Kayak 2000
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On October 21, 2000 many of the local hams participated in the Kayak Challenge at Key Biscayne we provide communication and status reports for the race.    All of this is to benefit Cystic Fibrosis.

To the casual observer, this might look like the local hams at the bar.   But the bar was turned into a Net Control for the event.   A base station for voice communication and a APRS base station for position reports were set up.

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A view of the start/finish line from the second floor net control position.

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Robert, KE4MCL, Net Control overlooks the event.   Downtown Miami is visible in the background.

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Some participants line up for the start.

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A display showing the route of all the APRS trackers.   We had 4 trackers to follow the progress of the first and last boats, and the Coast Guard.    This was critical information for the coordinators of the race.     It also generated a lot of positive comments from the public.    For maybe the first time, we had 100% tracker uptime.  

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A view of downtown Miami.   Unfortunately, the repeater was blocked by some large buildings.  This causes some dead spots for the voice traffic.

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Although net control is a serious business, there are some down times when we can have a bit of fun.

At this point we wonder if Jeff might have a drinking problem.

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For reasons that are hard to explain here, this beverage was a hit among all the workers.   And with a 0700 start time, it helped keep the eyes open.  

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This is not a Kayak, however careful observation was still maintained.

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07/15/03