The Caribbean Sea is often portrayed as a paradise on Earth with sandy beaches, cool ocean breezes and a laid back atmosphere. Can’t get away for an island adventure at this time? You can use the Worked Caribbean Award (WCARA) as a way to imagine and plan for a future trip. The FT8 Digital Mode Club (FT8DMC) offers this award for making digital contacts with a given number of countries in the region.
FT8DMC lists 33 DXCC entities within or around the perimeter of the Caribbean. The entry level Bronze award requires contacts with only 10 countries. Silver requires 20 and the top level Gold requires contacts with all 33 countries.
In addition to the baseline award you can also chase awards on individual bands. You can get separate certificates for eleven bands from 160M through 6M.
WCARA is a digital only award similar to the Diploma Caribe sponsored by Grupo DX Cuba. They differ slightly by the number of countries required and which entities are accepted.
To apply for WCARA, and all other FT8DMC awards, you must install the UltimateAAC application on a Windows machine. That application scans your WSJT-X ADIF log file and will inform you when you’ve qualified for the award at various levels. FT8DMC issues the award in digital form only (JPG or PDF) with no printing or shipping costs. In fact, the award is completely free, like all of their other awards.
If you enjoy using more traditional modes, you might consider chasing Grupo DX Cuba’s Diploma Caribe. Their award is also free.