[SFDXA] [kp4noticias] Expedicion a Spralty 2012 no va!]

[Kai Siwiak]

-------- Messaggio originale --------
Oggetto: 	[kp4noticias] Expedicion a Spralty 2012 no va!
Data: 	Thu, 8 Sep 2011 12:27:06 -0400 (EDT)
Mittente: 	santanaamt at aol.com
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Del site del ARRL hace solo minutos - GW


    DX0DX Spratly DXpedition "Permanently Cancelled"

09/08/2011
After numerous setbacks, Chris Dimitrijevic, VK3FY, announced on the 
DX0DX website <http://www.dx0dx.com/> that the planned 2012 DX0DX 
DXpedition to the Spratly Islands has been "permanently cancelled." No 
explanation was given for the cancellation and Dimitrijevic did not 
respond to e-mails from the ARRL. Spratly currently sits at #32 on /DX 
Magazine <http://www.dxpub.com/dx_news.html>/'s "Most Wanted" List.
 
The DX0DX Spratly DXpedition had been pushed back at least twice. It was 
first supposed to happen in January 2011, and then it was delayed until 
April. According to Dimitrijevic, the postponement to April 2011 was 
"due to circumstances beyond the control of the DX0DX Team and in the 
best interests of the Team of Operators." On April 10, 2011, 
Dimitrijevic sent out a notice that said that 10 of the original 37 
operators of the planned 2011 DX0DX DXpedition indicated that they will 
return in April 2012, but that will not be happening.
 
In April 2012, however, another group is planning a DXpedition to the 
Spratly Islands. According to the September 4 edition of the Ohio/Penn 
DX Association's bulletin, members of the Malaysian Amateur Radio 
Transmitter Society (MARTS <http://www.marts.org.my/>) are planning a 
"2012 Project" to activate Pulau Layang Layang (AS-051) in the Spratlys 
during the first two weeks of the month. The team leader is C.L. Neoh, 
9M2CLN, with support by Tack Kumagai, JE1CKA, and the 9M4SDX Team 
<http://island.geocities.jp/layang9m4sdx/sub1.html>. The DXpedition 
coordinator is Tex Izumo, 9M2TO. MARTS is Malaysia's IARU Member-Society.
 
*The Spratlys*
 
The Spratlys are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays 
and islands in the South China Sea between Vietnam, the Philippines, 
China, Malaysia and Brunei. They comprise less than 4 square kilometers 
of land area, spread out over more than 425,000 square kilometers of sea.
 
Small, remote islands such as the Spratlys have little economic value in 
themselves, but are important in establishing international boundaries. 
There are rich fishing grounds and geological surveys indicate the area 
may contain significant oil and gas reserves. As such, many countries 
claim the islands for their own, including the Philippines, Vietnam, the 
People's Republic of China and Republic of China (Taiwan). Additionally, 
Brunei claims Louisa Reef, as well as an Exclusive Economic Zone around 
that and neighboring reefs. Malaysia claims portions of the state of 
Sabah, as does the Philippines.
 
On March 31, 1979, just three days after departing Brunei, North Borneo 
-- six hams -- Harry Meade, VK2BJL; Stew Woodward, K4SMX; Bill 
Poellmitz, K1MM; John Ackley, KP2A, Austin Regal, N4WW, and Bob Schenck, 
N2OO -- were on the boat /Banyandah/ that would take them to the 
Spratlys. The boat was captained by the husband-wife team of Jack and 
Judith Binder. In the February 1998 issue of /QST/ 
<http://p1k.arrl.org/pubs_archive/93643>, Schenck recounted their trip: 
"We all cheered when we first spotted Amboyna Cay in the distance. It 
first appeared as a small white speck on the horizon. It was sheer 
torture in slow motion as we slowly crept closer. As we watched, our 
mood went from joy, to confusion, to despair, to hope, to sheer horror!"
 
When the boat was about one mile from the island, they saw that there 
were structures on the beach. Since the aerial photographs from only 
months before showed no structures and no people, the hams and crew were 
perplexed. "We saw no flag or other indication as to what country was 
represented on the island," Schenck wrote. "Could they be Filipino 
fishermen?"
 
Binder wrote in his ship's log <http://www.squidoo.com/spratly> that as 
the boat got closer to the island, "three distinct groups of people 
visible on that tiny mound of sand, a group at each end with a smaller 
number on the top. The 'top' hardly more than two meters above the sea. 
The smaller centralized group has begun signaling us with semaphore flags."
 
At that point, Jack Binder and Woodward decided to go to the island in 
the dinghy and check things out. "Suddenly the person sending the 
semaphore threw down his flags," Schenck recalled. "Within seconds, we 
heard four loud canon blasts from the island! The shells missed us by a 
wide margin, but their message was clear -- we were not welcome." Binder 
wrote in his log that as they began their final approach to the island, 
one operator was at the radio scanning the bands and listening for a 
possible contact with the island. They were then shot at by the people 
on the island and got out of the area quickly. "We quickly put the 2 
knot diesel into gear, put up the sails and steered away from Amboyna 
Cay," said Schenck.
 
The boat returned to Brunei. Regal went back to the States, but Ackley 
and Schenck stayed in Brunei while the other three amateurs went back 
out in search of an island; Ackley and Schenck agreed to maintain a 
backup operation as VS5KV and VS5OO. Eventually, Binder assisted Mead, 
Woodward and Poellmitz get to what he called "a tiny scrap of sand." The 
reef was Barque Canada Reef, a 30 foot wide sand cay that was only a 
foot or two above water at high tide. Here the three amateurs set up 
what became 1S1DX, making nearly 14,000 QSOs
 
In 1982, /a Singapore yacht operated by the owner and his wife were 
carrying four German hams on a DXpedition to /Amboyna /Cay in the 
Spratlys. The boat was fired upon by Vietnamese forces. Diethelm 
Mueller, DJ4EI, was hit by an artillery round and fell overboard as the 
yacht caught fire. The rest of the party drifted for 11 days on debris, 
but Gero Band, DJ3NG, passed away from thirst the day before the group 
was rescued by a passing Japanese freighter and taken to Hong Kong.  -/- 
/Thanks to Bob Schenck, N2OO/, /and Captain Jack Binder for some 
information/