For Immediate Release
Optical communication successful between coastal radio station and ship at sea.
Friday, September 23, 1994, marked an historic ending for a group of World War II veteran sailors and their ship. The Liberty Ship SS Jeremiah O'Brien returned to her home port of San Francisco after a five month voyage to Normandy, France for the 50th anniversary of D-Day.
During the entire voyage, radio communications for the vessel and her crew were provided by a network of historic coastal radio stations owned by KFS World Communications. On the final leg of her voyage the O'Brien passed offshore of Half Moon Bay, California, within sight of the KFS receiving site located south of town. On board was KFS Special Projects Manager Rod Deakin, a volunteer crew member.
On duty at the coastal station radio telegram position that evening was Walter Kane, Marine Communications Consultant for KFS World Communications. Walter had been monitoring communications from the SS Jeremiah O'Brien on several high-frequency radio channels while the ship sailed up the coast. During a radio conversation, co-workers Kane and Deakin decided to attempt a flashing light contact as the ship passed by the station.
During wartime, US Navy ships use flashing lights to signal other warships that are within sight. This allows them to pass messages while maintaining radio silence, so that an enemy cannot intercept the traffic. The SS Jeremiah O'Brien is maintained as the only unaltered, operational Liberty Ship in the world, including a vintage lamp and shutter mechanism in operating condition.
The O'Brien was equipped for flashing light signaling and Deakin, was on board to operate it. The radio station, however, had no signal light installed. Not giving up, Walter drove his automobile across state highway One and into the coastal range that runs just East of Half Moon Bay. He found a hill top with a clear view of the ocean, and parked his car.
As he waited, scanning the ocean with binoculars, the O'Brien's red and green running lights suddenly appeared on the southwest horizon. Excitedly, Kane began flashing out letters in Morse code, with the headlights of his car, to get the ships attention. On board the ship, Deakin spotted the bright headlights and responded with the O'Brien's signal lamp. After establishing contact, Deakin sent,
"I just started using my headlights," Walter enthusiastically said. "My dots and dashes were kind of funky, but he understood what I was saying." Why did he do it? "I just wanted to prove that it could be done," he replied.
"We believe this to be the first commercial, peacetime use of signal lights to communicate between a ship and a public coast station," said Dino Martins, KFS Station Manager. "It was an interesting experiment; if other ships want to do it we may have to install a permanent signal lamp."
The SS Jeremiah O'Brien National Liberty Ship Memorial is supported entirely by volunteers and contributions. For further details call (415) 441-3101 or write to: SS Jeremiah O'Brien, Fort Mason Center, Building A, San Francisco, CA 94123-1382.
KFS World Communications, based in Half Moon Bay, California, is a maritime communications service provider dedicated to the modernization of HF radio for marine applications. They offer an entire range of data communication services (from flashing light to satellite) including e-mail, facsimile, telex, telegrams, Inmarsat and HF radio. The company operates the SuperStation network of HF coastal radio stations that includes KFS near San Francisco, California, WNU near New Orleans, Louisiana and VCT in Tors Cove, Newfoundland, Canada.