The June 2-metre foxhunt was held in cool but clear conditions. The fox for the month was Jack, VK3WWW. 7 teams assembled for an 8PM start at the K-mart Burwood carpark.
There were 3 hunts for the evening. The first two hunts were split into 3 legs each with foxes running on both 2 and 10 metres.
The first fox for the evening caught the 8:10PM Burwood tram to the Burwood Campus of Deakin university. One of the hounds who worked out what was going on boarded the tram at the same stop that the fox got off. The fox then went for a walk through the university campus. Both VK3PW and VK3TVB found this fox first at 8:32PM followed by VK3BLN and VK3TKQ some 3-4 minutes later.
The second leg of this hunt took the hounds to the rear of the Wheelers hill hotel car park. A newly erected wall at the rear of the car park with no openings forced many hounds to try to find alternative routes. VK3YQN found this fox at 8:59PM followed by VK3PW just 2 minutes later. 4 minutes on, VK3TVB arrived to take third place.
The last leg of this hunt took the hounds to the rear of Kingsley Business park in Rowville. This hunt proved particularly troublesome for most hunters. This transmitter was giving short bursts of carrier which are often hard to find. The transmitter was hidden in a clearing in amongst some very prickly bushes. VK3YQN were first on the scene and very quickly burrowed through the bushes and by 9:14PM had found the 10-metre fox. Many other teams arrived soon after and spent considerable time trying to find an opening in the bushes. One hound burrowed his way
straight past the fox and out the other side. No other teams found the transmitter in the 15-minute time limit even though some were there for almost 10 minutes.
The second hunt for the evening took the hounds to the Knox Arboretum in Boronia where the fox was hidden in the playground. VK3YQN was first to find this fox at 9:58PM followed by VK3TVB 7 minutes later. VK3PW (who started the hunt late after enjoying a cup of coffee or two) and VK3TKQ both took 3rd place a minute later.
The second leg of this hunt took the hounds to a 4-wheel drive track in Ferntree Gully. VK3YQN maintained their lead finding the fox at 10:11PM followed by VK3BLN and VK3TVB just 5 minutes later.
The final leg of this hunt was hidden in amongst bush beside an unmarked 4 wheel drive track in Upwey. This was a real test of skill, especially for the 2-metre hunters. Since the 10-metre signal was intermittent and the 2-metre signal continuous, all hounds decided to hunt on 2-metres. The fox was attached to a 3-element beam antenna mounted on top of a motor rotating continuously at about 30RPM. Mark VK3JMD found this fox at 10:38PM. Some 10 minutes later, about 4 hounds ran down the rather steep and slippery track. Concentrating on the track rather than the signal meant that they all ran straight past the fox. No other teams made the 15-minute time limit.
The final fox for the night was near a disused pumping station in Vermont. VK3YQN found this fox with nearly all other teams finding the fox 5 minutes later, followed by VK3TUG.
Supper was held in Vermont where the following scores were announced:
1: VK3YQN 15 points 2: VK3TVB 26 points 3: VK3BLN 47 points 4: VK3PW 51 points 5: VK3TKQ 59 points 6: VK3TUG 66 points 7: VK3TXG 85 points
TXG – (A commendable effort since they persisted despite numerous equipment problems.)