My usual route to Cayman is modified this year as my customer in Reedsburg, Wisconsin (UK readers think rural Essex but the size of England) has merged and so moved to Aiken, South Carolina, a far larger town now with 32,000 population. Iits nearest airport is Charlotte with direct flights to Cayman, far more convenient.

In the move the total number of employees won’t change that much, however most won’t move that far, so there are winners and losers, but the improved economies of scale are a must in this competitive world. During the factory tour I hear about tariffs as they see it. The US company they have merged with gets SDKs – Semi-Knock-Down kits – assembled in China. The new tariffs mean that these imports are now suffering a 225% penalty, not the 20% headline we read about. I am further informed “But new Chinese manufacturers of our product were popping up two a year using SKD and killing us, selling whole cars for less than we can build for and it’s all Chinese government sponsored, but usefully the new tariffs are rearward looking, so some of the new start-ups have already gone to the wall. They offer no after sales service or meaningful warranties like we do, but money speaks”. Bottom line, the defensive effects of tariffs are welcomed.

Arriving in Cayman all feels very familiar and friendly now. I pick up the rental car from Europcar, a newish player there. Their vehicles are remarkable for being new, clean and the correct hand drive. The main man Rubin is charming and so grateful that I accept the $15/day liability insurance, hinting at an accident that recently befell a customer without it. I wondered if he was just selling me, but whatever.

I am in the shack Thursday afternoon, earlier than usual. This is useful as last year my dependency on the US-based IT assistance for setting up the ZF1A contest station for single screen SO2R on DxLog led to a last-minute hiatus, now averted. This time we are up and running by 8pm with time for dinner and a beer at the local Holiday Inn. It’s a 25-minute drive but it has all I need. Increasingly the drive is assisted with bright yellow lane marker sticks, 50mm wide, 1m high and 1.5m apart, stopping you from straying into the wrong lane especially at roundabouts. These ‘trainer sticks’ will also stop you taking the turn you want if you start from the wrong lane, forcing errors for drivers new to the area. There were a few in previous years but now these are everywhere, but why?

The station is ready in good time. The start is an odd rush on 80m lasting just 20 minutes where it’s not a particularly high Q-rate, but the band will not be as rich with bonuses as this again so is important. The anticipation of the start gets the heart rate up and running must be mixed with S&P; blink and it’s all over. There are never usually VKs or ZLs at this point although I have been sure it’s open, and this year ZL/Dave BUO proved it.

So to 40 and work a good mix of everything in darkness and wait until the rate drops when it’s time to go to 20, just inside the first hour, to UK pileup bedlam. I had previously checked last year’s logs about when I had moved to 15 and to 10, on half hourly ticks it looks, so I expected to repeat that. It worked, proving again the old adage ‘work the highest band that propagation will support”. However, ten was nowhere near what I expected; people were clearly there but it’s harder and slower than I’d hoped and only slowly improved.

As always after a few hours I will then bump into the Big Canadians and be informed how the whole event is shaping up.  VE3EJ is ahead but is assisted so just a useful indicator. But my main adversary XL3A is 144 ahead – aggghhh!, how did that happen? Last year I wasn’t sure if it was strategy or propagation that had helped; but it looks like propagation does play its part, although stacked yagis up to 150ft under worse propagation might also be a clue – I’ll check the public logs later. The temptation to go to the beach is largest at this moment, but I force myself to remember that Q-rate is always higher in ZF during the last two hours than for many.

The afternoon is of course spent on the HF bands and I slowly remember how to get the best out of the station. The inexorable rise of noise persists and the multiple beverages are now essential, especially on 20 and even 15m where they are very pointy; if you don’t switch around them regularly you will completely miss callers. Host Andrew Eden ZF1EJ is not himself a contest operator, but he just loves his station being used for all the major contests and having multiple beverages cris-crossing his back garden on 3m poles is his great pleasure. I consider explaining making this addition at home….

When it becomes appropriate to QSY HQ stations and other rare birds and I am starkly reminded of the variable state of morse capability. Some are ready in a heartbeat. Some just repeat their serial to every QSY request while others just run away.

A team mate passes by and I blink, missing the joint QSY opportunity. I chide myself severely for missing these. I also privately chide an HQ bonus station who won’t QSY but ought, given they were CQing into the void before I arrive and continue again afterwards. Additionally, those responsible for HQ stations who are turned to jelly by a QSY request. Guys – it’s realistically the only thing you will occasionally be asked after you have sent your serial!

More than any other contest the art of QSYing makes this event. Taking people to new bands in the right order so you don’t lose them one band too soon. More of this later.

There is a right moment to go to 40 and which can be complete mayhem. I have previously gone early to slow the onslaught down, but that misses too much of the open HF path to VK/ZL, and before they mostly jack it in as we have been reading elsewhere. However, I have found a new game I‘ve called Pile-up Bingo. By 40m we know who are on and assisted and so will be first to pounce. So, arriving properly late to the party and faced with the wall of callers you can actually revert to guessing based on a single letter, or just guessing, and call them out. This has a very high success rate and runs the pileup as fast as I’ve ever done it. Heard a J, try SJJ, right. Heard a B, try BJ, right again You can also pick out your mates. Peter LET won’t be assisted, but I know his extra gifts will have found the pile-up by now – right. And TBK, of course. Heard a Z, that’s the adjudicator – better be nice to him! – right; and so it went. Many of you, though, would have been piqued at the ease the smart money gets though, calling with their note 70Hz LF of the herd. That’s what the XIT button is for! As it slows, somewhere at the bottom someone is still plaintively calling, probably one of our QRPers. Eventually I make out Dave YMC.

