YORK, ME – On Saturday, August 19th, WSSM members activated Cape Neddick “Nubble” Light for International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW). The team setup their radio gear in Sohier Park, using an Icom IC-7100 on battery power and a BuddiPole, which was configured for 40, 20, and 15 meters throughout the day.
Members present included: Peter Fulton WO1J, Tim Watson KB1HNZ, Eric Emery N1RXR, and Jason Andrews W1SFS, as well as other hams who stopped by while visiting the area.
The weather was sunny and pleasant, despite a steady sea breeze which limited our ability to get the desired height from the antenna. Band conditions were mixed, with some early success on 40 meters, but an increasing noise level and QSB (fading) caused us to move up to 20 meters, before settling on 15 meters, where we had our best run of the afternoon. Memorable contacts included TF3PPN in Iceland, EA5GJ in Northern Spain, ZF2PG in the Cayman Islands, and MW0SSB, in Wales (all after 1540 UTC). We also contacted a few other lighthouses, including the Oswego West Pierhead (US0207), and Dunkirk (US0016) lighthouses in Western New York.
2023 marked the 26th annual International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend (ILLW), which began in 1993 as the Northern Lighthouse Activity Weekend, in Scotland, before evolving into an international event, which now sees over 400 lighthouses activated each year.
The Wireless Society of Southern Maine has participated in ILLW since 2011, activating lighthouses across Maine and the Maritimes, including Pemaquid Point (2011 & 2013), Wood Island (2012), Seguin, West Quoddy, and Head Harbour Lights (2014), Cape Neddick “Nubble” Light (2015 & 2023), Portland Head Light and Bass Harbor Head Light (2016), Portland Breakwater “Bug” Light (2017), Spring Point Ledge Light (2018), Rockland Breakwater Light (2019), Owls Head Light (2020), Doubling Point Lighthouse (2021), and Squirrel Point Lighthouse (2022).
Next year’s International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend (ILLW) takes place August 17-18. Stay tuned for an announcement about the next lighthouse we’ll be visiting.
Click here to learn more about International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend.
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