Return to Cat Is. Page...It all started for me with an e-mail from K2FF announcing the possibility of a small group of MDXA members exploring Cat Island as a potential site for the entire club to set up operations in lieu of our regular annual trip to Dauphin Island. Dauphin Island has been a huge success for the social well-being of the club but seems to be dropping in demand worldwide as a desirable catch in the IOTA program. Cat Island, on the other hand, was closer to home and has not been activated very often. That fact alone made it an attractive choice for us to make a trip just to see.
From there things started to get hectic. It took me about half a microsecond to send the affirmation to Glenn and company that I was ready, willing, and well..READY!!!! Each man on the four man team volunteered whatever equipment he might have and an equipment list was soon assembled. Freddy-Freddy bore the ominous task of logistics specialist and did a fantastic job. As it turned out later, we over planned and over packed, but then that surely is better than arriving at a remote place and finding an essential item lacking.
The team evolved to include logistics man Glenn, K2FF, who also took on the task of securing the permits needed to operate from the Federally operated island. Lesson learned from the ill-fated 7O1YGF DX-pedition to Yemen that is still awaiting confirmation in writing form the Yemeni government. MDXA will not suffer that indignation. That took care of the documentation that even though isn't really necessary, we are true DX'ers and want to stay credible.
Next was CW op Randy, W5UE, and honorary member W5UE/MOM who didn't actually go but sure did make the rest of us happy by supplying the jambalaya dinner we all enjoyed Saturday evening. Randy is not only a world class op, but is noted for incredible endurance under the stress of contests. He also managed to get us publicity in several DX magazines and bulletins. Backing Randy on the key was K5YG, another CW specialist who can copy with the best of them and is probably one of the smoothest fists I have ever copied. Bill also just happened to have the perfect boat, Susie Q, for this trip. Bringing up the rear is the other Cajun on the team (did I mention Randy is Cajun?), me. My job was to act as sort of first mate to Bill, assistant logistician to Glenn, and I was also the team medic, a skill I am pleased to say was not needed during our trip. I also happen to love to work phone and occasional CW. Team assembled!
My e-mail volume exploded for about two weeks as we swapped ideas and assembled the gear. I found stuff I had bought as a Scoutmaster that I had forgotten I even had, and of course I managed to dig out the old reliable military camping gear I had in storage which I never again expected to use. On Friday, September 20, 2002, the gang assembled at K5YG's house, and the loading began. How all of that stuff managed to fit on one boat will never be explained. It was a feat of engineering that may never again be seen. There was even a tower standing on the deck waiting for the event. After the loading and testing was accomplished it was off to home and sleep.
The alarm blasted me upright at 5 A.M. The coffee was already brewing and by the time I was dressed, it was done and in the cup. I grabbed the food I had pre-cooked for the trip and a few last minute items, and off to the boat I went. We were to meet Randy at the dock in Gulfport so off we went with me trailing Susie Q in the van to make sure none of the casino revelers got too close to the engines or props which would surely have ruined our day. Once launched, Randy arrived and with his gear loaded, off we went down the ship channel and towards Cat Island.
Now Cat Island is a medium sized barrier island off of the coast of Mississippi located approximately 6 miles south of Gulfport. The British landed there before they got their butts whipped by some of my Cajun ancestors in New Orleans somewhere around 1814. The island was infested with raccoons which the British had never before seen. They assumed these were some new species of cat. Thus Cat Island. The `coons are still there and are notorious for pilfering the campsites of the occasional camper. The larger concern for us was the smaller inhabitants: mosquitoes and black flies. The mosquitoes are the carriers of West Nile Virus and my doctor even called me one night and warned me to take precautions. The black files are nasty, biting critters with no other worldly purpose. We all planned on wearing long sleeves and jeans to protect ourselves. The sacrifice was to be a lot of uncomfortable, sweaty hours for the sake of opening up the rare IOTA. However, two factors came to our rescue:
Factor one was Hurricane Isidore out in the Gulf near Yucatan. The other was a nasty cold front, which camped out over us all weekend and brought strong easterly winds that literally blew the insects out to sea. I counted exactly one mosquito that I quickly dispatched with a loud smack. On Sunday morning, there were dozens of the black flies pinned against the operating tent unable to escape because of the constant pressure of the wind.
