This DXpedition was organised by the Cambridge University Wireless Society.
General Information
Dates: 17-24 July 2006
Operators: G3ZAY, G7VJR, M0BLF, M0DEG, M0SCH and M0TJH
Callsigns: OY/homecall
Bands: 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10m (Updated 15-Jul-06: Maybe also some 6m due to popular demand)
Modes: SSB, some CW and datamodes
Equipment: FT-857D, FT-100, linears, trapped dipole, single-band dipoles.
QSL Information: QSL is via homecalls, direct or bureau, unless otherwise specified by the operator.
All of my flights for this year have been carbon-offset with Climate Care.
Where are the Faroe Islands?
The Faroe Islands count for IOTA EU-018. They are located approximately halfway between Shetland and Iceland in the North Atlantic Ocean, at about 62° North; 7° West. Since 1948, they have been a self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark. The principal city is Tórshavn.
Diary
Monday 17th July
Flew into Vágur airport on a slightly delayed flight due to fog which prohibited us from making the scheduled intermediate stop in the Shetlands. After arriving late in the evening, we quickly made our way straight to the Youth Hostel at Miðvágur on Vágur Island.
Tuesday 18th July
Stayed at Miðvágur. Very good opening on 50MHz. Went to see Gásadalur - a village which until only very recently had no roads and even the post had to come over the mountain by foot.
Wednesday 19th July
Left Miðvágur and then went to visit Saksún, a very beautiful spot with a large lake and traditional houses. After this, we carried on to Gjógv on Eysturoy, where we spent two nights. This is in the far north of the island and had disappointing take-off (the bay only looked North and was surrounded on three sides by high mountains. Nevertheless, the spot is quite spectacular and the hotel is ham-friendly: a German DXpedition had stayed there two years ago. One interesting feature were the 'alcove beds': actually matresses in cupboards built into the walls of a dining area.
Thursday 20th July
Stayed in Gjógv and went for a walk over the mountain to watch some climbers try to climb an offshore stack. It had only been done once before, 100 years ago, by the climber's grandparents. Sadly they did not succeed. On our way back, we witnessed the sound tests at probably the strangest venue for a rock band ever: a cave in the side of the cliff-face on the ramp from which boats are launched.
Friday 21st July
Went to Tórshavn on Streymoy island, where we had a much better take off to the south east (ie Europe) from the Youth Hostel attached to the four-star Hotel Føroyar which looked down on the bay. We also discovered this is one of the foggiest places on the island, with the visibility changing from a few miles to almost nothing in a matter of minutes.
Saturday 22nd July
Looked around Tórshavn centre in the morning, then met OY1CT in the afternoon for a tour around the OY6FRA club station. In the evening, we had our end of trip meal in the main hotel restaurant.
Sunday 23rd July
Left early in the morning for a day-trip to the almost uninhabited island of Mykanes, which is home to thousands of puffins. Mike G7VJR took a portable rig powered by lithium polymer cells and made a few QSOs on 20m from the foot of the lighthouse on Mykineshólmur islet, off Mykanes. OY1CT kindly invited us to his QTH in the evening.
Monday 24th July
Left the hostel in Tórshavn and went to Kirkjøbur (which apparently is pronounced something like 'Shish Kebab'!) in the far south of Streymoy. This had been the site of the pre-reformation cathedral of the Faroes (now under restoration) and is a typical fishing village. From here we carried on back to Sørvágur airport and thence back to Shetlands Sunburgh and London Stansted. (The flight being slightly delayed in Shetland due to a passenger with an immigration problem).
Photographs
My photographs from the trip are now online at Flickr.
DX Spots
An archive of spots relating to our trip is available from the DX Cluster.
Links
For more information about the Faroe Islands, you might like to look at the following websites:
- Faroe Islands tourist guide
- Faroe Islands tourist board
- Faroe Islands webcam
- Faroe Islands Weather Forecast
- CIA World factbook entry
- Atlantic Airways (Flights to the Faroe Islands)