A little help from my friends
I’ve been talking with my friends at SWODXA for a while about going on a DXpedition. I do a lot of portable ops and have been upping my game in anticipation but there are so many places to go, I was stuck in analysis paralysis. Joe Pater, W8GEX , sends an email offering to help.
He has been to C6 multiple times and suggested that it would be a perfect destination for a first-timer. This was exactly what I needed. He then helped me take the planning in some reasonably logical order:
Dates
My wife and I still both work. My schedule is very flexible but she is a school teacher, and we have a lot of responsibilities at home (farm animals like goats, chickens, and geese, along with cats and dogs in the house) and I hate to leave that all to her during the school year.
But, it just so happens that her spring break is the week before CQ WPX in March, 2026. So, I wouldn’t have to wait until summer!
QTH
I started by reading the QRZ page of every C6 I had worked. One of the ops was Steve Senft, KG4LJB ; he has been to Eleuthera multiple times. He was generous enough with his time to have an hour-long conversation about the places on Eleuthera he has operated from, all the pluses and minuses, and got me in touch with the property owner of where he has been staying the last couple of trips.
Now I’m starting to narrow down to Eleuthera in March of 2026. Next up…
Flights
I found flights on American Airlines from Cincinnati (CVG) with a stop in Miami (MIA) direct to Governor’s Harbour Airport (GHB). This means no messing with the Bahama domestic airlines.
That was it for me to make my decision: March 24, 2026 thru March 31, 2026 on Eleuthera Island, Bahamas.