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This summit was activated on Sunday 18th July 2004, by myself, accompanied by Jimmy and
Liam.
Despite originally resigning myself to pack up the tent after returning from Bardsey on the Sunday, I got a burst of energy, and with some help from Roger, Alan, Jimmy and Jenny's buttered toast, we were packed up and in the convoy ready to leave at 9am. We drove down beyond Aberdaron and parked, from where we needed to make a 7 or 8 minute walk down to the slipway. Here it was, the big one, the centrepiece of the BBQ weekend, Sir Roger's masterpiece. Donning lifejackets, we needed to use the dinghy to get from the beach to the ferry, and then after a scary moment when Jimmy nearly dropped my SOTA Beam overboard, we climbed onto the Bardsey ferry for the short trip out to the island.
The crossing was fairly smooth and straightforward, but the ferry seemed to "bump" along the sea a few times, causing Liam to clutch Alan EYO's hand, after which he didn't let it go until landing! After a weekend of stopping to wait for us, I decided it was time to let Jimmy stretch his legs. Knowing that the likes of Alan, Roger and Shirley would be out in front, setting a strong pace, I told Jimmy he could walk as fast as he wanted. He disappeared into the distance and later claimed to have been second on the summit after Roger. I stayed at the back of the field with Liam, and was joined by Mark G3XYS for a very enjoyable natter on this very straightforward ascent. Keith had remembered to order the correct weather for a change, and so the summit conditions on Mynydd Enlli GW/NW-072 were wonderful - warm wall-to-wall sunshine, blue skies, sparkling blue sea and hardly a breath of wind. Along the summit, there were seven of us set up, some on HF CW, Keith on 5MHz, and some on 2m FM & SSB. The mutual 2m QRM was a challenge to overcome for some of us, but not impossible if you got your timing right! Summits worked from the island included Rick on Mynydd Rhiw GW/NW-064 (again), where optical contact was also established courtesy of mirrors! Stuart G0MJG/P was on Gun G/SP-013. Keith got the chaser point on 5MHz; I got the SWL point.
After packing up, Jimmy, Liam and I descended a different way down to the north end of the island, down to a gate and path leading to the main island track. We spent some time looking around the stone buildings and exhibitions, before continuing the walk down to the slipway at the other end of the island. With only around 20 minutes to go before the scheduled return crossing, I worked Steve GW1INK/P, still on the summit for the chaser point, after which Steve himself made a hasty descent! The return crossing was very smooth, and after the walk back up to the car park, we said our goodbyes and thanked Roger for organising, so successfully, a wonderful weekend. Jimmy, Liam and myself joined Steve for some lunch in Aberdaron before heading off to our final summit of the weekend - Mynydd Rhiw GW/NW-064.
Thanks to all the following stations worked on this activation, all worked on 2m:
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