After months of planning and preparation, many days and nights of being tossed and turned in the belly of the Marama ketch, and a harrowing but successful activation of the most remote spot on the globe, the 3Y0J Bouvet Island DXpeditioners arrived in Cape Town, South Africa, on February 26, greeted by ZS hams and collective cheers from operators everywhere who awaited their safe return.
Among those cheering were the hams at DX Engineering, a proud equipment sponsor of the DXpedition. 3Y0J logged more than 19,000 QSOs despite conditions that will certainly give the next Bouvet Island hopefuls plenty to chew on before setting sail on the stormy South Atlantic. These were the first contacts made with Bouvet Island in more than two decades, and despite having to limit the scope of the operation, the amateur radio community offered up a hearty huzzah to the brave hams who made this rare opportunity possible. In addition to providing ATNOs to thousands of operators, the team brought back with them incredible insights about the island along with valuable photos and video footage to document the trip.
On February 23, Tim, K3LR, DX Engineering CEO, interviewed 3Y0J team member Otis, NP4G, aboard the Marama via Starlink. Watch the video below for a look inside the vessel:
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Also, check out the 3Y0J Facebook page for photos of the team’s arrival.
We all look forward to the many stories that will be told in the days ahead once everyone gets their land legs again. For now, we simply say thank you, congratulations on a job well done, and welcome back!
Next Up…Sable Island
March is a great opportunity to put sparsely populated Sable Island in your logbook. This smile-shaped Canadian island about 190 miles east of Halifax, Nova Scotia, is scheduled to be active from March 20-30 thanks to the multi-operator CY0S DXpedition. The CY0S team will be operating from 160-2M in CW, SSB, FT8, and RTTY. Sable Island ranks as the 49th Most-Wanted DXCC Entity per Clublog. Take a moment to watch Tim, K3LR, interview Sable Island DXpeditioner Glenn, W0GJ/VO2GJ:
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DX Engineering Sponsors CY0S Sable Island
Equipment provided by DX Engineering for the Sable Island DXpedition includes DX Engineering’s dual impedance antenna transformers, radial plates, rope guying earth anchors, premium radial wire, and saddle clamps, as well as band pass filters, diplexer, rope, seven-band dipole antenna, and more equipment from other leading manufacturers. For up-to-date information, visit the CY0S website. And check out OnAllBands for more articles on CY0S in the days ahead.
