Paul, G4BKI/EI6LC will be active as VP9KF from Bermuda Islands, IOTA NA - 005, 14 - 28 April 2025.
He will operate on HF Bands CW only.
Recent DX Spots VP9KF
QSL only direct to:
Paul Evans, c/o 15 Watch Knob Ln., Swannanoa, NC, 28778, USA.
Bermuda
"God Save Our Queen!" - under this old-fashioned motto thrive one hundred and eighty-one islands, known by the collective name "Bermuda", since the end of the XIX century, enjoying increased interest among tourists from all over the world, the number of which is measured annually by six hundred thousand people.
The mention of the Queen is not accidental, because it is a remote territory under the sovereignty of the Crown of Great Britain.
Tobacco Bay, Bermuda. Author - deepfoto.
"Where does the name come from?" - a brief history of the discovery
In the distant year 1503, the ships of the traveler Juan Bermudez docked on the shores of a land unknown to Europeans before.
This educated navigator from Spain had the status of patriarch of Ethiopia and often provided missionary services to King Manuel I of Portugal, King David II of Ethiopia, and other royalty, sailing the oceans in an attempt to strengthen and protect the Christian faith.
Surprisingly, but the discovery of Bermudez his compatriots did not pay attention, and only after 106 years on the islands, densely overgrown with unique juniper, finally stepped foot colonists from England. Of course, the goal of the English navigators led by Captain George Somers was quite different - to sail to Virginia. However, bad weather did its "black" work, and shipwrecked sailors were forced to land on the wild lands and begin their development.
The English, without much thought, named the archipelago in honor of their captain, and began to cultivate crops on its land to diversify their own table, rich in seafood.
Seventy-five years later, many British subjects visited Bermuda and became colonists, so the British Crown officially declared the islands its crown possession in 1684.
For the economic development of the islands, the English Crown used a tried and tested and widespread at the time means - slavery, generously importing black slaves from Africa to cultivate the fertile lowlands.
It was not until 1838 that the black population of Bermuda gained their long-awaited freedom and became full citizens of the archipelago.
The unique juniper was less fortunate than the black slaves: by the 20th century, instead of lush thickets of evergreen but slow-growing fragrant shrubbery, Bermuda was under agricultural cultivation. However, modern trends in the preservation of ecological heritage are doing their best to restore the endemic flora of the archipelago, so that in some time a part of the island may acquire an almost "pristine" appearance as it appeared to H. Bermudez's eyes.
Bermuda Islands. Author - Jeff Mitton.
"Ah, Bermuda!" - What these lands are and how to dock on their shores
To appreciate with your own eyes the marvelous beauty of Bermuda, enamored with subtropical climate that turns tropical, you can get to them by swimming "big water".
The fact is that all 180 islands are compactly dislocated right at the intersection of sea routes in the second deepest and largest ocean - the Atlantic Ocean.
The archipelago itself, consisting of many islands, islets, islets, pre-reefs and lagoons are mostly coral outgrowths, occupying the vent of a long-extinct volcano lying on the ocean floor.
The surface of the islands consists of porous limestone, so that the only source of fresh water is the moisture deposited on land in the form of rain: there are no rivers or lakes in Bermuda! Those lakes (e.g. Harrington, etc.) and coves, which are quite numerous in the archipelago, are not suitable for food purposes, because they are filled with sea water.
So drinking water in Bermuda is tight - desalinated water is expensive, so the locals stockpile by means of specially designed roofs that spills during rainstorms.
The total land area is 53.2 square kilometers, and for ease of administration it is administratively divided into:
nine districts (St. George's being the largest and Smiths being the smallest);
two small villages, Flatts Village and Somerset;
two municipalities.
All these territories are governed by one administrative center, which is the capital of Bermuda - Hamilton. This is where the ships that bring tourists dock, as Bermuda's capital has a large port.
Issues of foreign policy, as well as those related to defense (troops) and peace of the population (police) are in the competence of the Governor of Bermuda. A bicameral parliament is responsible for ensuring order and welfare of the islanders.
It is extremely curious that the population lives under the Constitution, which in 2018 turned six decades old. At the same time, the islanders in 1941 for 99 years gave the United States a "piece" of 6 square kilometers of their archipelago for the deployment of sea and air military bases, which they used for only 54 years.
Bermuda Islands. Author - Eric Randall.
"Hello Islanders!" - Meet the people of Bermuda
Out of almost two hundred islands and reefs (181 to be exact!), there are ten times less inhabited by humans - about 20 islands, where 62.5 thousand islanders with a high degree of literacy live.
At the same time, of the 20 inhabited islands, half of them are united by bridges and overpasses into one large one - Main, which is so called - Main (main) Island (island), characterized by:
- hilly, with a maximum height of 76 meters;
- a rugged coastline;
- a large number of coves;
- many sandy beaches that are beloved by vacationers.
Earlier, from 1931 to 1948 on Maine Aland, from one island to another, trains ran on bridges, now the railroad does not cut the hearing of tourists, soothing under the shade of palm trees in peace and quiet.
The population of Bermuda can safely be called homogeneous, as more than half of the population - negroids, people with dark skin color, and this is quite understandable history of Bermuda, remembering the colonies of slaves brought from Africa.
About a third (31%) of the islanders are white-skinned and are descended from settlers who came to Bermuda from North America and Europe.
Approximately 4% of the islands' population is of Asian descent and ethnic Indian descent.
Almost a quarter of all islanders are Anglicans, and all together they live quite well off tourism, which generates a GDP that makes Bermuda the second largest economy in the world.
