Another successful event with Farleigh Hospice.

Essex RAYNET provided safety and first aid communications for the Farleigh Hospice Walk for Life on Sunday 12th May 2024.  Around 600 people walked from either Paper Mill Lock or Heybridge Basin on the 7 or 15 miles routes along the River Chelmer ending at Teledyne E2V in Chelmsford.

Essex RAYNET operators were co-located with marshals from Essex 4×4 Rescue at Beeleigh Lock, Hoe Mill Lock, Paper Mill Lock, Baddow Road Crossing, Sandford Lock and Barnes Lock, rf communications and APRS tracking were maintain throughout the route by using our new Icom repeater and APRS digipeater at a central repeater site.

No serious medical incidents occurred despite the very hot temperatures and the last walkers to finish the route were obviously the ER Sweep team.

The County Controller later wrote:  On behalf of G7DBM John and myself as event organisers, thank you to everybody for your time volunteered today! Good to see many of you after checkpoints had closed at Net Control. The Digital IDAS worked very well, as did the APRS Network, with end-to-end coverage for both networks essentially (fringe of event can always be patchy). Big well done to the Sweeps who battled through.