For Immediate Release TX3X Chesterfield Islands
Press Release 2
January, 3, 2015
Chesterfield Islands 2015 DX-pedition
(OC-176)
2015 / 2016 are shaping up to be one of the best ever DX-pedition seasons. Along with the skipper of Evohe we developed our tentative sailing schedule. We will ship equipment to Auckland, New Zealand where the boat will be loaded and sail for Noumea, New Caledonia.
Sailing in the Coral Sea is always a challenge, avoiding the cyclone season is a top priority.
1. Advance Team arrives in NZ 12 Sept, 2015
Buy locally sourced items
Load Evohe 13 – 16 Sept
2. Evohe departs for Noumea 17 Sept
3. Evohe arrives Noumea 23 Sept
4. Radio Team arrives in Noumea 25 - 26 Sept
5. Sail to Chesterfield 28 – 30 Sept
6. Land on Chesterfield 1 Oct
7. Setup 1–2 Oct
8. Radio operations 2–12 Oct
9. Tear down 12 Oct
10. Sail to Noumea 13–15 Oct
11. Evohe arrives Noumea 15 Oct
12. Evohe sails for NZ 17 Oct
Radio team departs for home. 18 Oct
Several members return to NZ to
meet Evohe
12. Evohe arrives NZ 23 Oct
13. Offload boat in New Zealand 24 / 25 Oct
14. Repack equipment for shipping 25-27 Oct
The following individuals were added to the team:
Steve Dyer W1SRD
Ross Forbes K6GFJ
Kevin Rowett K6TD
Team members previously committed include: Pista HA5AO, Les W2LK, Mike WA6O and Gene K5GS. Additional team members will be added. Interested in joining the team? Please e-mail:
Landing Permit
After some initial confusion we confirmed that a landing permit is not required for DXCC purposes. We will provide the ARRL DXCC desk photos with GPS coordinates and a copy of the ship’s log when we drop anchor.
QSL Management
We will manage our own QSLs. Partnering with a well known QSL manager we wrote a fully integrated cloud based: Log Search – OQRS – QSO management application: that delivers the familiar user functions plus an integrated approach to QSL label management and LoTW management. Working from a single cloud data base the QSL team’s workload and manual tasks will be greatly reduced.
TX3X License
Our license application for TX3X was submitted and received in New Caledonia. The process requires the application be forwarded to and processed by the ANFR in France. We are being assisted by New Caledonia resident Remi Touzard FK8CP. We are well ahead of the usual license processing time which is typically months. So, until the official license arrives we will refer to TX3X as “pending”.
Equipment Consolidation Location
Our equipment will be shipped to Auckland, New Zealand and placed in secure storage. We‘ll load the boat at the Bayswater Marina which is located across the harbor between Auckland suburbs of Devonport and Takapuna.
Project Cost
The preliminary budget for this DX-pedition is ~$150,000(USD). As with any DX-pedition that requires a boat charter team safety is the top priority. We are using a known boat and skipper. We encourage support from worldwide individual DXers, DX clubs and DX foundations.
Our goal is to cover 50% of the total cost through donations. The team members will pay their own travel / living expenses and will cover the difference between total cost and donations received. At the end of the project we will provide club and foundation donors with a financial summary.
Please direct any questions to:
Please see our website for additional information:
chesterfield2015.pdxg.net
73,
Team Chesterfield 2015
