[Sbarc-list] opening to Northern Ireland last night

FYI around 11pm-ish last night there was an opening to Northern Ireland! I heard MI0TLG calling CQ DX. He was using a 1260' long loop antenna (his QRZ page shows a video of it). When I first heard him, he was a solid 56 on my modest G5RV antenna in Winchester Canyon (Goleta). I called back using about 1300 watts and low-and-behold, he heard me! He gave me a 56 (and he was actually down to a 54 by the time I was able to contact him; the band was dying as the QSO got started). This was one of a very few (if any?) European contacts I've been able to make from my shack.

An hour before that I made a contact to South America (59 both ways) on 40 meters.

The bands are getting exciting.

Ken