SPEARS NEWSLETTER
San Patricio Emergency Amateur Radio Society
July 11, 1998
Vol II No 6
=====================
THE NEWS

SPEARS Field Day Results

The SPEARS Field Day was the best one yet. Many
thanks go out to all those who came and contributed to
the SPEARS Field Day effort. Special thanks to
Sonny/KC5DYC for his effort in getting things organized
and off the ground. Sonny also supplied the equipment
for the novice station, and was able to get a SSB station
working for us on Sunday morning. Special thanks to
Richard/N5KXA for supplying the equipment for our CW
station, and also John AA9NE for helping with all the CW
contacts. Special thanks to Hoyt/KC5SHN for the fine
sign announcing to the public our field day operation, and
the drive on mast supports that he made. Special thanks
to Bob/W5JYJ for the fine job he did in getting the county
and media coverage we had. Special thanks go out also
to these who contributed either as operators, helping set
up and tear down, or just providing moral and/or
equipment support:

Steve/N0WZH
Henry/KC5FLH
Bill/WA5MPA
Jack/KI5PB

I know that there were others who were there to lend
support and a helping hand that I have forgotten, but
please know that you were appreciated.

Very special thanks to Skip Kirby for supplying the county
generators for the event and especially for the effort he
did in letting the public know about the event. Skip also
helped get the Salvation Army involved who did a
wonderful job of providing us with food, water and cold
beverages for the event. As hot as it was, they really
were a life saver.

From ke6dre@juno.com (Jim R Trammell)

Date: Sat, 11 Jul 1998 17:52:47 -0500
Subject: "D.B. Kline" <n5prh@flash.net>: KAIMALOLO May News Letter
Message-ID: <19980711.175247.3590.2.ke6dre@juno.com>

I received in todays mail the May 1998 Newsletter from Bob & Cleo's
nephew.

The letter (Which I also post on the BYC Club bulletin Board) comes in
columns and is difficult for my scanner to reproduce as a text document

for transmitting via e-mail. So.....it may have some indentation
problems, garbles and or at times even misspelled wording which did not
occur in the mailed newsletter.

If there is anyone who does not want to receive the monthly newsletters

or other information concerning KAIMALOLO's progress just say so and I
shall try not to include them on my mailing list.

D.B.

KAIMALOLO NEWS
Vol. 05 No. O2 Robert E. and Cleo D. Phillips ( WSHZ & AB5PH) May, 1998

KAIMALOLO is moored at the Pedro Miguel Boat Club in Lake Miraflores
between the first and second "down" locks on the Balboa (pacific) side
of the Panama Canal. Northwest across Lake Gatun lie the three locks on
the Cristobal (Atlantic) side. We arrived there on April 30th after a 20

day transit from Key West, Florida.

There is some confusion about our mail address. The address shown at the

end of this letter is correct for mail to us. The return address on your

newsletter is only for the newsletter. it is that of my heroic nephew,
Norman, and his steadfast wife, Jeri, who graciously agreed to print,
copy, and mail the letter from the states on our behalf. Love you both!

We departed from Key West on Good Friday, April 10th, after waiting for

three days at anchor for favorable weather. We blazed along under Main,
staysail and Yankee at speeds up to 9.1 knots with NNW winds 15 to 20
knots; while heading down the west side of Cay Sal Bank. By noon
Saturday, we pulled down the second and third reeefs in the Main, a reef

in the staysail, and doused the Yankee with 30+ knot winds as we
entered Nicolas Channel north of Cuba. The winds clocked toward the
north as we entered the narrow part of the Old Baharna Channel. Thanks
to the GPS we were confident of our positions along that area. When we
cleared the narrows the wind was in the east at 15 to 20 knots and we
had a long windward bash ahead. A large gale region to the north sent
large swells on us mixed with 10 to 12 foot seas from the easterly trade

winds. We took another bashing as in the Gulf. The half-inch pin in the
aft net beam, port side shattered again.

We jury-rigged repairs to the aft net beam and continued on our way. We

picked up Cuban patrol boats for shadows on two nights, but neither
tried to close or board us. On the sixth day out, the autopilot failed,
but we rigged a system to lash the wheel to allow the boat to steer
herself for limited periods. On April 19th, we entered the Windward
Passage around the eastern end of Cuba, and headed south between Haiti
and Jamaica.
The winds went light and the currents became unpredictable. At one point

we had to start the outboards in order to power away from being swept on

the rocks around Navassa Island. On the 22nd, we sighted a U.S. missile
cruiser (probably the USS YORKTOWN) patroling near Jamaica. The
following day we began to pick up the NE tradewinds again.