The trip out to the island was quick but bouncy. That is typical for the Gulf and was expected. We were somewhat concerned as we penetrated a couple of rain showers, but the appearance of a double rainbow on the starboard beam gave us a comforting feeling that all would be well this weekend. Bill brought us around the shoals at the South Spit and into the sheltering cove where we were able to anchor about thirty feet from the beach in just a few feet of water. All of the equipment was quickly unloaded, and we began setting up the tents. A few lessons from past foul ups helped. For example, after our field day disaster with the 40 meter beam, we decided to read the instructions before erecting the operating tent. That definitely saved us some grief. The "living quarters" tent went up next but required Glenn's expertise (it was his tent) to get it right. Next the antennas went up and pretty soon we had a tribander on a tower and a Cushcraft R-7 ready to go up. That's when the squall hit. We saw it coming, and fortunately I had made a trip to Sam's to get a few tarps. One of the big ones went over the radios, and then the storm really gave us a soaking. The tribander (Mosley mini) was blown over onto the sand and sustained a few bent elements and a bent mast. The mast was quickly fixed, and we did our best to make the elements straight. Once we got it back up, Bill wisely elected to guy it in place and no further mishaps occurred.
Glenn fired up the Honda 2KW generator around 1740Z, and we were on the air. I had the honor of making the first contact, and the op on the other end said that they had been waiting for us for over an hour. From there it was one pileup after another. We swapped operating time for the rest of the day stopping only long enough to savor the jambalaya and fried chicken we had brought with us. The JA's came in around dusk, and the bands waxed and waned between them and the Europeans after the US gave us a working over during the afternoon. We can all now testify as to what the big time Dxers experience from their more exotic locales when the pileups start. We all ended up working split both for the fun of it and because the pileups got pretty fierce at times.
We received a visit from a deputy of the Harrison County Sheriff's Office informing us that because of the hurricane, the park service had officially closed the island. We were not being evicted, but we were more or less on our own. However, the storm at that time was some 500 miles away and no threat to us for a while. As it turned out, the evening was gorgeous with a full moon and clear sky that made lighting the lanterns unnecessary. One squall loomed out over the Gulf but before it reached us, it dissipated. We never had to shut down for the weather and that was a major concern before we had started. We discovered later that the shore area got pounded by storms, but we were in a perfect weather zone.
As dawn came and went we started seeing the formation of squalls all around us and after a brief meeting we decided to start dismantling the camp and loading the boat. One station would stay on the air until the last minute. The striking of camp went like clockwork, and we decided that it was best to go QRT at around 1300Z. By 1430Z we were pulling anchor and heading north.
As it turned out, the weather was just waiting for us to get off of the island because by the time I arrived at home and began unpacking, the rains and lightning hit with a fury. We had timed our departure perfectly.
It's over now. We have to agree with the South Sandwich/South Georgia group that massive power is not needed. We ran 100 watts max all weekend with small antennas and racked up nearly 1600 QSO's. That won't break any world records, but there are nearly 1600 happy IOTA hunters out there tonight. We know now that we are not going to sleep comfortably at our age on sleeping bags on the sand so cots might be in order next trip. A trip just before bug season surely is in order (we have to go back- this was a blast), and we can't depend on 20 mph breezes to keep the critters at bay. I will definitely shop for a better coffee pot.
This is a trip everyone in the club will enjoy if they make it on the next occasion. It was the other end of what we live for (great Dxing). It is a chance to work pileups like we have never had a chance to work before. What a rush. It was a fantastic trip with great ops and good friends. When do we go again, Guys?