YOULOU Amateur Radio Association hosts Maritime Simulation & anniversary Awards Ceremony

Members of the Youlou Amateur Radio Association (YARA), initially known as the Rainbow Radio League spent the Easter weekend engaged in a training session designed to sharpen the Search and Rescue (SAR)skills of Mayreau fisherfolk and Tobago Cays Marine Park (TCMP) rangers.

The group of eight volunteers, mainly radio operators, also hosted an informal awards ceremony for the members of the recently rebranded Youlou Amateur Radio Association which is this year marking its 30th anniversary, a release from the association states.

YARA’s founder and Director, Donald De Riggs in the release, noted that “the training aspect during our celebrations is indicative of the importance our group attaches to the safety of life at sea, and safety generally. So while we celebrate a significant milestone on our journey, we are still focused on our main task, saving lives, which has kept going for the last 30 years.”

He noted that the volunteer members “who are not currently required to pay a joining fee or monthly subscription give of their best, whenever required to do so, just as our motto states ‘Maximum Participation’ and maximum participation it was during the Easter weekend.”

The YARA team departed the Barefoot Charters dock just after midday on April 17 on board the catamaran “Inordinate”, captained by ‘Jah Mo’, making their first stop at the Tobago Cays where they set up portable radio equipment in preparation for the maritime simulation early the following day.

At about 9:00 a.m on Friday, April 18, 2025, four fishers and their teams along with the Tobago Cays Marine Park rangers held a pre-simulation briefing to ensure that all stakeholders understood the sequence of events, after which the participants proceeded to the staging area of Petit Tabac, hence the code name for the exercise, ‘Operation Papa Tango’.

The simulation involved the rescue of one female and two males from the open sea by the Mayreau fishermen and the TCMP rangers patrol boat, with two other vessels providing back up support and observing the training activity.

Yara’s Director Donald De Riggs –J88CD chaired the evaluation session with Leading Seaman John, and Sergeant Owen Isaacs of the SVG Coast Guard, providing guidance to the fishermen, and also sharing recent experiences while rescuing boats in distress.

The following day, a three-person team from Grenada joined the Vincentians for the awards ceremony and sea food only luncheon which took place on Petit Rameau in the Tobago Cays.

The awards were presented in two categories- for members; and support volunteers like boat captains who are not necessarily amateur radio operators but who use and need to use VHF marine radios in their everyday operations. The fishermen recommended that similar training sessions be held at least every two years, and annual if possible.

During the awards ceremony, Floyd Dowden J39JX , Executive Manager Operations and Administration of the Grenada Co-op Bank applauded the consistent work of the RRL/YRM now YARA over the years, YARA members having responded to disasters in the region including in Grenada, and Dominica. The YARA release noted that the Grenada Co-op bank has sponsored the anniversary T-shirts for YARA every five years starting with their 20th anniversary, as well as ‘Operation X’ between 2006 and 2010.

YARA has extended gratitude to corporate citizens SOL Petroleum and Mobil lubricants; Barefoot Charters; BOSVG; NTRC; Ollies Screen Prints, and the Grenada Co-Op Bank for their input which contributed to the success of the weekend exercise.

Gratitude was also extended to Leslie Edwards – J88LE who made the awards; and captain ‘Jah Mo’ who gave the ‘crew’ an informal course in seamanship; the SVG Coast Guard; the TCMP management team;

Margaret Wildman J39KK; and Molica Mulzac-Ward, J88NMF for presenting the awards.

Despite the celebratory element to the weekend exercise, those engaged remained alert to respond to any maritime emergencies as it was a busy weekend involving regattas and excursions.