At 7:00am on October 31 we headed for petite Plate Island (MA131) in Cote d’Armor, activated for the 1st time in July 2006 by Ronan 14AT033 and not heard on the 11m band since.
After gaining access to the DIFM referenced isle at low tide, we quickly installed the skypper antenna approximately 8m off the ground, as well as a Yaesu FT857D transceiver and DXcessories, and without more ado commenced the activation….
“CQ, CQ, CQ DX from MA131!”
The WX on this day was overcast, somewhat dreary which is common place at this time of the year.
Still, it was an exciting time to be out and about for the World Islands Contest (WIC) and our favourite hobby and the stunning coastal seascapes featuring sea birds, sailing boats and neighbouring islands made the experience even more pleasurable.
1st in the log at 9h43 on this delightful Manche isle was friend 14RA041 Christophe of the d-62 with a strong signal of 5/9.
He was followed by Delta-Alfa members 14DA016 Rodolphe at 4/1 then 14DA014 Phil at 5/5.
After a few hours, the tide turned so it was time for us to return to the mainland.
We went QRT at 13:07 at the conclusion of working 14HF094 Phil with a 5/7 report.
From this island, we finished with 52 QSOs out of 10 DXCC: France (14), Denmark (47), Germany (13), The Netherlands (19), Northern Ireland (68), Canary Islands (34), Greece (18), Italy (1), Corsica (104) & Spain (30).
Dx Adventure Radio Club (DA-RC) members ITL: 14DA016 Rodolphe, 14DA014 Phil, 14DA049 Fred, 104DA102 Syl, 14DA028 Phil & 14DA021 Eric.
Thank you to everyone who called in to make the log for 14DA/MA131.
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