[OKDXA] FW: [DX-CHAT] XR7W team accident

[Coy Day]

Bert,

Thanks for the update.  Here we sit warm, dry and comfy complaining about
the low rate.  Time for another cup of coffee...  ;-)

Coy
-- 
Coy Day, N5OK
20685 SW 29
Union City, OK 73090
405-483-5632

Bert Aaron wrote:
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kf2ti at njdxa.org [mailto:kf2ti at njdxa.org] On Behalf Of Jim Reisert
> AD1C
> Sent: Tuesday, February 12, 2008 3:16 PM
> To: dx-chat at njdxa.org
> Subject: [DX-CHAT] XR7W team accident
>
> Maybe this will put DXpeditioning into perspective for some folks.
>
>
> From: "[ IZ8CCW ]" <iz8ccw at mdxc.org>
>
> Dear all,
>
> Last Friday we successfully arrived to Caleta Tortel after abt 450 km
> driving on gravel roads on very mountainous terrain. We boarded our boat
> Jorge Montt and left for Wager Island. Due to the bad weather conditions
> in
> the Messier Channel we had to stay overnight in a protected bay. We
> arrived
> to Wager Island on Saturday noon. We quickly set up the antennas at the
> tideline and the pileups started. At around 1800 the rain started too and
> was followed by gale force winds. The tents were deformed by the wind and
> even the ?all weather proof?tents could not resist the sheer pressure of
> water and soon we were all soaked. Food, clothes, everything. In the
> meantime our boat sought protection from the elements in a protected bay
> in
> Byron Island. By  2000 local we lost contact with them too. We spent the
> rest of the night trying to operate, communicate with the CE Navy and
> protect ourselves from the rain and wind. At 9 AM we had to reduce
> operation
> to minimum to
>  spare gasoline for emergency communication. At 1 PM we were told by the
> CE
> Navy base to leave the island immediately and seek refuge. I had a last
> frenetic hour on 17m running EU at 5q/min rates under a piece of plastic
> hand keying on my knee and paper logging until the captain gave the final
> order to leave. At that moment we had 2400 QSOs from XR7W in the log.
> Crossing the channel again at the Peñas Golf was horrifying. We got back
> to
> Tortel by 5AM Sunday morning. After obtaining the necessary documentation
> to
> Roger we left Tortel at 11AM. Everything was ?fine? until 1930 when near
> to
> a small place called Bahia Murta our rented/borrowed van slipped of the
> gravel road and hit a rock frontally and turned upside-down. The car was
> frontally damaged and we were first taken to a nearby village called Rio
> Tranquillo which  had a first aid outpost where our injuries were
> inspected
> and we were immediately sent to Coyhaique abt 200 km away in an ambulance
> car,  the nearest place with a hospital.
>
> There we were inspected more thoroughly and xrayed. Vlad RV1CC was
> diagnosed
> with a broken left upper arm, Marco CE6TBN with cuts and bruises and a
> broken rib, Yuri RA0FU with cuts and me  with a broken finger (not cw!), a
> broken rib and am suffering from compression on the torax bone. The
> question
> this morning was if Vlad had to be operated here or can be flown home to
> SPB. I feel very lucky to survive that accident  and I hope we all get the
> fit-to-fly (sic!) clearance asap.
>
> Of course our first priority at the moment is to get out from Coyhaique.
> The
> damage in car, equipment and additional costs are estimated in excess of
> 11k
> euro. Some photos were taken, as soon as I will a bit more fit, I will
> publish them somewhere. If you can and want to contribute to lessen this
> damages please feel free to contact me via this email. Please feel free to
> circulate this info bulletin.
>
> This expedition took us to the most difficult places in non-Antarctic
> Chile
> and it frustrates me that we missed the very last step.
>
> 73!
>
> zoli ce7/ha1ag from Coyhaique, Chile
>
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