Return to Cat Is. Page...It's amazing when the word of a really great time gets out to people, the party seems to get bigger. It has been several months since K5C went QRT from Mississippi's Cat Island. That trip, which we began to call Cat I, occurred in September, 2002, when four members of the Magnolia DX Association (MDXA) decided to see how much effort it would be to try such a venture and whether it would stir any interest among the other members of the club. From the moment we returned to shore, the group made no secret of what a fantastic experience it was to activate a rare IOTA (NA-082) even while confronting the perils presented by the approach of a major hurricane (Isidore) and a potential for serious illness (mosquito borne West Nile Virus). The response from the members of the MDXA was exactly what we had hoped it would be. Cat II was quickly committed to, and a larger group from the club was assembled to go as soon as the season and weather became permissive.
The original trip to Cat Island was intended to be a scouting expedition to see if a larger operation would be feasible. MDXA has in past years been very active in the IOTA program having several times set up a large club station on Dauphin Island, Alabama. Those operations attracted a large group of club members who all had a great time both operating and socializing. The decision to activate Cat Island was made for several reasons. First, Cat has rarely seen radio activity, particularly one dedicated to opening up a rare IOTA. Next, we recognized that we have a large percentage of our club members residing on or near the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Cat Island is about 5 to 7 miles from the harbor at Gulfport and is easily accessible by a short boat ride. Third and very important is the idea that it was the best opportunity to set up an operation that closely mimics a genuine, rare entity DX-pedition to give us a feel for what it's really like. This is a preliminary for what we hope will eventually blossom into a full-blown DX-pedition to some rare entity with MDXA members manning the stations. It is obviously good practice, but more importantly, it gives us still another chance for the guys to get together and have fun with their radios.
If there is one common theme that emerged from "Cat I", it is the great time the four of us had putting NA-082 on the air. The "Cat I team" consisted of Glenn (K2FF) who has emerged as team captain and logistician; Bill (K5YG) our boat skipper; Randy (W5UE) the team computer guru and expert CW op as well as the man who did all of the pre-trip publicity in every possible DX publication and website he could find; and me, Darryl (KD5CQT) team medic, cook, and whatever else is needed. We had worked several Field Days and assorted contests together and over the years have become close friends as well as avid DXers. Bill and I had known each other since before my radio days when we were both active SCUBA divers here on the Mississippi Coast. Glenn and Bill are neighbors and their antennas are prominent features in their neighborhood. Randy and I have worked the last three or four Field Days together as well as a few assorted contests and we also have been active during the Light House events manning the Biloxi, Mississippi, Light House on Hwy. 90. All four of us have been together for the Dauphin Is. Get-togethers put on by MDXA over the years. During the past few years, we have found that each of us has skills, experiences, and abilities that complement each others. We also discovered that we function very effectively as a team, and that is a major plus. I personally enjoyed watching the first Cat Island operation and the wide grins on the faces of Glenn, Bill, and Randy as the pileups just came in waves. When my turn at the mike came, I got the same rush from running the piles and sometimes just talking to ops all over the world when an infrequent lull came. When all was said and done, the one thing we all agreed on about the first trip (Cat I) was that we had to go back and do it again. This time, it had to be bigger and better so the planning began.
Thank goodness for the internet and e-mail. It made the preparations much easier for the group although I did find myself looking at the mail more often in hopes of getting another message pertaining to the trip. Glenn, K2FF, demonstrated once again that he is a master at organization and had set the operation smoothly into motion. As on the previous trip to the island, we had to secure a permit to camp and set up a radio station from the National Park Service who now oversee Cat Island as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The application Glenn submitted was more of a work of art than a mere application. It of course included pictures and more from the first K5C "DX- pedition" and was received with incredulity if not awe by the park service manager. Having seen the packet Glenn assembled, all of us agree that it is the standard by which all amateur radio endeavors should be done. Needless to say, we were again approved to go and the permit is in the capable hands of "Freddy-Freddy" (K2FF's official on-the-air nickname). It has become an important point to us to be a fully documented operation. With the relative rarity of Cat Island as an IOTA entity, the possession of proper documentation might become an important issue to some later. It is also just one more item we want to make habitual in light of our desire to possibly activate a rare DX entity someday. Cat I and Cat II, as we have begun to refer to the trips, is just a practice run for what we hope will be bigger and better DX things to come for the Magnolia DX Association.
