Maritime Net "Delivers" Baby to Sailor at Sea
NEWINGTON, CT, Aug 15, 2001--Thanks to Amateur Radio, a sailor aboard a US Navy destroyer at sea got to hear his newborn son's cries for the first time. On August 12, members of the Maritime Mobile Service Net, with cooperation of the Pacific Seafarers Net, put sailor Mark McDonald in touch with his wife, Wendy, in California and set to go into labor at any time. The sailor later was able to chat with his wife and her mom and to listen to his son's crying.
Terry Pipitone, KB1FMM, in Connecticut, got a front-row seat. He said the Net session started out in typical fashion on 14.300 MHz, with Ron Dugger, WA4ZJT, taking the helm. Soon, Tom Lange, W4MDL, on McDonald's ship checked in seeking help from anyone who could put the husband and wife in contact. When no West Coast stations were available to handle a phone patch, Pipitone volunteered. He made some calls to California, where--as it turned out--Wendy McDonald soon went into labor and headed for the hospital.
As the time neared to close the Net, Pipitone recalls, it was decided that all parties would move to the Pacific Seafarers Net on 14.313 MHz, and all relevant information was relayed to the Net Control Station. While KB1FMM remained in contact with the hospital, ARRL member Tom Whelchel, WA6TLL, in California stepped in to provide a phone patch between the hospital and the ship, which was somewhere in the North Atlantic. All stations moved to 14.337 MHz.
As Pipitone tells it, things happened pretty fast after that. "At 0810 the baby was born and at 0815 Mark and his new son--Justin Alexander McDonald--were on the phone together," he said. "Mother and son were all doing fine, and the proud father was in tears. The timing and the cooperation could not have been better."
Among those listening in on the proceedings was Eric Boyle, N0YET, in Kansas, who reports Mark McDonald not only was able to speak with his wife and his mother-in-law but got to hear his baby crying for the first time. "This was neat!" he enthused. "It is times like this that make me extremely proud to be part of the Amateur Radio Community!"
Pipitone said that as the congratulations died down and the band got quiet, "I sat back in my chair and took a breath, and I had a small laugh. I thought to myself, boy, people think that the Internet is fast; let's see it beat that!"
Maritime Mobile Service NCS WA4ZJT had kind words for Pipitone as well. "Terry did a very good job!" he told ARRL.
For more information on the Maritime Mobile Service Net, visit the Net's Web site.
Page last modified: 12:58 PM, 15 Aug 2001 ET
Page author: awextra@arrl.org
Copyright © 2001, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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