Back in February of 2023, we had the 3Y0J expedition to Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic which promised a lot but disappointed many.
The initial ambitious plan was to be have 12 stations active for most of the month of February 2023 with a target of 200,000 contacts. In the end, the number of contacts that were actually completed was 18,833 which is 9.4% of the target planned.
In a previous post, I outlined how each QSO might have cost in the region of $38.
After the expedition, there was a lot of talk about how unruly the pile ups were and there were a few soft interviews with members of the expedition about how it went.
What I think a lot of people and groups who donated to the 3Y0J expedition will be wondering about is the actual planning.
- How was it that after raising $715,000, they seemed so ill-prepared to transfer equipment from their boat onto the island in what were always likely to be choppy seas?
- Why did they bring four diesel generators that weighed 113 kgs (250lbs) each instead of smaller and lighter petrol (gasoline) ones?
- How did they manage to lose a tent?
- Did they train for the landings on some safe island?
If you were following the expedition then you'll remember that they failed to get the heavy diesel generators off the main boat and had to use just one smaller petrol generator instead which had a limited fuel supply of 50 litres.
The second video below describes some of the problems they faced.
Two videos of the 3Y0J expedition...
Two new expeditions... On the 7th of December 2023, the organisers of the 3Y0J team announced that they were planning to return to the island in 2025 using the call 3Y0K.
Just days later, a rival expedition announced that they were planning a separate expedition as 3Y0I! It looks as if there might be a bit of tension between the two groups... see below.
3Y0K... The key points of their press release were...
- Seeking donations in the order of $150,000
- A much reduced team of 3 operators instead of 12
- The use of remote operation
- Equipment reduced to 2.1 tons from 7 tons.
- 21-days on the island
- Use of light weight Honda generators
- More dinghies
3Y0I... The Rebel DX Group release this statement just days later...
"BY REBEL DX GROUP
Due to Dom 3D2USU being kicked out of the 3Y0K Bouvet DXpedition / Project which was made and led by Ken LA7GIA and Dom (Ken was informed by DX foundations that if he joined forces with the Rebel DX Group there would be no support for Ken), the Rebel DX Group has decided the time is right to reactivate 3Y0I plans and stage their own DXpedition to Bouvet. You may remember that in 2019, the 3Y0I team were unsuccessful in getting to Bouvet due to inclement weather, seas and vessel damage.
For this DXpedition, there will be no support or funding needed. They seek no assistance from foundations or clubs. All equipment is in place already in South Africa. Plan is for three operators to land on Bouvet with an additional five more ops operating CW remotely – more on this in the future.
A vessel has already been secured and will be operated by four ex-Navy seals from Military Unit Formoza. A captain and first mate will complete the team – between them they have 25 years experience heading into the cold South Atlantic waters. Many years ago, Dom 3D2USU, landed several times on Bouvet using a dinghy during a 3-day stay. The whole crew is highly trained for this kind of landing and surviving in harsh conditions.
Reissuing the 3Y0I license is straightforward. You can get your own license if you wish. It takes two days and $0 dollars to receive one. Some info will not be provided for many reasons – for example dates will only be announced near the time of sailing.
As a footnote, the last 2.5 years the Rebel DX Group has delivered over 1 million QSOs from various Pacific islands. LoTW is always uploaded straight after any expedition, without delay or requests for “Express LoTW” services. QSL cards from the Pacific are usually sent out once a year when the team is back in Europe to print them, and then take back to Fiji. Note:
QSL cards from Bouvet will be run by proper QSL manager as we will relocate our team to another cold place. More on that info soon."