When we first discussed the second Cat Island trip, it was my idea to bring a second boat. I am part owner of two sailing vessels that have bunks and working heads, both luxuries lacking on the previous trip. The idea of having a more comfortable place to sleep and even a full galley to prepare hot meals appealed to all of us. Hubbub, a 37 foot Hood one ton racing sloop, was an obvious choice for not only that reason but also because it was previously owned and rigged out for Ham Radio operations by the late Joe Kennicott, K4OVO of Pensacola, FL, whom many may remember for his many QSO's from exotic places from aboard Hubbub. I had thought that Joe would be proud to have his prized racing boat as part of the K5C trip. Unfortunately for us, I discovered that the Biloxi Gulf Coat Offshore Racing Committee (GORC) regatta was rescheduled for the very weekend (4-6 April) that we intended to go to Cat Island. Scratch sailboat number one. The second choice was a smaller sailboat that was, I soon discovered, also committed to race in the GORC. Scratch soft bed source number two.
A second boat was still in order because we had to have a means of ferrying operators to and from Gulfport Harbor to Cat Island at various times during the weekend. The extra bodies also meant that the logistics to support a larger force necessitated the extra hauling space for the expanded gear. Many of our club members could spend a day but could not stay overnight (not an unwise decision for those with backs unaccustomed to sleeping on a hard sand mattress). I managed to get a fifteen foot Boston Whaler for the weekend. Although Susie-Q, K5YG's 26 foot boat, was capable of making the trip, at fifteen gallons an hour fuel consumption (plus oil) we thought it better to have a more economical alternative available. The Whaler presented a more viable and affordable option so was included in the plans. I became concerned about the space available on the Whaler and was worried that it might become a problem if the weather and seas failed to co-operate. After an e-mail discussion we concluded that we would make the call on the scene as to whether or not we'd use the larger boat or not for ferrying the extra ops to and from Cat.
The maritime taxi service created additional logistical problems of course. We had to insure that we had two way communications from boat to shore in case of emergency. Two meters was the obvious choice since VHF marine radios were a bit more difficult to move from boat to campsite and back, and we all have two meter rigs and HT's that will do the job. We planned on having a VHF marine HT at the site to monitor the weather broadcasts. On the first trip, all we had to contend with was a mere hurricane. This trip was made in the spring which meant unpredictable weather. We veterans of the Gulf Coast are very familiar with the treacherous weather that can pop up in an instant down here so a bit of advance warning to allow us to batten down was considered prudent. However, Dr. Murphy was alive and well for this trip. I had just installed $21 worth of new batteries on the marine radio and had tested it on the way out of the harbor. As I was stepping out of the boat on the island, that radio did a nose dive off of my belt and into the Gulf of Mexico. Post trip surgery on the radio was futile. It has gone to the great band opening in the sky.
During the lull between trips to Cat, I did a bit of web-surfing and discovered that Cat Island is a not uncommon name for islands. It seems that Cat Island of the Bahamas (formerly San Salvador of Christopher Columbus fame) is a famous resort. There is another off the coast of Florida and still another that features canoeing tours in Louisiana. Our Cat Island is a bit less famous outside of the immediate area of the Gulf Coast, but it is still considered rare dirt in the IOTA program, and as such, we were hoping this trip would produce a ton of "Q's" and lots of pileups. Any DXer who has never experienced the business end of a major pileup is missing a real operating treat and a serious test of his operating skills. The participating members of MDXA discovered this fact when they got their turns at the mike (or key). One other feature about Cat Island that we all commented on during our stay was that because of the isolated appearance from our site and because we are out of sight of the mainland, we could very well have been on one of those exotic locations visited by the major Dx-peditioners we have all been working these many years. Anyone who got a QSL card from the first trip (Cat I) can get a sense from the picture of how isolated the site can appear even though we are relatively close to home when on the island. The faraway appearance gave the added effect of giving us that mental image of being on some faraway South Sea Island working the worldwide DX community.
