[QCWA] 2009 QCWA Cruise Report de W5PUT

[Val Erwin]

Ahoy QCWA Members!..
 
We have all heard the saying: "You snooze, you lose." That certainly applies to those of you that elected not to join 160+ of us on the 2009 QCWA Convention Cruise aboard the Holland America, MS Eurodam!
 
Despite rumors to the contrary, there were no reported incidents of iceberg collisions, hurricanes, or German U-boats. Cat-o'-nine-tail floggings were only administered on an as-needed basis.
 
As usual, our defacto QCWA "cruise director", Larry McCalvy, WA9JMO did an outstanding job arranging and ensuring that all QCWA activities went off without a glitch. Larry developed such a rapport with the ships staff that there seemed to be nothing that he asked for, on behalf of the QCWA cruisers, that he did not get. I was not able to confirm  but it was rumored by cruise-end that the MS Eurodam Captain was saluting Larry!
 
The ham radio activity was a roaring success thanks to the generosity of both Icom America and Ham Radio Outlet who provided the necessary ham rigs/antennas, etc. Excepting less than ideal band conditions, there was but one glitch...........A spot we had chosen for one of the station locations was heavily QRMed.  The "QRM" resulted from a deck entertainment musical band that set up immediately adjacent to the ham station! Thus, that station was moved to an upper deck. It certainly was nice to be on the "other end" for a change as a DX station. Several of us took our collapsible Arrow satellite antennas with us and I was able to work through A0-51 twice although the "bird" passes were less than ideal. The ham high points of the cruise were the personalized tour of the Arecibo Observatory and the interface with the St. Thomas VIARC (Virgin Islands Amateur Radio Club). How many QSOs did we have?...........By cruise-end, we had filled up two
 logbooks! My personal thanks go out to those that presented two at-sea days of extremely interesting ham radio forums.
 
Our presence as hams on the MS Eurodam afforded an excellent opportunity for us to "sell" ham radio to many of the other cruisers. Larry McCalvy had provided each of us with large lanyard-type I.D. tags identifying each of us as QCWA Members/hams. Those I.D. tags never failed to draw interest and questions from the non-ham cruisers.
 
By cruise-end, after sampling all the great food on the MS Eurodam, I am sure we have all added a few extra pounds to our physique. Thus, for me personally, it is back to the gym. Should you not have a gym membership, I am sure that power-lifting that old Johnson Viking Valiant will do just as well! 
 
If you did not cruise with the QCWA gang this time, I can almost guarantee that Larry McCalvy, WA9JMO,  is already planning the next cruise. Please try to join us for the next one!  Consider that when one takes into account the cost of gasoline, lodging, food, automobile depreciation, etc. for a conventional vacation, the cost of a cruise is an absolute bargain..

For now, it is back to the home QTH, home sweet home, and the realities of everyday life like leaf raking this time of year.....

 
Best Regards,
 
Val L. Erwin, W5PUT
Member, QCWA Board