a frequent contributor to The ARS Sojourner.