Friday morning, departure day, greeted us with the damp reminder that Thursday night had brought a fairly robust rain shower leaving everything outside very wet. I loaded gear into the van and headed towards the scheduled rendezvous at K2FF's home QTH and remembered halfway there that I'd forgotten my sunglasses. I opted to turn around and retrieve them which turned out to be fortuitous inasmuch as I discovered the sunglasses sitting atop my backpack in the living room. All of my clothing and camping gear had been forgotten in my haste to get this trip started. After retrieving my stuff, I headed out again. I pulled in behind the Susie-Q and we began loading the mountain of gear needed for the trip.
The trip to Gulfport Harbor was uneventful, and there we met Randy and Bernie and loaded more gear. Randy took the spare seat in the Whaler and away we went through the channel and towards the weekend's adventure. From the boats, Cat looked unchanged since the previous trip (Cat I), but upon landing at South Spit, we observed the results of two major storms that had passed over us during the fall. The beach was changed somewhat as it was no longer a flat sandbar but rather it was festooned with berms and swales and was covered with what appeared to be remnants of a large number of hay bales that were scattered all over the landscape. The far end was somewhat reduced in size and occupied by hundreds of gulls, terns, and pelicans whose continuous cacophony of squawks and squeals kept us company for the entire stay. It is our combined observation that these birds do not sleep. Their incessant chatter was a round the clock phenomenon. We also noted that the high tide mark left us very little room on what appeared to be high tide dry sand, so we had to decide just where the best place was to set up the operating and living tents to prevent the tidal waters from invading the tents. Of course, we were also immediately greeted by the gnats whose unwanted company we were to have for the duration.
Setup of camp on Friday was comical as well as efficient. The operating tents went together with no effort. Then, four former Eagle Scouts pondered the complexities of a tent that we had borrowed from Bob (AE5RM). His handwritten instructions should have presented us with no challenge, but as with all handwritten things, interpretation become a factor. That got complicated by the fact that all of us on the tent erection committee are engineers. Never give instructions to an engineer. We don't read them, we write them--- in engineerese. After numerous attempts to decipher and implement Bob's instructions, we came to the conclusion that the only way we were going to get this tent up was to devise our own plan and make it work. This tent setup finally got accomplished.but not at all in a fashion that was intended by the manufacturer. It actually held up through a serious squall later on in the weekend.
Once the campsite was satisfactorily setup, we concentrated on the electronics and by 2100Z, we were on the air. Unlike our last trip where we had a pile waiting, I managed to get the first QSO into the log after calling CQ for nearly 10 minutes. The bands seemed to be getting clobbered by some bad vibes from the sun, but 20 meters remained rather steady and 15 gave us a few serious runs at JA's and South America. 30 meters was probably our most productive band all weekend. Propagation just didn't seem to want to help us although everyone got a shot at his own private pileup.
We took a break for a hot meal just before sunset and then were back at it until the bands just closed up for the evening. I got up around 0600Z and managed to work a VK2 who advised me that there were two other IOTA stations on frequency, neither of whom I could hear from our site. After that, it was complete silence until sunrise.
