Gulf Harbour Radio

Your hosts - Patricia Dallas & David Sapiane

LIVE BROADCAST

Gulf Harbour Radio is a licensed coast radio station, ZMH286, whose primary purpose is to provide current weather analysis and forecasts for cruising yachts and fisherman in the Southwest Pacific. Gulf Harbour Radio, GHR, is also an official part of a suite of communications for Civil Defence in the event of a national or local disaster where other forms of communications are cut off.

It was established in 2012 when Patricia and David from SV Chameleon decided to take a year off cruising to establish a land home. Initially we arranged to talk to friends from our dock who were departing for the Islands and needed to be updated on what to expect weather wise. It sort of grew and by the end of the season over 500 boats had been in contact either on air or via email! We went cruising again in 2013 but since then operate full time in the cruising season which is May to mid November. We now take the weekends off to accommodate our hobbies.

GHRadio operates from our home on a ridge between Gulf Harbour and Tindalls Beach in Whangaparaoa, just north of Auckland NZ. Latitude 36° 37.149’South and longitude 174° 46.481 East. Radio equipment includes a SteppIr vertical antenna on the roof for TX, an inverted V dipole down the southern side of the house for RX, an Icom M710 SSB and an Elecraft K3 radio. The Linear amplifier is an Icom ZKL. Transmission is pretty good but we are close to power lines so we suffer from a lot of noise and have trouble hearing weak stations. For this reason we appreciate relays! We replaced the inverted V with a Double Bazooka in 2016 and this helped our hearing ability. This home built self destructed in December 2019 so was replaced with a commercial product for the 2020 season. In addition, Nigel Goldstone, who operates winlink station ZL2SEA, has erected an antenna for us in his very quiet off the power grid, site near Kaeo in Northland. This receive antenna comes to us via the internet which significantly improves our hearing ability and will be used almost exclusively from now on.

GHR uses a number of weather models for forecasting purposes. David analyses their output and chooses a model for the day to broadcast to our listeners. In some cases different models are used for different geographic locations based on our experience and input from users. We also monitor various met services and utilise their data if appropriate. We have set a format for our transmission but we are quite willing to change should better ideas arise which would benefit all. GHR can and does use email for yachts who are on passage and are encountering difficult and worrying conditions.

GHR used to concentrate on weather, but during these Covid times we will take positions for those who who do not have email on board and so that others can hear your conditions. We now have full AIS so can see where boats are and know their speed and course. In 2018 Patricia started a brief and eclectic news update which seems to be popular but with fewer cruisers this will be discontinued until we all get back to normality. GHR does not give advice. We provide forecasting data to the best of our abilities but the ultimate responsibility for the safety of the crew and yacht are as always in the hands of the Captain. As most people seem amazingly happy with model information we will not give weather unless asked during the 2021 season.

We are both scientists but more important for this role, we have been living aboard and cruising around the world for 15 years. Much of this time has been in the area we are now covering so we bring a wealth of practical experience to our listeners. Patricia, a kiwi, has a masters science degree with hons in chemistry from Victoria University in Wellington and has been for many years a ham radio operator. Call signs are K6AHS and ZL2RK. David hails from the USA with a BSc from Miami University in marine science and meteorology. On arriving in NZ he was lucky to attend the forecasters course at NZ MetService so has managed to get to grips with systems that go the reverse way from what he was used to in the northern hemisphere! He has always been keen to share his knowledge with cruisers to help them become more independent. From time to time when the weather is quiet he gives mini seminars on air relating to features of importance. David's ham call signs are KF6RMO and ZL2VY.

Gulf Harbour Radio, ZMH286, operates from Monday through Friday from May thru November on either 8752 or an alternative frequency 8779 or 8297. (Other 8 MHz frequencies are available to use if these give problems as the season goes by). Other frequencies that have been allocated to us and maybe used for more distant boats are 12 353 and 12365 kHz. During these abnormal times we have moved our broadcast time to the early evening. We start with a general chit chat at 0515UTC which is NZST 5.15pm. Patricia gives her take on world news, which is mostly NZ, Australia and Fiji news at the moment. As boats are now only going to Fiji David then does an update of weather in between Fiji and NZ and within Fiji. He includes specific passage weather when requested. If you have a particular need which is not usually covered then just call and ask when given the opportunity. Remember that we use an amplifier so don’t be surprised if you can hear us but we cannot hear you. Boats heading west normally pick us up nearing the Cooks. Please help out with relays if you hear someone that we cannot hear.. If you have a question that requires research then it is best to email the day before.

GHR is a free service. We do not have any sponsorship. This gives us a degree of freedom to express our opinions should the skipper’s actions or ideas warrant. It also means we can take time off when we feel the need! To cover fixed costs we really appreciate donations. There are license charges, web site fees, and the power usage doubles during the radio season - for heating, the radio, and internet streaming. If you would like to make a donation please do so by following the instructions after you click on the Donations button below.

Family and friends can follow a boat on one of the tracking sites but if you have not seen anything for a while and become concerned then please contact us and we will do our best to find the boat. (It is easy now that boats are required to run their AIS). Usually they have been too busy enjoying themselves to send in a report! Or there could be computer, AIS or radio problems. Whenever there is poor sailing weather or a boat has had equipment failure, we advise RCC of a potential problem, and we closely watch that boats progress and have them check in frequently with NZ Maritime Radio. More details under Flotsam- Lost a Boat?.