Island Chasers will be thrilled to know an opportunity for an ATNO will be up for grabs when experienced guys 14DA014 Eric and 14DA028 Phil travel to a diminutive inland water island (IWI) in northern Belgium in early July, 2024.
DA-RC HQ can reveal that the name of the IWI dxstination is Westhoek and the callsign will be 16DA/WV-008 with the latter part of the callsign being the regional reference for this island.
Recon efforts undertaken by the team indicate that, according to all known data-bases, this entity has never before been activated on the eleven meter band!
Based on the map provided by respected web resource Islands Base Online (IBO), Westhoek Island is located in Nieuwpoort, a Belgian coastal town in the province of West Flanders.
Categorised as a river island, Westhoek is known as the home of the popular Westhoek Marina, a dock with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
The structure’s breakwaters, piles and concrete tiles are built along the Nieuwpoort Duinkerke canal (part of the Yser River), on the green edge of picturesque Veurne.
Populated with vessels of all shapes and sizes, this marina has close access to the amazing canals and the North Sea and is the perfect location for a portable IWI DX operation.
Pretty landscapes, in a tranquil setting, surrounded by waters of the Yser River which rises in French Flanders, enters the Belgian province of West Flanders and flows through the Ganzepoot and into the North Sea at the town of Nieuwpoort, Westhoek is indeed a fantastic location for our team of adventurists.
Not only is this island an attractive entity for DX Hunters but its surrounds also represent an important location for historians.
In fact, the area was part of the front-line during World War I and was the scene of trench warfare, with the Belgian and German armies dug in along both sides of the river.
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