In addition to the original Cat Team this trip included Bernie (KK5EW) who endured the entire weekend and provided much needed technical support. Bernie has evolved as our go to guy when emergency repairs or modifications need to be accomplished. He was an indispensable asset on the last few Field Day efforts by MDXA as well as on previous trips to Dauphin Is. On the first day and night, we had the company of Ike (N4FF) who was totally wide-eyed and later hoarse as he hit his first pileup from the island. He and I made a pleasant trip to shore early Saturday morning in the Whaler on a smooth Gulf of Mexico. I am pleased to say that he is eagerly awaiting our next trip. This is just what we had hoped would happen as our membership got a taste of fun in the sun.
The next adventure was packing four passengers, Ray (WQ5L), Bob (AE5RM), Stan (K5NY), and Joe (N5ID) on that tiny boat. They all had coolers and lawn chairs which really made me wonder if the 50 hp engine would cause any forward motion of the boat. We made it through the harbor and out into the open Gulf and at full throttle and with a bit of rearranging bodies, we managed to get the boat stepped on plane after about 15 minutes. From there, with the calm waters, we literally flew all of the way to the south end of the island.
As soon as they got onto the sand, the MDXA reinforcements went to work. Ray got right to work on a continuous pile on CW that ran until departure time. Stan and Joe had steady runs on 20 meter SSB and had just a great time working the world. Even Bob who came "just to get some sun" couldn't resist the call of the mike and had a run of his own.
This trip was not only expanded in terms of participants, but we set up three full time stations (plus a backup ICOM 706MKII) to accommodate what we hoped would be another barrage of IOTA hunters from around the world. With more time available to us, and with potentially better weather probabilities, we felt that it was feasible to set up a more sophisticated station for K5C including the additional station and antennas. The IC706 served as a 2 meter link with the mainland via the Biloxi repeater enabling us to maintain contact with our temporary operators and other interested parties. That was also set up as a safety link in case of any unforeseen emergency situation. That function was fortunately not needed. We already knew the power situation was solved with the generators used on the previous trip that had functioned flawlessly. We also enlisted shore stations to monitor the operation and keep us spotted on the DX cluster for the benefit of the stations desiring to work us.
The best laid plans are bound to go astray. From watching two solid weeks of war news on TV before the trip, I had heard over and over that any plan, no matter how well thought out, would require modifications at the first contact with the enemy. Ours was certainly no different. We apparently got complacent after the first trip regarding Mama Nature and her critters and foul weather moods. Cat I only had to contend with Hurricane Isidore. We benefited from the breezes generated by that approaching storm to keep the bugs at bay. On this trip, the gnats were waiting to get even with us for our nearly insect free previous venture. Once they discovered our presence, they attacked and never let up until we were safely back ashore at Gulfport Harbor on Sunday. Bill and I shared a mosquito on the first night that alternated from his ear to mine. That certainly cost us a lot of much needed sleep.
On Saturday evening, we made the trip back to Gulfport to return the group of four we had brought out in the morning and to pick up Travis (W5GED) who was to spend the evening. It was a very fortunate decision on Bill's part to use his larger boat, Susie Q, to make that trip. The winds and seas had picked up and we decided it would be safer to leave the Whaler on the island. The trip in was more or less uneventful, but on the trip back out, just after we had cleared the harbor, we hit a ferocious squall that made visibility minimal and really churned up the seas. I became a bit anxious as I saw the clouds literally coming down to the deck and lightening flashes kicking up clouds of steam as they struck the water nearby where we were. I was very pleased to see the glow of the GPS on board as we literally traveled solely by reference to instruments. We finally made the turn around South Spit and saw the camp battened down. Apparently that same squall hit with little warning and the guys onshore really had their work cut out for them as they lashed tarps over the op tents and tried to keep the tents from blowing away. As we pulled up, the survivors of the storm were wandering around clothed in rain gear and looking rather dejected. The tents had taken a beating and one of them had several inches of water in it. The radios and computers had been exposed and we ultimately lost the services of one of the logging computers because of the water.