The daytime easterly trades mixed with nighttime north winds to produce

another "mixmaster" sea condition. The weather started to show signs of
transequatorial convergence zone activity. Copying New Orleans fax
broadcasts didn't shed any light.
On Friday night, April 24th, a U.S. Coast Guard Cutter came up from
astern and paced us for about 20 minutes, then hauled off about 4 miles
to run parallel without any radio contact. A few days later, we were
overflown by a Navy Maritime Patrol P3C aimraft, again without contact.
The U.S. Government is sure spending a lot of Operating Funds just to
keep track of us! Guess we should have filed a sail plan!!
Next, "You never saw this at Sea World."

On Monday, April 27, at about 1100 in the morning, near 10-27N
latitude, 79-01W longitude, We were treated to an unmatched display of
some three or four dozen Porpoises of mixed ages. It started When a few
approached on our starboard side and played near our bows. The game
consisted of groups of youngsters riding the bow waves while Older ones
stayed just to one side or later, jumped across the bows. As one group
finished another group moved into place from the starboard side while
the earlier group moved back on our port side. The pattern continued for

about three quarters of an hour. Some of the ado!escents started doing
side- and back-flips, while a few did tail stands or great leaps.

It occured to us that this might be a training session for the young
ones before they tried to play ahead of the large ships at higher
speeds. In any case after forty-five minutes, as if on a signal, the
entire troupe turned away toward the NNW. The Grand Finale started as
they opened out about fifty yards. The entire group formed in a single
line abreast started doing a series of precision jumps in unison. It was

their way of saying "Thanks for allowing us to use you as a training aid

for our young ones!"

On April 30th, after a night of tacking back and forth northeast of the
sea buoy waiting for daylight, we entered the Republic of Panama at
Cristobal and anchored in "the Flats" about a mile from the Panama Canal

Yacht Club. .....

We started the maze of entry formalities, red tape, visas, cruising
permit, admeasurement, canal scheduling, boat repairs, banking
transfers, customs, victualing, mail arrangements, etc., etc., etc.

The subject of canal fees drove us here earlier than we would have
desired. That turned out to be the result of some misunderstandings and
distortions by various media. Upon arrival, we learned that there would
be no immediate fee increases. Our total fee was $505. When the rates do

go up, it will be $500 for boats up to 50 feet Ioa; $750 for boats 51 to

100 feet; and $1500 for boats over 100 feet Ioa. Boaters will be
encouraged to use local agents as well.

As a matter of reference, merchant ships pay transit fees of
from$80,000up to as high as $165,000 (by a large cruise ship).

KAIMALOLOA arrived at Pedro Miguellate in the afternoon of 14 May
following an unremarkable transit of four of the six locks. We locked
"up" behind the Liberian freighter BIO BIO while tied alongside the PCC
(Panama Canal Commission) tug MAHAFEE. At the Pedro Miguel lock we
locked "down" ahead of the Panamanian bulk cargo SPRINGER LAKE.

Our pilot/advisor, George Shaw, was very professional and quite
personable. He is an ex-merchant marine officer in training for full
fledged pilot. The four paid line handlers were knowledgeable and
proficient, making our lifes much less stressful.

We have now set about making the many repairs and maintenance jobs
necessary after the long and arduous voyage from Key West. The Boat Club

moorings are generally quiet, parts are available from the states. The
members are friendly and helpful. Other cruisers are good sources of
information. Even the resident fresh-warer crocodiles keep pretty much
to themselves!

What (or more precisely, where) next?

We will most likely skip the Galapagos group since they have become
eco-touristy. The next stop, then, will be the Marquessa' in the French
Polynesians. We would prefer to call at Nuka Hiva for some of its
socieological and historicqaal interest as well as scenic
attractiveness. From there we had planned to continue on west to the
Cook Islands and then to the Samoan group. However, lately we've been
feeling that Hawaii calls, and if we don't go there now, we might never
get back. Granted, Hawaii is not very hospitable to boaters any longer,
but we're still drawn back to the one place that we enjoyed the most of
all our duty stations in 26 years of active duty in the Navy. There is
also the possibility that we can then turn SSW to the MarshalIs and Guam

before heading for the Philippines and Singapore. This Would cover a lot

of WWll territory and history. 73 & cul.
Write to: Apt 4392, 6110 Pleasant Ridge Rd., Arlington, Texas, 76016,
USA