This year’s Canada Day contest was held at Mission Point Park in Davis Bay east of Sechelt. The assembled group was treated to near perfect weather conditions. The close proximity of the park to the ocean provided a gentle breeze for most of the day keeping everyone cool despite the sunny conditions.

This year marked a new twist with the rental of nearby Mission House just for the event. It was like having our own clubhouse complete with kitchen, tables and chairs, and sun awning‒all very handy for our lunch time BBQ and all-day snacking.

The club operated in the multi-operator multi-transmitter category (MOMT). Radios used consisted of: VE7RBE’s Icom-7300, an Icom 707 portable HF station provided by our local Emergency Operations Center (SCRD EOC), VE7NZR’s VHF station equipment, and VA7CFG’s Elecraft KX2 QRP rig (mostly used for CW contacts). Antennas used: VE7TBP’s Hustler multi-band vertical, VE7RJQ’s 20 metre folded dipole, and telescoping spider-beam mast, vertical wire antenna with wire/mesh “radials” courtesy of SCRD EOC.

Eight participants graced the grounds of Mission Point Park: VE7TBP, VA7RJQ, VE7SMI, VE7RBE, VA7LSP (Safety Officer), VE7TBN, VE7NZR, VA7CFG (Organizer). Friends and family, as well as the odd passerby, made for an informal gathering of like-minded and the curious. We were active in the 15, 20, 40 and 2 metre bands and we logged 60 contacts. A fantastic day!

Well done everyone for coming together and making it happen. A special thank you to VA7CFG’s partner for making coffee and tasty rice-crispy squares, for washing dishes (both pre and post) including a rather nasty looking coffee-maker, and for filling in the gaps food-wise during our mid-day BBQ.

Picnic table operations with Mission House in the background

Left-to-right VHF and HF stations...

VE7TBN logging another contact or operating on digital (Pactor modem). VE7TBN made our longest distance contact of the day with a station in Japan. Way to go, Neil!

2 metre VHF antenna tripod mounted in the foreground and a Hustler multi-band vertical HF antenna staked in the background