That when all else fails, Amateur Radio is able to come to the rescue.

Here's a story that appears on the ARRL Webpage:

Amateur Radio Connects Family Members During Utah Boating Emergency

06/14/2024

On June 5, Isaac Stiles, KJ7FAY, and his 3-year-old son were involved in a boating accident. Their canoe had tipped over at the Lost Dog Confluence to the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. The initial emergency call was made by Stiles’ wife, Kendal. She had to drive to nearby campsites until she found someone with a phone and then made the call to the Green River Fire Department (GRFD). She told them the pair were in the water but could not be seen or found. Emergency responders rushed to the scene.

The fire crews were able to find Stiles and his son on the opposite side of the river. They were rescued by a Sweetwater County Sherrif’s Department boat. Stiles’ son needed ambulance transportation to a waiting Air Med Helicopter, which would then take him to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City.

Stiles said that once his son was loaded into the ambulance to meet the helicopter, he needed to call his mother to take care of his other son...but there was no cell phone service. So, he tuned on his mobile ham radio to a local repeater and was able to reach Zach Gunyan, KE7WYG.

Gunyan made telephone contact with Stiles’ mother and relayed critical information. He also went a few steps further and stayed on the phone to help calm and assure Mrs. Stiles that everything was going well. He took the rest of the day off from work, kept monitoring the repeater until Stiles was back in the area, and then went to the scene of the accident to help recover the boat and equipment.

After the telephone conversations with Gunyan, Mrs. Stiles thanked him for his help, to which he replied, “This is why I originally got into ham radio, to help just one person in an emergency.”

Stiles had a hard time finding the words to thank Gunyan. “He’s always been a dependable person and helped in many amateur events,” said Stiles. “We are fast becoming good friends!”

Gunyan said he keeps his radio on most of the time, except when he is moving between locations and servicing computer networks. “I lose signal as I move from building to building,” said Gunyan. “But on the day of the accident, I just happened to be at the right place, where I could hear the call for help.”

Stiles’ son is now out of the hospital and on track to make a full recovery.

Gunyan is an ARRL member and the current president of the Sweetwater Amateur Radio Club (SARC). He is an Emergency Management volunteer with the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office. Stiles, secretary of the SARC, is now working on a way to recognize Gunyan for his efforts during the accident.

I know this type of event isn't common, and doesn't happen every day; or even every other day - but there may be a time when you and your radio can play an important role in coming to the aid of a fellow citizen. Don't discount the idea that some day, you may be called to.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!

The weekend was Ham Radio related (sort of) without any time on the HF bands.

Saturday was our monthly VE Session, and we had a good one. Three new Techs and a General who upgraded to Extra. In June we usually have two sessions and this year is no exception. On June 29th, the Saturday after Field Day, we'll hold another exam session at the W2QW Hamfest in Piscataway, NJ. I had to send an e-mail to the ARRL this weekend, cancelling our July 13th exam session. When I scheduled that one I didn't realize at the time that I'd be away from NJ.

Later in the afternoon, I was with some members of our CERT Team at the Feast of St. Anthony, a carnival hosted by one of the Churches in town. I spent the afternoon helping pedestrians to safely cross one of the high traffic thoroughfares in town.  We were on high alert during this one, as about a month ago, a fair in one of our neighboring towns was disrupted by a bunch of protesters and had to be shut down for the day. There was some trepidation that the same group would try again at this fair, but luckily those fears didn't pan out.

Even though it was quite warm (mid 80's), there was a nice steady breeze on Saturday which made it very comfortable. Some chatter amongst ourselves on the NJ2SP repeater was about all the radio I was able to accomplish all weekend.

Yesterday was soup kitchen Sunday, and by the time that was over, with all three events accomplished (and some "regular" weekend stuff accomplished as well) I was too "pooped to pop" and my "dogs"(my feet) were loudly barking at me to let me know that they did not appreciate all the standing I had done all weekend. So I pretty much vegged out Sunday evening. I wanted to join in on the fun of the 4 States Second Sunday Sprint at 8:00 PM, but I probably would have fallen asleep behind the key. As it was, I fell asleep almost the instant my head hit the pillow, which is a rarity for me these day.

One thing that I need to accomplish one evening this week. There's been some debate within SPARC as to exactly where we will locate within Spring Lake Park. The location where we had set up in previous years might be problematic for antenna placement as our two end feds need to be placed perpendicular to each other. The other location, which has a bit more leg room for the antennas is closer to the street, but also closer to some power lines. I was asked to take my KX3 and AX1 to both locations within the park and compare S level background noise levels. If the power lines are problematic, that will make the decision a lot easier to make.

I saw on the internet this morning that there was a major flare exploding from the Sun yesterday. Apparently, it sent enough "hard protons" Earthbound so as to fog some satellite cameras for a few hours. The follow up CME is expected to hit us today. Will it be strong enough to generate aurora visible as far south as New Jersey? I doubt it, as weather conditions for favorable viewing are forecast for all week. Aurora is only visible from New Jersey when it's overcast or raining.

72 de Larry W2LJ

QRP - When you care to send the very least!