THE ADDRESS CHANGE OF THE MONTH came in recently. Among the many requests for address changes we have received recently was that of Herb Hilgenberg, the popular weather forecaster, who has relocated from Bermuda to Burlington, Ontario.
Hilgenberg, better known perhaps by his radio call sign of SouthBound II, VA 4219, broadcast his final weather forecast via SSB on June 4th, according to our Bermuda correspondent Billy Ray Sims, and subsequently packed his bags and relocated his boat and family to his former home in Canada. He had apparently been denied a renewal of his work and residency permits from the Bermuda government.
Hilgenberg is a self-taught forecaster and advanced radio operator who worked as operations manager of a local company in Bermuda until March. He also maintained, for more than eight years, an active radio broadcasting service providing free weather information for yachtsmen of all nationalities sailing in the North Atlantic. Bermuda officials apparently reacted to complaints that Hilgenberg, by working in Bermuda, may have been denying a job to a citizen.
At last word, Hilgenberg was uncertain about future radio activities once back in Canada. "I plan to look into obtaining a coastal station license so that I can continue on single side band, and I’m investigating the possible use of Inmarsat C. I’d even like to make this into a full-time job since it already consumes so much time in its present scope," he said.