Then to 80. Signals not too bad, though I know they will likely be better at 6am. Fortunately this is a low QRN year, though fading was a bit of an issue.

1.30 GMT and 90 minutes kip, then up and a quick breakfast. I am thankful that it is a low ant year; they are about crawling over the table, the keyboard, the rig, inside the rig and sometimes over my hand but never found my provisions. I can’t erase the image of the year their army over-ran my mug of orange juice.

Back to the bands and a fair few to work. ‘Ring the changes’ as John VE3EJ says in the book, so I did. 80 builds nicely at 6 am. Then to 40 and lots to work, many good signals. This is my catch-up phase, but can it be enough, XL3A is now 204 ahead; unless he has switched to assisted, I’m toast. Focus! – keep CQing….

Its 8 am and getting very quiet and I think to quickly check 20, just in case. Theres a few around including some ZLs. Then a VK. But wait, its 3 am local?? Then I remember my host in VP9 telling me of this. I QSY the ZL to 15, at least as strong. We go to ten at 08:10 GMT and it’s a struggle, but it’s still 20 points. So now I know the path is wide open but very few are still there trying, as VK6HDs write up confirms. I start to wonder, is it actually briefly open to VK/ZL on all five bands at once? Next year I shall try to prove this.

The event is done and time to rest. In the afternoon I make it to my favourite bar here – the Cracked Conch with its pier sticking out to the west, no better way to dine at sunset. Get your timing just right though, as 20 minutes after sundown you become the meal – for the mossies.

Today there wasn’t a table free so I sat at the bar next to a 60 something with bit of a cloud over his head. He was polite enough but something wasn’t right. We exchanged pleasantries and I asked how long he’d been here – “since November” he says. “How have you found it?”. “Not all great” he replies, then his story pours out. He’s a boat captain that had come down from Long Island on a handshake to find that the boat owner was not as he seemed, nor was the boat. He didn’t get paid for his first month and complained, (possibly loudly) and was promptly arrested at his home and his passport confiscated, but he had not yet been charged and so could not get legal representation. He was sat there at the bar effectively an open prisoner on the island, now for four months, unable also to work. He had since found out that no local would work for this boat owner. He was very alone and Paradise not all it had seemed.

I attend the club meet on Monday as in previous years and bump into club sec Danny, a police and services helicopter pilot and ex-pat from Liverpool. We natter about the yellow trainer sticks. “You have to realise that we have visitors from 130 different countries and many simply can’t drive. These really do help to reduce accidents”. That night the traffic had been so bad I thought there had been an accident. No, apparently Cayman traffic is now congested over a three-hour period every evening. The population is increasing and there’s construction everywhere.

Tuesday and I return the car. I make jokes about not having used the $15/day additional insurance but Rubin says “Just don’t! See that car over there?” pointing to a car with a dented rear passenger door. “He would not pay it. I asked and asked, but he just wouldn’t. I have to actually beg people. He’s from the US so on the wrong side and got hit on a roundabout, it happens so much. He is such a lovely guy, a family man and a pastor and now in such a big mess. On the day the police at the scene said it was not his fault but the local driver’s but by the next day that had all changed.”

I looked at the dent in the rear passenger door. His fault? Hmmm. Rubin concluded, “Look, I’m from the US running a business but remember, we are only visitors here, it’s their island”.

“850 Qs, 12,505 points

 73, Colin ZF2CA, G4CWH”

Hi Bob

first time here in Barbados…got set up in nice rental house with sea view from verandah 50m from  the east coast beach.

From the suitcase managed to assemble 2 verticals ; 1  for 80, 1 for 20–10m on 2 corners of the verandah about 15 feet up, with danging radials..plus an in V for 10/15m.FTDX10 survived the journey!

the ants were very close to the local area  mains wiring, about 6 feet,  but no noise luckily here. Travellers dont know till we switch on! 

80m was not great with a short vertical, most  struggled to hear me but other bands did ok, especially 15m. Good runs on 15/10 on saturday. Had a break for

dinner with the xyl when I should have carried on but hehho! Also timed out for a 11/2  hour snooze at 2 am Z, not  going right through these days…

Most enjoyable with lots of VEs, more active than last timeI  think, lots of VE7 plus  VO VE 9  6 5 4 3 2 an 1.Pleased to be  called by some ZL s LP I think as short path ws uphill. Bit slow and weaker signals /QSB on sunday morning, waiting hopefully  for 15 to open, it didnt here, but Dave ZL/BUO and the 5B s were a great signal on 40/20m…never heard VP8 TXF in the contest sadly  from here. 5Z4 couldnt hear me, think he has noise ,

Thanks  to the HQ stations , all were great signals, afew QSY s were made on request, thats  the fun bit !

cheers

Mike 8P9YI   G3VYI

Contest: RSGBBERU
Band     QSOs     Pts  Cty  Sec  Pt/Q
  3.5      31     640   14    4  20.6
    7     140    1985   41    5  14.2
   14     120    1980   43    7  16.5
   21     186    2610   45    5  14.0
   28     112    1730   34    4  15.4
Total     589    8945  177   25  15.2
Score: 8,945
1 Mult = 2.9 Q’s