The Riviera Amateur Radio Club will be operating GB4TBL (Torbay Lifeboat) throughout SOS Radio Week from Beacon Quay on Torbay Harbour.

In addition to operating on 40m SSB, 2m FM and various digital mode frequencies the club will be installing APRS beacons in the two lifeboats that will be taking part in the 2012 RNLI SOS Challenge.

2012 RNLI SOS Challenge

Current crew members, dressed in period gear, will take a 4-ton 38′ wooden pulling (rowing) lifeboat, similar to the original Brixham Lifeboat (City of Exeter) from St Mary’s Bay where it will be pulled to the beach and then rowed to Brixham Harbour. Following a crew change the lifeboat will be rowed on to Paignton and then Beacon Cove – a total distance of 8 miles at an average speed of around 3mph.

Meanwhile, wives and girlfriends of the crew will be pulling a modern inshore lifeboat along the main road from Brixham to Paignton and on to Torquay, a distance of 11 miles.

The aim of the event is to raise £10,000 to fund new life jackets for the crew.

You can watch the progress of the lifeboats live on the special tracking page that Torbay Lifeboat Station has set up.

Tags: amateur radio, amateur radio club, aprs, brixham lifeboat, challenge, city of exeter, gb4tbl, lifeboat, riviera, RNLI, sos, sos radio week, torbay, torbay lifeboat

This entry was posted on 20 January , 2012 at 13:38. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in RNLI SOS Radio Week 2012 Special Event Stations by G7LFC No Comments Yet