Program
The Open Nordic ARDF Championships 2018 is held in Raasepori in Finland. The competition center is the Sports Institute Kisakeskus, 100 km west of Helsinki in Finland.
- August 3: Sprint 3.5 MHz
- August 4: Classic 144 MHz
- August 5: Classic 3.5 MHz
The competitions are organized by Keijo Lehtosaari, OH2ETM and the Finnish Amateur Radio Society SRAL together with local radio clubs.
Departure from Västerås
Friday morning, Hans starts from Rönnby early in the morning to pick up Jan and Leif.
The rest of the Västerås team went by boat to Åbo the evening before.
At Bromma airport
After parking the car the team have to walk some 200 meters to the terminal.
Embarking the airplane
The airplane OH-ATI is a twin-engine turboprop with only one entrance at the back. The plane is operated by Norra, Nordic Regional Airlines and is of type ATR 72-500 from the French/Italian joint venture company Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional.
Flight to Helsinki
There are only 14 passangers on the plane, and they are served by two flight attendantes serving blueberry juice.
Picking up rented car
Jan has booked a large Avis car because Henrik Lindell joined the team in Helsinki.
The house
The team gets cabin number 5 that is located at the end of the road with a view over the lake.
Punching device
The competitions use the Emit system. Each runner gets a badge and 3 yellow backup-cards, one for each competition.
Sprint competition
Hans starts in the first start group at 16:00. The film is made by the organizer Keijo Lehtosaari and shows Hans path through the terrain, visiting 12 posts.
Each post transmits for 12 seconds that is shown in the animation by color coding.
Evening bath in Kullanjärvi
After the competition, Hans and some other Swedish runners go down to the lake Kullanjärvi for a short swim.
Warning for ducks
Friday evening the team goes to the village Fiskars for an evening meal. They are hindered by ducks blocking the road.
After the dinner they discover that there is a warning sign for ducks. Henrik and Leif take a photo of the sign.
Sauna
After the Saturday 144 MHz run, Jan and Hans spend 40 minutes in the house sauna. There is a nice view of the lake from the sauna.
Kisakeskus beach
Before dinner Hans goes to the Kisakeskus beach for a swim.
Evening dinner
Rolf and Bo takes photos during the Saturday evening dinner.
Awarding ceremony in the dark
After the dinner the awardin ceremony of Sprint and 144 MHz takes place on the top of a hill, overlooking the lake.
A final swimming
After the Sunday 3,5 MHz run, some runners takes a final bath in the lake. The bathing place with jetty and sauna is located just below the house.
Final awarding ceremony
Sunday afternoon the final awarding ceremony for 3,5 MHz takes place at the hill. Jon Sletvold Norway is Nordic Champion on 3.5 MHz with Thomas Kaiser on 2:nd place and Ingvar Ehrsson on 3:rd place.
Boarding pass in 3 styles
Hans gets his boarding pass by checking in via iPhone. At the airport he gets another conventional boarding pass when producing the baggage tag in an automat. He then has 3 boarding passes.
Returning home
After leaving the rented car at Helsinki airport, the team embarks the airplane OH-ATN for travel back to Bromma.
Helsinki to Stockholm Bromma
The flight AY7085 back from Helsinki to Stockholm takes 65 minutes.
Money and telephone
The telephone charges are low but the Euro is expensive.
Photo information
Photographer
Hans Sundgren, with assistants.
