It's Strawberry pickin' time again!  In Virginia Beach that only means three things (if your a Ham).  The Festival in Pungo, its parade that VBARC has helped coordinate for years and (ever since last year), Special Event Station W4S!  Steve W4XQ has already obtained the 1X1 call and everything cleared hot for this year's operation!

The 26th annual Pungo Strawberry Festival will be on Saturday, May 23rd and Sunday, May 24th.  Bring the whole family to this event, as there is something for everyone.  Stop on into the Special Event Shelter right next to the 4H tent and make a few QSOs as W4S.  Last year was a blast and here is the article on eHam to prove it...

Additionally, if you would like to help out with the parade on Saturday morning, please give Al WA4TCJ a shout.  For more information about the Special Event Station or to volunteer to help set up, please contact Steve W4XQ.

April VBARC Membership Meeting
by Bernadette Williams KI4VCR

The April 2009 VBARC Meeting was called to order at 7:40 PM by President Steve W4XQ. Steve immediately turned the meeting over to Vice President John WB4AXY. John Introduced our first guest speaker, Chief Meteorologist Jeff Lawson from WVEC. Jeff talked about different weather conditions, including severe weather and tornadoes. Jeff emphasized what we should do to protect ourselves. He indicated that having emergency plans and kits made up, in case of evacuations, was essential to weathering a severe storm or hurricane. Jeff talked about his background and how he became interested in meteorology. He has been at WVEC for a number of years and has enjoyed working there. After he finished speaking, Jeff took questions from the assembled VBARC members and guests. John WB4AXY presented Jeff Lawson with a certificate of appreciation from VBARC for taking the time to come out and speak to our members.

After a short break, Steve Molo KI4KWR gave VBARC a short presentation on SKYWARN. Steve told us about the new equipment set up at Wakefield. If you would like to volunteer to operate, please contact them to make arrangements. Steve said, if you call to report weather in your area, please give them the best information possible. For example, if it is hailing, tell them the approximate size of the hail that is falling (marble, pea, baseball). Also provide damage reports, wind speed (if in excess of 50 MPH). When Steve was finished, John presented him with a certificate of appreciation for his presentation.

The following announcements were made following this months presentations:

- Al  WA4TCJ reminded the Club about the upcoming Tour De Cure bike ride for Diabetes being held in Chesapeake. CARS will be in charge of this local community service event.

- The 26th Annual Pungo Strawberry Festival is coming up and Steve W4XQ will have a special event station set up by the 4-H tent. If you have never worked a special event station head out there and give it a try! It will be May 23rd and 24th in Pungo.

- The Ham cruise is coming up in February 2010. The cruise will be for eight days beginning on February 27, 2010.  For more details, contact Vernon W4THN .

- The QCWA meets at Angelo's Steak and Pancake House in Newport News, on Jefferson Avenue.

- The USS Wisconsin Club meets on the seconds Saturday of each month.

- Don't forget about the Breezy Point Triathlon at the end of May!  Contact Al WA4TCJ if you would like to participate in the communications coordination for this annual event.

The 50/50 was won by Don Nash W4ORF. He won $43.00! Congratulations Don!  April's VBARC Meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM.

A Tribute to Jack Main W4YCZ - SK
by Vic Culver W4VIC
reprinted from the QCWA Chapter 119 Event Horizon (Vol 4, No 13)

We sometimes miss the opportunity to do things we would like to do simply because there is so much to do.  Putting off important things never is a good thing to do and sometimes the ranking of important things is not what we might wish it to be had we better foresight.  And so it is that we are coming a little bit late to something we wish we had done earlier.  The QCWA Member Profile this week features Jack Main W4YCZ, who became a silent key last week on March 28, 2009.  We might have done better to have celebrated Jack while he was here to accept our congratulations in person.  As it is, Jack knows that we are honoring him in this way, and if you wish to express your appreciation of Jack then send a note to Sally, his wife, and let her know how much Jack meant to you, and to all of us: Ms. Sally Main, 172 Ocean Avenue, Norfolk, VA 23503.

Enclosed are some biographical notes that came this way over the past few days.  They tell a story of one side of this extraordinary individual. Enjoy what we know to share with you.

Wally Carter K4OGT shared the following note about Jack:

...I can not come up with a time line but I do remember that Blair Blanton W4CEU, now deceased, and I stopped by and talked him in to running for president of SPARK as we were returning from the Virginia Beach Hamfest.  He ran and was president for two years.

Earlier, around 1972, I had coffee with him and in our conversation I found out he was the Weather Bureau man on a Coast Guard ship, (not in the Coast Guard per say) somewhere in the North Sea in 1952.  I was on a Troop ship headed for Europe and he was giving weather bulletins by radio.  We had a transoceanic in the group and followed the news about the storm.  The first mate told me they were in direct contact with the weather ship.  This continues until we docked and then left Southampton, England.  We ran into the edge of the storm and had to stand off of Bremerhaven for about 18 hours, on sea anchors.  The storm was in 1952 and the only reason I can set a time is I remembered it was 20 years later when I first met him.  He and Sally were great music lovers and they followed the Hampton Lions Jug band, all of the Williamsburg events and another band I played with from 1972 until 2003, called the Lyrics.  They would always bring Sally's parents to the Fort Monroe Officers club, when they were in country and we were playing there.

