Captain James Cook was one of the most intrepid explorers of his day. In circumnavigating the world he visited scores of countries. The New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) organization offers the Captain James Cook Award for Amateurs who make contacts with those many nations around the world.
The award comes in three classes. Each class requires all of the contacts of the previous class plus some additional QSOs. The highest level award, the Commander Class, requires 19 contacts with Amateur Radio operators in 13 different DXCC countries.
The entry-level Sailor Class requires the following contacts:
| G (Yorkshire) | ZL2 | VK2 | KH6 |
The second-level Officer Class requires all of the contacts of the Sailor Class plus these:
| ZL1 | ZL3 | ZL4 | VK3 | VK4 |
| P2 | Antarctica |
The top-level Commander Class requires all of the contacts of the Officer Class plus at leave five of the following seven:
| VE2 | VO | A35 | YJ8 | FK8 |
| CE8 | KL7 |
Note that some of the contacts required here are specific not just to countries, but also regions within countries. The English contact must be with a station in Yorkshire, which just so happens to be the birthplace of Cook.
To apply for the award, a list of the required contacts should be emailed to NZART awards manager or sent via mail. Complete contact info is available on NZART’s awards page. QSL Cards are not required and you need only certify that the contacts were legitimately made. If a JPG copy of the award is all you need, then the Captain James Cook Award is now free! You can opt for a hard copy of the award for a $20 fee.