It was a clear and sunny day on Saturday, June 18, perfect for an activation at K-0518 Cape Romain from my Bayliner 185 with first mate Rich Lorenzo, K4ZRL. We also brought fishing poles and a BBQ grill and the ladies joined us for a fun day out.
We installed a Chameleon 17’ whip on the side of my boat with a bronze grounding plate (West Marine GUEST Dynaplate #196040) mounted under the hull to use the salt water as a counterpoise, in place of floating out radial wires that could get tangled in the prop. We got a great SWR match right away using my ICOM IC-7300.
We launched from Rivers Edge Marina on the Ashley River at 9:30am and arrived at Garris Landing around 11:00am. However the boat dock was closed, so we found another dock further up the Intercoastal Waterway to activate that was still within the park boundaries.
We activated around noon and right away had a continuous log jam. In less than 30 minutes we logged 25 QSOs from Ontario to Texas and everywhere in between with really good (mostly 57-59) signal reports. If you have a boat you need to try this as set up took all of 5 minutes.
We didn’t catch any fish but those BBQ ribs and chicken my wife Evie cooked up were delicious as well the sides Rich and Marsha brought. Plus the water was warm for a swim. Enjoy your summer!
Sounds like the perfect outing!