He was one of our first operators to train and fill a weekly slot at the Virginia Air and Space Center radio station, until his doctor told him recently to quit extra travel and outside activities.  He had a small side key and would send "My Name is Jack" on our oscillator.  He was surprised more than once to have someone walk up and say "Hello Jack."  Last year, as you remember, I helped Sally to set up a party, at VASC, for his 80th birthday.  I am so sorry I can not add more.  I will miss him.

73,
Wally Carter K4OGT

The following came our way in a document titled “I Remember Jack Main” written by Jack A. Eckert.  In this document there is a letter written to Armand Brunette, with additional comments by J. Eckert:

June 13, 1992
Dear Armand,
I enjoyed talking to you last night as I mentioned.  I have been on nearly every East Coast Cutter and one on the West Coast.  Some of these ships, or should I say most of them are long gone now.  The following is a list of the ships and the number of times I was on each one:

Ingham 14, Absecon 12, Chincoteague 12, Mendota 12, Taney 11, Duane 10, Owasco 7, Spencer 7, McCulloch 7, Half Moon 5. Bibb 5, Sebago 4, Rockaway 4, Campbell 4, Cook Inlet 4, Gresham 3, Barataria 3, Castle Rock 3, Androscoggin 3, Hamilton 2, Boutwell 2, Escanaba 2, Mackinac 2, Ponchartrain 2, Morganthau 2, Munro 1, Sherman 1, Gallatin 1, Yakutat 1, Humboldt 1, Chambers 1, Coos Bay 1 and Unimak 1.

That adds up to 150 trips aboard Coast Guard ships. Most of the trips were about five weeks long but one was two and one half months in the South Pacific.  These ships represent the five classes of ships that stood weather patrol.  This would be 255' or Lake Class Cutters; 311' or ex-AVP Navy Seaplane Tenders; 327' and 378' Cutters were Secretary Classes and the Chambers was the one lone ex-Navy Destroyer Escort which was the worst riding ship the Coast Guard ever had.

Jack (W4YCZ)

Mr. Everett comments:

Jack Main was a Civilian Weatherman who was assigned to the various East Coast Cutters beginning in 1950.  OSJ has not contacted him directly but it is assumed he left his Weather Ship duties about 1970.  150 patrols over 20 years is about 7-1/2 patrols per year.  That is about 233 days at sea per year every year.  How many of us "Old Salt's" can make that claim?  He should be nominated as "Lord HIGH BRINE Density."  That is more than just being an "Old Salt" and we should stand at attention in his presence and salute him.

The "Weather Birds" were a hardy breed, they had to be.  It is one thing to go to sea as continuously as they did but to go to sea on Weather Wagons was something else.  They worked around the clock like most of the sailors did.

They were given the privileges of officers but in some respects that wasn't really a plus for them.  Their sleeping quarters were the worst available that could still be considered in Officer's Country.  They ate in the Ward Room which meant they paid for their meals directly.  Every one of the larger ships in those days had an Ensign type Mess Treasurer trying to preserve as much as possible of his (there were no hers) monthly meal allowance of $47.88.  On one ship a Junior Officer bragged that the mess bill for the entire patrol was $7.77.  While the Weather Birds didn't have to pay much for their chow, they didn't eat very well either.  There weren't very many fat weathermen.

For the most part these fellow's were a decent lot. They didn't mix much with the Officers and men but were not aloof either. They are forgotten today to almost everybody but us "Old Salt's."

Jack Main was an avid ham radio operator and was the first man to legally bring his gear aboard ship. In 1964 he had orders to the Castle Rock in Boston and knew he was going to Ireland after the trip. It was a long one and he "sweet talked" the Skipper into permission to bring his little HW-32 and a hustler antenna along. That worked out so well and so many patches were made including several emergency messages that the Coast Guard decided to let him bring his rig on any ship he wanted to. All he had to do was secure the Captains permission. Slowly all of the ships got their own gear and if they had a licensed ham on board would operate with Jack Main filling in when needed.

Yes Jack Main, you are remembered! -- By all of us!

Mr. Jack Main, W4YCZ (SK)
QCWA Member # 21769

Editor's Note: I never had the pleasure of formally meeting Jack, but he supported HRHams from it's inception, and would religiously send me the minutes from the USS Wisconsin Club meetings.

For those of you that may not have heard, I am now working as YI9TM from FOB Kalsu (about 40 miles south of Baghdad).  I already nearly have 500 contacts and 50 entities from around the globe, all this with an end-fed dipole that is about 20 feet at the high end!  The rig is an IC-7000.  Mostly Europe and Asia at this point.  Soon I will have a Carolina Windom at about 40 feet!  Hopefully I will be able to have better luck with North America, once the Windom is up.  So far only 3 US contacts in the log, and they were quite difficult.  I keep the a log of contacts that I have made here.

The ironic part about all of this is that YI9TM is probably going to earn his DXCC, long before WT4M ever does!

Things are well with work and I am slowly figuring out what is expected of a "Sailor in the Sandbox"!  I usually find time to get on the air in the evenings (my evening) anywhere from 16-1900Z.  A few of the European hams have been kind enough to share my signal report; an MP3 file from Dave ON8WW in Belgium and this YouTube short from Luca IS0YTG on Sardinia.

Hope to get you in the log soon!