John (G4YSS) will be on the air today (Sunday 19th March) using the club call GX0OOO/p but this is NOT a summit.
He will be attempting to activate WAB Square 0V00, the most difficult square in the UK.
Located almost totally in the North sea, with the exception of the extreme SW corner, which just touches the corner of North Yorkshire (10 miles North of Scarborough) between high and low tides, it is located at the base of a 500 ft cliff
Due to the rugged nature of the terrain and the need to carry all equipment, using ropes, it is rarely activated on the air. The descent must be timed to arrive just as the tide recedes, so allowing time for set -up and close down before the tide turns.
He will be activating mainly on the Worked all Britain frequencies 7.160, 3.760 & 14.285. SSB, with the possibility of other bands and CW if time permits.
Estimated times
Arrive 1100,
set up antennas and equipment.
1300 QRV
1400 Low tide
1530 QRT (absolutely) John has to pack up the station and start to climb the cliff before the area is submerged.
I am not familiar with the area, and a landlubber on top of that, but I can’t help wondering why activators do not access the place by boat, instead of climbing the unstable cliff. Is the sea too rough for it, or the coast too rocky, so that a landing may be too dangerous?
You would need to have something with very little draught (eg a RIB) so you can land on the rocks - but it also needs to be big enough and strong enough to get you there - the cliffs are vertical for several miles, and a suitable launch site is even further away!