[IRCA] July 10 Rockwork 4 DXpedition-- Murphy's Law on Steroids

[d1028gary@xxxxxxxxxxx]

It's probably safe to say that none ofÂour DXpedition groupÂhas ever endured such a miserable DXing session. Severe rain and wind pounded the highly-exposed Rockwork 4 ocean cliff turnoff throughout our antenna setup and radio listening, providing a very stark welcome for our distinguished Japanese visitors (Hiroo Nakagawa and Satoshi Miyauchi). 
 
We all knew we were in trouble as soon as we drove up to the ocean cliff site at the bizarre hour of 0315 (local time). A toxic mixture of heavy rain and wind was hammering the cliff, making even our antenna setup a most miserable experience. Having been through this bad movie before (at Cape Perpetua in August of 2014) IÂcame prepared with strong plastic tie wraps to anchor the FSL basesÂandÂwaterproof covers for the antennas themselves, butÂunlike the smart Japanese visitorsÂnone of the North AmericansÂhad comeÂwith raincoats. As such, both Tom and I were thoroughly drenched and shivering whileÂHiroo-san and Satoshi-sanÂseemed warm and comfy. Nick was only drenched from the knees down, apparently having escaped the worst by deploying a more modest antenna requiring less setup time. Tom's broadband loop supports absolutely refused to stay vertical in the stiff wind until I offered him several of the 175-lb. test plastic tie wraps, and of course in the predawn darknessÂ(and foul weather) the loop wires had unintended footÂtraffic, at one time causing the loop to be tightly snagged in Satoshi-san's car trunk (really). Despite the challenges we all managed to deploy our antennas and receive DU-DX, although we were all in agreement that the session's propagation was somewhatÂ"watered down." The single, thoroughly drenchedÂ15" FSL managed to receive 657-Star, 702-2BL, 738-Tahiti and 1035-Newstalk ZB for both Satoshi-san and me, which is probably the first time in history that a single FSL was used to boost two Ultralight radios for simultaneous MP3 recordings. We have one more morning together at the wild ocean cliff site, whichÂobviously can't be any worse than the one we just experienced. For those interested, an on-siteÂvideo of the "Session from Hell" isÂpostedÂÂatÂÂ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lw9k6E08eME&feature=youtu.be ÂÂ, featuring a sorry collection of soaked and shivering DXers wondering how they ever survived such a wacky experience. 
 
73 and Good DX, 
Gary DeBock (drying out and warming up at the "Bunk House" in Nehalem, OR)Â 
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