Thursday, March 1, 2018

Much Ado About Bouvet


You can't get there from here… or much of anyplace else, it seems. The long-planned 3Y0Z DXpedition to Bouvet Island had to be cancelled at the last minute – with the island in sight – due to a combination of bad weather and engine trouble on the team's ship. April CQ's DX column has details.
 
In the wake of the 3Y0Z cancellation, the organizers of the Polish-led 3Y0I DXpedition renewed plans to travel to the island, most likely this coming winter (summer in the southern hemisphere). According to the ARRL Letter, the 3Y0I group had deferred its plans at the request of the 3Y0Z group, to avoid having two major DXpeditions to the same place within weeks of each other. The 3Y0I group says it has chartered a vessel specially outfitted for severe weather and experienced with landing troops on Bouvet, which is a Norwegian dependency. The group said it also plans to conduct video-documented explorations of the island and its glacier, and to leave behind a time capsule at the glacier's peak.