3Y0Z - DX Pedition - News

[4L5A]

Among the team members is the famous Chilean explorer Sr. Alejo Contreras Steading (http://www.adventurepursuit.net/alej...eras-staeding/)
an explorer and world-renown Antarctic specialist who has made multiple expedition to the south Pole.

[4L5A]

3Y0Z News 18.55 UTC
Weather same. Very strong winds.
Team is waiting for better wx.

[Guest]

Out of curiosity: do 3Y0Z team have a specific overall time window which they can stay there ? I mean: let's say the weather will be bad and they will "loose" 5 days from their DXpedition. How will they react? Will they be able to "add" another 5 days or do they have to return on a specific day? How is that handled?

any clues Al ?

[4L5A]

They announce before that they will extend their stay on the island and will stay 2 week for sure
Problem now anyway is if they will be able to land
Pilots of helicopters worry about safety of course as we all do also
Today probably was best day to land but wx anyway was not good enough for helicopters
According to wx predition next days will be even more bad :-(
I dont know how long they will be able to wait for good wx because thats cost also lot of money and their budget is not unlimited
I think they will need to decide stay and wait or go back :-(

[4L5A]

3Y0Z Bouvet Island News 3 February 2018 13.00 UTC

Weather is not good for helicopters. Still windy.

[4L5A]

3Y0Z News FEBRUARY 3 @ 21:30z — During the last 72 hours we continued to experience the high winds, low clouds, fog, and rough seas that have prevented helicopter operations since our arrival at Bouvet. No improvement was predicted in the weather forecast for the next four days. Then, last night an issue developed in one of the ship’s engines. This morning the captain of the vessel declared it unsafe to continue with our project and
aborted the expedition. We are now on our long voyage back to Punta Arenas. As you might imagine the team is deeply disappointed, but safe. There is already talk about rescheduling the DXpedition.
Bob – K4UEE
Ralph – K0IR
Erling – LA6VM

[4L5A]

3Y0Z News 4 February 2018
Team is fine They on the way to Chile and hope that will not take more then 14 days.

[Guest]

actually they are within heavy winds and they will cross even stronger winds (4th February 2018, 16:00 UTC)

vessel speed on their way back is only about 6-7 mph and even reached minimum 3.7 mph. This could be due to tries repairing the defective engine? Who knows ...

Just for a comparison: with all engines up on the way to Bouvet Island they travelled about 11-13mph.




I want to emphasize that this reflects my own interpretation and possible explanation and I may be totally wrong.

[Guest]

Now heading to East-North-East at low speed? hmm...







I hope they are not in trouble. God bless them!

[4L5A]

no information from team members
Drop email this morning but no answer yet :-(

[Guest]

Now heading to east with ~7mph. Did they manage to repair the engine and returning to Bouvet ??

[4L5A]

3Y0Z News 5 February 2018
Our captain has decided that it is in the best interest of safety and expediency to proceed directly to Capetown, South Africa rather than Punta Arenas, Chile.
We are currently heading north to avoid the possibility of encountering ice.
Currently there is no ice in sight or on radar. In due time we will head easterly toward Capetown.
Our entire team is safe.
Most are resting in their bunks and in good spirits.
We will keep the amateur radio community and our families informed as we continue our journey.