1st Spring Equinox Star Party, Kelling Heath. 18th - 22nd March 2004
This was the first offical Spring Equinox Star Party to be held at The Kelling Heath Touring Camp, located near Holt, on the North Norfolk coast line. Location position 52:55:47 North and 01.09:03 East. (52.93N and 1.15E)
The "Red Field" was fully booked, a feat in itself considering the event was virtually word-of-mouth.
The drive from London was uneventful, with the M11 fairly clear of traffic for a change. I did my usual chores for the day in strict rotation, as I have for all other evens of this kind. First, get ready and pack the car. (Double check, then triple check for that one item missing....I still forgot my pillow). Next to fuel the car. Next to one of the major supermarkets to shop for supplies and refreshment for the four day trip. Then on the road by 11.30. A perfect day, and ignoring the long-term weather forecast. (Mistake!!).
Arrived on site at 15.00ish to make camp and get as much of my scope set up before making all the houscalls one has to do as there were a number of other diehards already there.
A meet in the restaurant later to while away the time to twilight, then back to the tent for a clear nights observing. Polar alignment was much easier now with my new mod to the giant field tripod and my digital level. Setting the tripod plate to flat and the wedge angle to the location latitude only required a very small adjustment in RA to bring Polaris into the centre of the eyepiece. (Time later for drift alignment).
The evening's viewing was quite good to begin with. A hefty breeze prevented any photography as the tube was being buffeted by the wind. Then from 21.00hrs there was a flurry of cloud followed by a high level opaque layer with intermittent clear viewing, becoming clear in the early morning
That was about to change by 04.00hrs. Firstly the rain, hard fast rain. The wind, gusts, prolonged gusts. Then the noise, the crashing sheets of the tent. Right in the middle of a storm. And it didn't stop. Not possible to sleep, only brief catnaps until the next inrush of wind and rain.
It continued throughout the morning, breaking by early afternoon. Some visual work on the Sun to see a wonderful multi-layered extended prominence and three sunspots. There were three Solarscopes on the site and one Daystar filter being used.
The evening continued much as the previous night with dense cloud coming in at about 23.00hrs. The storm wasn't far behind.
No sleep again, but this time the wind was really severe. Some people had already packed and gone home, the rest were riding it out with a hope that the night sky would warrant them staying. Then it was one disaster after another as the wind took it's toll. Tents being damaged, carbon fibre tent poles snapping, flysheets and one tent inner ripping, an LX200 was blown over and another tripod was damaged.
I had removed my flysheet by this time, opened up as much of the tent as possible to limit the wind capture area and added guying to the Kendrick tent poles, complete with heavy duty tent pegs, and even they were being pulled out of the ground. (A note to Kendrick to modify their current design)
That was it.
I'd had enough. I hadn't even taken a photograph of the site, or any of the guys there.
Time to go. The long term weather reports were indicating that the severe weather was to be for the next two days.
The quickest pack-up in history, complete with wet tent, fly and groundsheet. But no damage apart from my car door being blown out of my hand and ripping a 4" gash into the tent fly.
The journey home was an event. The roads were littered with broken tree branches and bushing, the car was wind buffeted at speed, and still torrential rain bursts.
Got home, unpacked, tired....then the dreaded Sunday morning phone call from Mike C....he does it just to wind me up...."wonderful night, clear, the best ever, with a light wind". And in London the rain was still pelting down with high winds.
I'm going again shortly, just to make up for it.