Whopping 10% increase for ILLW 2009

The International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW) held on 15 & 16 August had an all time record 442 registrations from 50 countries.

Coinciding with this amateur radio fun event annual on the third weekend in August is the International Association of Lighthouse Keepers world wide open day on the Sunday with some lighthouses open to the public along with a festive atmosphere.

The ILLW began in 1995 some 13-years ago in Scotland as the Northern Lighthouses Award for ham radio operators, and became an international event two years later.

ILLW Event Coordinator and Webmaster Kevin Mulcahy VK2CE reports that this year saw a 10% increase in registrations to the website illw.net

Alaska was a first this year with an entry for Sentinel Island. Germany listed 55 lighthouses, Australia 49, USA 47, and England 43. Malaysia celebrated its lighthouse weekend with nine lighthouses.

Kevin VK2CE says the Azores, Balearic Islands, Egypt, Slovenia, Panama were some of the smaller countries represented with one entry from each.

He says some ask us what the connection is between amateur radio and lighthouses. In a word, ‘communication’. Lighthouse keepers communicated with ships via flags in the early days, then radio in later years.

Most lighthouses have a flag pole with a cross bar near the top for signal flags. Some even have a small building near the flag pole for storage of flags. Semaphore was another mode of communication as well as Aldis lamps.

The lighthouse weekend aims to keep the memory alive of those men and women who maintained these navigation aids sometimes in terrible conditions.

It is also an aim of the weekend to bring to the public’s attention the plight of some of these beautiful structures some of which have been neglected and vandalised over the years through lack of use and supervision.

The Ayr Amateur Radio Group, the sole organiser of the ILLW, sincerely thanks all participants who have supported the event this year and in past years. Without this support the event would not be the success it is.

Already 10 entries have been received for next year's ILLW on 21-22 August 2010.

- Amateur Radio Victoria
www.amateurradio.com.au