Dusting off the cobwebs

Finally got the kayak out to the Delta.

Felt like forever since I've been fishing and it showed.

Managed to tangle up my reel on a wacky rig and then backed into some reeds.

Fun times.

 - U

Torrey Pines South

Torrey Pines was as iconic as I was expecting, even when socked in with fog.

Considering how I've been playing, bogey golf was pretty welcome.

TK continues to be an excellent golf buddy and was kind enough to loan me his clubs.

I should have kept that 4 wood.

 - U

His and Hers

  - U

 

Oasis at Lake Sammamish

 - U

Howell's Spectacular Thelypody

 

 - U

SKCC WAS

 

NH was elusive.

 - U

Silverado South

Somehow the only photo I took on a gorgeous course on a gorgeous day.

87 with OMP.

  - U

Level up

For the days I want to paddle less and fish more.

Heart of Gold got a Newport 36lb trolling motor and 100Ah LiFePo4 battery, held on with leftover fence lumber and PVC pipe. Totes safe.

Yeah, this is fun.

 - U

Almanor Country Club

Lake Almanor is such a hidden gem.

41 on a fun 9 hole course.

  - U

 

Back on the ocean

Back to the Breakwater, this time staying above the surface.

Almost had my kayak drift away at the ramp, forgot to turn on the camera, and donated one of my Scotty rod holders to Neptune. Also, swell forecast was 5@10 but ended up being closer to 6@9.

The good news was that I still mostly remembered how to fish and caught myself a nice copper rockfish for lunch.

I had forgotten how much I enjoyed this.

 - U

Fall Festival at Boundary Oak

WCMGC's signature 2-day event

I won? No one was more surprised than me.

I guess playing 2 days in a row does put you in a groove.

And I won the main prize in the raffle.

Shoulda bought a lottery ticket.

  - U

The Links at Everline

Gorgeous course in pretty terrible shape.

Didn't play particularly well but made some good swings and managed to drive the green on a par 4.

  - U

Back on the Heart of Gold

Everything stayed above water. Mostly remembered how to paddle. Casts yanked left but, hey, it's been 7 years.

Also, ocean tackle is waay too heavy for bass fishing.

 - U

Dublin Ranch

Sneaky good par 63 course. Robert Trent Jones Jr design shines.

My best round in a while.

  - U

Park to Park

  - U

POTA US-3407 Benicia State Recreation Area

Benicia SRA is beautiful after some rain. There's also little parking lots along the waterfront trail that give you really close access to picnic benches.

This would have been one of my more frequented spots if it hadn't been on the other side of a very busy bridge.

The partially-connected 891 go-box setup worked great! Setup and breakdown took a couple of minutes, once the antenna was squared.

Speaking of the antenna, I really need to get off my rear end and get that multiband project done. Adjusting the whip every time was not the most convenient thing. 10m didn't play well either. It might be the counterpoise or some weirdness with the whip and how close it is to the truck :shrug:

FT891 @ 100W; 1/4 wave vertical; N0SA SP4

35 QSOs in 1hr 39min, 10-20m band sweep

DX callsigns, with numbers in more than one place, are brain boilers.

Also, thank you David in Portugal for hanging in there to complete a 22n QSO :)

 - U

Antenna experiment shenanigans at POTA US-4571

Headed out for a quick activation before the week of rain.

I decided to try out a new 1/4 wave vertical antenna. I thought I had tuned it but turns out I hadn't :facepalm:

I couldn't get the Z-Tuner to find a match so bailed out with the KX2.

The CMC choke seemed to do its job too.

The wind played havoc :/ I had a loose connection somewhere and kept getting blips during QSOs until the antenna keeled over.

KX2 @ 10W; 1/4 wave vertical; BamaTech TP-III
10 QSOs in 40min

More work needed tuning the vertical and then working on the multiband prototype.

Lesson learned - don't try a new setup in the field before I've tested it at home.

 - U

Oasis at Uinta-Wasatch-Cache

Go Forrest!

 - U

Bear Cave at Chalco Hills

WB0RLJ continues.

 - U

Dinner, a kneeboard, and POTA US-4578

First attempt with a cobbled together kneeboard. It works :)

I was trying to get a quick activation after dinner but conditions were not great.

This was not the day to try the 40m AX1 extension. I managed 3 QSOs from CA and OR. 20m was slightly better but I only managed 6 before needing to pack up.

Cleaned up the activation on the way back from golf. P2P for the remaining.

KX2 @ 10W; AX1; BamaTech TP-III; QRPWorks MagPi

10 QSOs

2 windows - 1hr for 6, 10min for 4

 - U