Travis, Bill, and I remained on the boat at anchor until the storm had subsided and then waded ashore. Immediately, Travis asked where the radios were, to heck with the weather, and went to work on 20 meter SSB for the rest of the evening. That shook all of us out of our shock and forced us to get the equipment back up and running. Once we got into motion it wasn't long before we had jambalaya heating over the Coleman stove and signals roaring off of our antennas. The equipment was not the only wetness problem. I think I had the only dry clothing in camp. My old GI backpack has a rubber lined compartment originally intended to keep maps dry. I had stashed a warmup suit in that compartment, and even though my backpack was afloat in the infamous "engineered tent" which was flooded, the water hadn't managed to penetrate the compartment. My sleeping bag was another matter. It was at best damp and made for a rather uncomfortable time until I managed to get it warmed up with body heat.
Travis was unaffected having all of his gear on the boat when the rain was coming. He stayed busy on the radio until after midnight and seemed oblivious to the weather, gnats (who can ignore them), and discomfort. Travis also served as a reminder to all of us that Dxing isn't just an exchange of call sign and signal reports with maybe a 73 and "QRZ". He had something to say to nearly everyone who called in and reminded us that everyone out there has something interesting to say if we just take the time to listen. There are, to be sure, times when the pileups are so intense that all we have time for is the traditional "5-9" response, but it is also nice to enjoy a good QSO with someone who wants to chat a bit before moving on.
Sunday morning arrived an hour early with the advent of Daylight Savings Time and we made the decision to start breaking down camp. The weather forecasts had all called for deteriorating weather by Sunday afternoon, and after what had transpired the previous evening, we decided to err on the side of caution.
Travis picked up where he left off manning the radio while we got the dismantling operation underway. By around 10 AM, we had most of the gear loaded on the boats. All things do not always go smoothly in the Gulf of Mexico. Mom Nature had one more surprise for us. First, around 9:30 AM, a fogbank rolled across the island from the north. Right after that, the winds picked up and we had 20 knot winds and fog, a very uncommon occurrence here. We started engines and eased away from the island. The plan emerged for me to follow Bill whose GPS was going to be needed to find the channel and home. Now I can testify that riding a fifteen foot boat in six foot seas is a real adventure that I'd rather not repeat. Randy and I had the pleasure of getting beat half to death by the pounding the seas gave us as we struggled to keep on plane and head in the general direction of home. The theory was to head north and we'd hit something resembling land eventually. My glasses became so coated by salt spray that I could barely see the numbers on the compass. We stayed astern of Susie-Q and succeeded in safely making it to the Gulfport Harbor in one piece.
The trip is finally over and we have all had time to unpack, put on much desired dry clothing, and relax a bit. We all agree that the trip wasn't a "cake walk" and as Randy pointed out this morning, this wasn't supposed to be a cake walk. Bill pointed out that at least we didn't have to climb a rock cliff to get to the operating site. Major DX-peditions have to contend with extremes of temperature, arduous trips through heaving seas, equipment failures, storms, hostile wildlife, and hip deep guano. We only had to worry about gnats and rain. Yet we recognized a lot of major plusses. We recognize that we have developed a core of close friends who work together without effort as a well knit team. We are all dedicated to ham radio in general and DX in particular and are "hard- core" in our approach to contests and DX-peditions. We had a lot of chuckles as we sat around the op-tents critiquing our buddies, and we are sure some of the commentary got out over the airwaves. Yet, even with this gentle ribbing, we all enjoyed watching the "first timers" work their first major pileups or just ragchew with the world as was their preference. The experience will undoubtedly encourage club members of the Magnolia DX association to clamor for more trips of this nature.
One thing we all agree on is that we are getting better at this sort of thing as our experience grows. We have been discussing trips to some of the rare DX countries within our reach and we are hoping to make an impact someday on the DX community. We also agree that even with the stress of planning, operating, and surviving a difficult site, we have had a lot of fun doing it and want to do it again as often as our schedules and situations can allow us to do it. And I still have to get a better coffee pot.