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Last month I wrote about some of the activities we conducted at Eshaness lighthouse during the Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society International Lighthouse-Lightship Weekend. The main focus of the weekend is for amateur radio operators across the world to contact each other from lighthouses. The guidelines require that the radios must be AT or ADJACENT to the light. At Eshaness all buildings are attached to the tower and our operators work from the area that once contained the back up generator for the Eshaness beacon.
Being our third year our operators were extremely busy during the entire weekend. They rotate so that people can call around the clock. They consume lots of coffee and take naps when and where they can even on the ground outside in the sunshine.
This year they reached 1127 people in 51 countries. Germany was top of the list with 256 contacts. It surprised us that we had 54 contacts in Japan. We spoke to several Russian stations in Central Asia. Our biggest excitement came when Tristan da Cunha called, which according to the Guinness Book of Records is the most remote island complex in the world 2,778 km west of Cape Town, in the middle of the South Atlantic.
The most important figure was how many lighthouses contacts. This year it was 45. Below is the list of the lighthouses.
Country L/H # Lighthouse
1 Belgium Bel027 West Hinder III Lightship Museum, Antwerp
2 Brazil Bra102 Tamandare Lighthouse (Most Distant)
3 Denmark Den009 Fyrskib XXI Lightship
4 Denmark Den012 Hammeren Fyr
5 England Eng006 Bella Tout Lighthouse
6 England Eng063 Leasowe Lighthouse
7 England Eng116 Roker (North Pier)
8 England Eng125 Shoreham Lighthouse
9 England Eng142 St Bees Lighthouse
10 England Eng143 St Catherine’s Lighthouse
11 England Eng292 Blakeney Mariners Light
12 Finland Fin104 Kemi Lightship
13 Germany Fed002 Borkumriff Lightship
14 Germany Fed006 Greifswalder Oie
15 Germany Fed022 Warnemuende Lighthouse
16 Germany Fed026 Dornbusch Lighthouse
17 Germany Fed070 Darsser Ort
18 Germany Fed141 Fehmarnbelt Lightship
19 Germany Fed164 Neuland Lighthouse
20 Germany Fed189 Leuchtfeuer Peenemunde
21 Germany Fed259 Oberfeuer Wehldorf
22 Germany Fed261 Westermarkelsdorf
23 Israel Isr001 Ashdod
24 Israel Isr003 Akko Lighthouse
25 Israel Isr005 Jaffa Lighthouse
26 Italy Ita142 Punta San Cataldo Di Lecce
27 Lithuania Lit004 Neda Lighthouse
28 Lithuania Lit008 Cape Vente
29 Malta Mal003 Giordan Lighthouse
30 Netherlands Net016 Lightship Texel
31 Netherlands Net030 Westkapella Lighthouse
32 N. Ireland Nti003 Blackhead Lighthouse
33 Norway Nor044
34 Poland Pol003 Darlowo Lighthouse
35 Portugal Por005 Bugio Lighthouse
36 Russia (Eu) Eru141 Krasnaya Gorka
37 Scotland Sco023 Brough of Birsay, Orkney
38 Scotland Sco228 Stroma Lighthouse
39 Scotland Sco287 Methil Lighthouse
40 Spain Spa032
41 Spain Spa055 Cabo Vidio Lighthouse
42 Sweden Swe174 Halse Nabb
43 Sweden Swe287 Navens Fyr
44 USA USA644 Ponce de Leon Lighthouse
45 Wales Wal017 Nash Point
I was disappointed that we did not reach more US lights but the conditions just were not right. Maybe next year we well reach more US lights including some in Michigan where I am involved in Saving A Lighthouse (SAL). If any readers are involved in the 2004 weekend please call GB2ELH so we can chat.
This story appeared in the November 2003 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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