George Briggs, aka k2dm, and his DXpedition pal
Dennis, n0smx bravely set up shop for the
CQ Worldwide event
and were buried in a tsunami of callers after this rare
island DX.
This DXpedition has become an annual fixture since
2004, so they knew what to expect.... see the excellent
QRZ story.
And whereas French Caribbean islands are all
idyllic tourism haunts steeped in French culture, ours have
volcanoes, and these blow up occasionally...
Montserrat (/mɒntsəˈræt/)
is a Caribbean island—specifically
in the Leeward
Islands, which is part of the chain known as the Lesser
Antilles, in the British
West Indies. It is a British
Overseas Territory (BOT). Montserrat measures approximately
16 km (10 mi) in length and 11 km (7 mi) in width, with
approximately 40 km (25 mi) of coastline.[2]Montserrat
is nicknamed The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean both for its
resemblance to coastal Ireland and
for the Irish
ancestry of many of its inhabitants.[according
to whom?]
On 18 July 1995, the previously dormantSoufrière
Hillsvolcano,
in the southern part of the island, became active. Eruptions
destroyed Montserrat's Georgian
era capital city of Plymouth.
Between 1995 and 2000, two-thirds of the island's population was
forced to flee, primarily to the United
Kingdom, leaving fewer than 1,200 people on the island as of
1997 (rising to nearly 5,000 by 2016).[3][4] The
volcanic activity continues, mostly affecting the vicinity of
Plymouth, including its docking facilities, and the eastern side
of the island around the former W.
H. Bramble Airport, the remnants of which were buried by
flows from volcanic activity on 11 February 2010.
An exclusion zone that extends from the south
coast of the island north to parts of the Belham Valley was
imposed because of the size of the existing volcanic dome and
the resulting potential for pyroclastic activity.
Visitors are generally not permitted entry into the exclusion
zone, but an impressive view of the destruction of Plymouth can
be seen from the top of Garibaldi Hill in Isles Bay. Relatively
quiet since early 2010, the volcano continues to be closely
monitored by the Montserrat
Volcano Observatory. It is the most studied volcano in the
world and Montserrat has been regarded as a "Modern Day Pompeii"
in the Caribbean.[5][6][dubious – discuss]
A new town and port are being developed at Little
Bay, which is on the northwest coast of the island. While this
construction proceeds, the centre of government and businesses
is at Brades.[7]
QSO recording...
I'd like to pretend I didn't waste an hour
shouting at this one, but I was joined by local and we egged
each other on.
this seems like precision DXing...
....but this is the agony that lead up the
moment. Never have I tried so hard.
Nice signal, good modulation
The prop forecast for the time and frequency
was just about ideal
