[SFDXA] 3YØI Press Release #4,March 27, 2019,3YØI POSTPONED

[Bill]

https://bouvetoya.org/3yoi-postponed/

3YØI Press Release #4
March 27, 2019


    3YØI POSTPONED

And yet! The captain of the MV Atlantic Tuna had to take a difficult but 
responsible decision to take a course back to Cape Town, South Africa. 
But the 3YØI Expedition *is NOT canceled* – we don’t give up that easily

I just had a long conversation with Dom 3Z9DX on board on the MV 
Atlantic Tuna. The seas calmed down enough to let them do a proper 
technical inspection of damages caused by the severe cyclonic storm last 
night. Here are more details on the latest dramatic events.

On March 26, 2019, the vessel has been approaching a cyclonal storm 
wandering nearby Bouvet Island. The captain analyzed the latest weather 
reports indicating a chance to break through the storm – it hasn’t been 
that strong at that time. Unfortunately, the storm developed and 
intensified in a matter of an hour. Around 5-6 o’clock GMT, just 70 
nautical miles off Bouvet island, the ship has been hit by a series of 
11+ meters (36+ ft) tall waves + wind exceeding 83 knots/h (approx. 160 
km/h). The fierce oceanic forces swept past the upper deck, taking one 
of the radars, including VSAT, VHF and HF marine antennas, off the mast 
and throwing them all overboard. The hit was so hard the vessel tilted 
as much as 45° (but that’s still safe in terms of the vessel’s 
construction).

EACH AND EVERY TEAM / CREW MEMBER IS FINE, FEELING OK AND SAFE!

With lack of the most important navigational tools, the captain declared 
it’s not safe to navigate and they need to go back to Cape Town to 
secure both all participants on the board, their equipment and the 
vessel’s gear. In addition, all forecasts for coming hours are not 
positive. The Team totally relies on the captain’s decisions – he has 
more than 20 years of sailing experience in similar areas on both 
hemispheres. The Team did not try to push things forward and they all 
followed the captain’s order and agreed it’s better to postpone plans 
for safety reasons.

The ship is now heading back for Cape Town, South Africa, and once back 
it will go through a process of all necessary repairs and technical 
inspections. Once the Team estimates the necessary time to fix 
everything at the ship, another decision will be taken: to return to 
Bouvetøya in yet April, or to postpone the expedition for next coming 
season. Nevertheless…


  *THE DXPEDITION IS NOT CANCELED!*

Regardless of the final outcome of our attempts, it’s clear that 
activating Bouvet Island is one of the most difficult and the most 
dangerous undertakes of the ham radio – and not only – history. Yet, the 
3YØI’s events will be long discussed and analyzed by the Team to 
“attack” the island one more time – as soon as possible – again all 
marked with “safety-first” principles.

The Team has dedicated more than 4 months living in Cape Town, right 
next to the vessel, to prepare things in person. We have sacrificed 
Christmas time and spent that special time without our families. And 
yet, have spent an enormous amount of our private funds to make it all 
happen for the ham radio’s sake. But we don’t give up, and we all know 
we gained your trust in our current and future ham radio attempts. We 
really appreciate that!

Until now, Bouvet Island vs. Hams 2:0! But that’s just the first half of 
the show. Long live the ham radio legacy and its supporters!

Stan SP8S
The 3YØI Press officer