Road Trip Radio Report - Amelia Island/Fernandina Beach; 23-25 November 2024

Over the weekend, I took a road trip down to Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach, FL. I left Savannah on Saturday morning and returned on Monday morning. It was a beautiful Autumn weekend for a road trip - cool in the mornings, but particularly on Sunday afternoon, warming up just into short sleeve weather. On Saturday, I enjoyed taking a boat tour around Amelia Island and Cumberland Island followed by a trolley tour of historic Fernandina Beach and a walk around the Fernandina Beach Historic District. On Sunday, I caught the sunrise on the beach, then visited Fort Clinch State Park, Fernandina Plaza Historic State Park, Kingsley Plantation, and Huguenot Park. 

I enjoyed some good radio listening during the trip. Even though it was a weekend, I still heard some MilCom (including a terrific catch at NS Mayport). I caught some FedCom from the US Coast Guard (Sectors Charleston and Jacksonville) and National Park Service. There was a good mix of conventional and trunked public safety communications.  I heard Marine VHF/Port communications from Fernandina Beach down to Jacksonville and even though I could hear train horns throughout the weekend, I only heard a bit of railroad communications. 

US Navy DDGs (Guided Missile Destroyers) moored in the basin at Naval Station Mayport, FL

Coastal Georgia Military Monitoring Recap; October 2024

As October passed by, it didn't seem to be all the interesting of a MilCom month, but in the last few days as I looked back over the month to compile the recap, I realized it wasn't all that bad after all. One of the squadrons at MCAS Beaufort that had been inactive due to F-35 conversion began to fly again. In somewhat related news, the 125th FW at Jacksonville IAP  may have recently stood down to begin their conversion to the F-35A. A road trip to Columbia, SC gave me the opportunity to listen to things from Shaw AFB and Fort Jackson that are too far away to hear at home. There were also some nice foreign military/civil aviation catches. 

Shaw AFB in Sumter, SC

I also came across some interesting World War II Military History while walking some trails at the Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge in Coastal Georgia in October; some of my readers may be interested in that, so I'll include it at the end of the recap.