[CQ-Contest] W7DRA/C6A CQ WPX 2000

[mike l dormann]

get ready for a long story.

i called many times and talked with many people at the home office of
Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines with no luck, just a lot of hemming and
hawing about laws, interference, international regulations, etc

undaunted, i took my HW16 and HG10 VFO (this is before i put a 6AG7 vfo
in the top of the HW16 cabinet for dxpiditions) and the usual roll of
wire, etc  with me on the cruise.

when we docked at Nassau, i got my wife (remember the ex show girl?) to
convince the purser to talk to the radio officer into letting me operate
in the children's play area off the end of the ship while the play area
was in operation. 

after much smiling and talking a "yes" came down the chain of command.
operate using 20 watts from sunset until the play area closes.

now think about this:

SOS I'm LP
the play area closed at am.
the end of the ship was pointed toward Europe
the antenna, a half wave vertical was suspended about 30 feet from the
stern of the ship about 100 feet from the water.

my memory is poor, but i cant remember calling any EU station without him
coming back. the first time.

somewhere my wife has a picture of me operating the HW16 (with the case
off, its HOT in May down there) sitting at this little plastic play table
about 2am in the morning  banging away.

and THAT'S how you operate from a cruise ship.

mike w7dra