GB0SGI - St. George's Island

Introduction

St George's Island, also known as Looe Island and historically St Michael's Island is a small island a mile from the mainland town of Looe in Cornwall, United Kingdom.

In 1965, sisters Babs and Evelyn Atkins bought the island to live out their dream of owning and living on an island. They lived on the island full-time through the balmy summer paradise and the wild, stormy winters until their death, Evelyn in 1997 at the age of 87 and Babs in 2004, aged 86.

The island was bequeathed by Babs to the Cornwall Wildlife Trust who preserve it as a nature reserve in perpetuity. The island is 22.5 acres in size and the highest point is 47m above sea level.

The island is open to day visitors during the summer. This is a non-profit making venture, the landing fees and other income being devoted to conserving the island's natural beauty and to providing facilities. Jetty cottage is used to accommodate visitors.

According to local legend, Joseph of Arimathea landed here with the child Christ.

Location ReferenceValue
QTH LocatorIO70si
Landranger MapSX 258 514
Latitude, Longitude (WGS84)50°20'13"N, 4°26'54"W
IOTA ReferenceEU-120
CQ Zone14
ITU Zone27
DXCC CountryG - England
WAB SquareSX25

GB0SGI - DXpedition 2005

DX-pedition to St. George's Island, 13th - 17th June 2005

We were on the island week commencing 13th June and logged our first contact at 10:52. We stayed in Looe and were taken across each day by boat but unfortunately could not get on to the island on Thursday due to fog. We operated on 20, 40 and 80 metres.

Latest news: We were unable to extend our operating hours for an overnight session on the evening of Wedneday 15th due to poor weather conditions and were unable to get onto the island on Thursday due to fog which persisted nearly all day. Also we now have three stations available. Two stations will be running the Icom 756 pro II and a further Icom 756 with linear will be running 400 watts into a vertical.

The boat arrived on Friday 17th for the last time of the week so reluctantly all the kit was loaded and taken off the island till the next time. However the expedition was enjoyed by all and thanks to all the stations who worked us. Better luck next time if you did not manage to work GB0SGI on this occasion.

The DXpedition operators were:
Mike G4VSS, Mike M0ACK, Keith G8MKO, John M0ANM, Ron G0WJX, Bill G0PZP, Phil G3TEX, Ian M0BXR, Chris G7GZB and Cliff M0MRC.

The station consisted of three ICOM 756 Pro and one Ameritron linear running 400 watts. We used Carolina Windom for the L.F. bands and a two element folded beam on and 20 metres. A vertical was also used on 40 metres.

The following were approximate times of operation and were governed by tides to get on and off the island and other weather.

Monday 13th09:00 ~ 18:00
Tuesday 14th08:30 ~ 18:30
Wednesday 15th08:30 ~ 19:30
Thursday 16th(No operation due to fog)
Friday 17th08:30 ~ 15:30
Picture of Keith and the Gear Ready to Roll Picture of Clark Mast with Windom antenna above one of the operating Gazebos Picture of Moxon Antenna Constructed by Albert, G3ZHE Picture of The Group Photo Of GB0GSI Operators Left > Right: G7GZB, G0WJX, G3TEX, M0ANM, G8MKO, M0ACK, G4VSS, M0MRC, M0BXR, G0PZP
Picture of On The Boat Across to The Island Picture of A Small Problem with The Linear? Picture of The Island Picture of Two Gazebos used for Operating
Picture of The Vertical Antenna Picture of Shot of Vertical and Moxon Antennas Picture of 20 Ft Mast Supports Far End of Windom Near Cliff Edge Picture of Antennas As Seen From The Boat
Picture of Looe Town and Harbour Picture of The Estuary with Part of the Island Visible Beyond Picture of Two Full English Coming Up! Breakfast Served by Emma at St Johns Court Picture of Chris and Keith
Picture of Fishing Boats near The Harbour Picture of Approaching The Harbour on Return From The Island Picture of The Boat Finally Arrives To Collect All The Gear At The End Of The Week Picture of Mike and Chris
Picture of Ron and Mike Picture of Photo Time

Search the 2005 Log and Print Your QSL Card

We have created an electronic log and uploaded it to our web site for visitors to peruse. Enter your callsign in the box below and click search to see if you're in our log.

GB0SGI - DXpedition 2000

DX-pedition to St. George's Island, 2000

Warrington Amateur Radio Club operated from the Island between Monday 3rd July and Thursday 6th July 2000.

The 2000 logbook has been converted to an electronic log and uploaded to our web site for visitors to peruse. Enter your callsign in the box (above), change the drop-down menu to read "GB0SGI (St George's Island DXpedition July 2000)" and click search to see if you're in our log.

GB0SGI - Previous Years

DX-pedition to St. George's Island, 1999

Warrington Amateur Radio club operated from the Island during 1999.