[SJDXA] Crozet and Glorioso

[Bob Schenck N2OO]

Hello dear friend,

 

Please find attached a personal communication about dx-expeditions to Crozet
and Glorioso. News are not very good at the moment, but we keep on working
to make it possible. I would appreciate much if you can publish it on your
website, blog, news bulletin, etc. 

 

Thank you very much,

 

73’s 

 

Seb, f5ufx

 

 

 

F5UFX – Sebastien 

Chambéry- France, 12 March 2018 

 

To: any media interested in Amateur radio, French oversea territories 

 

Object: project for an expedition to Crozet and Glorioso islands. 

 

The sovereignty of France is recognized in many territories scattered around
the globe: in the Pacific Ocean with Wallis and Futuna, Polynesia, New
Caledonia and Clipperton; in the Atlantic Ocean with
Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, Guadeloupe,
Martinique, and French Guiana. Finally, in the Indian Ocean with Mayotte,
Réunion, the Scattered Islands, and the French Southern and Antarctic
Territories. 

 

For us hams, these names often evoke exoticism, an invitation to travel, but
also and especially rare and sought-after contacts. The most populated
areas, such as Réunion, the islands of the West Indies or New Caledonia for
example, are characterized by a permanent radio amateur presence, ensuring
daily contacts. For others like Saint Barthélemy or Wallis and Futuna, they
are tourist destinations, not requiring a special authorization. These
places are therefore regularly active during activities or expeditions
conducted by passing radio amateurs. Finally, some territories require
specific authorizations because their access is restricted, usually to
protect their extremely sensitive ecosystems. This last category includes
Clipperton, Europa, Juan de Nova, Tromelin, Glorioso, Crozet, Amsterdam,
Kerguelen, and Terre Adélie. A contact with these entities is thus rather
rare and extremely coveted. 

 

With the exception of Clipperton, these other sensitive territories are
administered by the Prefecture of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands
(TAAF in French). For the TAAF it is a question of managing the logistics
around these isolated territories, to support scientific missions and
research, to protect ecosystems and safeguard biodiversity, and finally to
manage in a sustainable way natural resources such as fishing. Any access to
the islands named above is therefore subject to prior authorization. 

 

It would be interesting to go back to the "amateur radio" history of each of
these Scattered and southern islands but we will limit ourselves to the last
20 to 30 years. In the past, radio amateurs had the chance to regularly
contact the Météo-France personnel deployed on the Scattered Islands. These
were then stationed for several months each year and were in charge of the
maintenance of the weather stations. All the islands except Tromelin hosted
(and still do) French military troops including radio amateurs who provided
some contacts during their free time. When it comes to the French Southern
Territories, it was mostly radio operators located on the bases. Military
personnel or scientists stationed for several months made radio contacts
when off duty. 

 

Since the 2000s, the almost permanent presence of radio amateurs for decades
on all islands has gone down for various reasons: automation of weather
stations, establishment of satellite links, gradual disappearance of HF
links, decrease of radio amateurs among the deployed military... 

 

In order to give the greatest number of people an opportunity to contact
these territories, several amateur radio expeditions have been successfully
organized and conducted: Amsterdam (1998) and Tromelin (2000) by the Lyon DX
Gang and the Gendarmerie de Bron, Europa (2003) and Glorioso (2008) by a
French military team thanks to Didier F5OGL, Amsterdam (2014) by Ralph K0IR
and his team, and finally Tromelin (2014) and Juan de Nova (2016) by my
team. 

 

Over the course of the expeditions and the years, the rarity of these
entities evolves. The most rare and sought-after contacts are to date those
with Crozet which shares the top places of the ranking of the most wanted
entities with North Korea and Bouvet. Never has any dedicated expedition
been conducted there. The last scientists who made contacts are Florentin
F4DYM-FT5WO, Nicolas F4EGX-FT1WM-FT1WK and Jean-Paul F5BU-FT5WJ, but the
demand is such that despite their efforts, the need for an expedition
remains intact. The island of Crozet is the most protected of all the French
islands in the perimeter of the TAAF. It has always been the subject of
special attention and has a relatively low rate of invasive alien animal or
plant species. This makes it particularly sensitive to any new introduction.
The scientific base is relatively small compared to the other Southern
Islands and has a very high concentration of seabirds sensitive to
disturbance nearby. 

 

You now know what kind of context we are dealing with. No doubt that the
DXpedition enthusiasts were already aware of these elements, but it was
important to remind all of you so that everyone understands the content of
this communiqué. 

The last three expeditions (FT5ZM, FT4TA and FT4JA) are those known to the
current authorities. Beyond the amateur radio community, their success has
been recognized by the TAAF. This point is extremely important in many
aspects and has systematically conditioned the validation of the next
expedition. The impression left by these projects is unanimously very
positive. Our professionalism, our ability to respect the rules, and finally
our ability to bring elements beyond the "radio" aspect were evaluated. For
this last point, we collaborated with schools and generated exciting
exchanges with the students and their teachers, communicated massively
through different media on the islands, their history / geography, put
together beautiful philatelic activities, put forward the work and the
missions of the TAAF in the four corners of the world through articles and
conferences organized on several continents. We have also shown our full
potential to conduct expeditions in total respect of the host territories,
and this is undoubtedly the most important. 

 

Based on these experiences and the very good relationship with the TAAF, we
worked in parallel on two new destinations as soon as we returned from Juan
de Nova: Grande Glorieuse Island (FT/G) and Crozet (FT/W). Quickly, we were
faced with the risk of collision with antennas for bird populations, as well
as the difficulty of verifying the respect of bio-protection measures around
our projects. These risks were part of our specifications during our
previous operations, and each time we showed our common ability to find
appropriate solutions, our team often going beyond the conditions imposed. 

 

A new evaluation was conducted for over a year to propose new technical,
logistical and organizational solutions to bring these subjects under
control. Numerous research projects, supported by several notes from expert
scientists, have ruled out the risk presented by our modest antennas on the
bird populations of these territories. Passionate about our islands for
decades, we are the first to pay special attention to the protection of
fauna and flora and it seems clear to us that our projects are completely
respectful of these territories and their biodiversity. 

 

Despite the research work done, the innovative solutions proposed, and a
complete and documented dossier, our requests were rejected. The arguments
put forward focus on the danger posed by our antennas for the bird
population and the risk of introduction of new species during our landing.
Despite our work to demonstrate that these elements are controlled and in no
way invalidate our activities, it is the precautionary principle that is
privileged for the moment. The logic remains to say that if there is no
project then there is no risk. Unfortunately, amateur radio expeditions are
not part of the core activities and priorities. 

 

Of course, we acknowledge the position of the authorities in charge who
undoubtedly rely on the expertise of their various departments. Let's hope
that the months or years ahead will allow us, through dialogue, to find
compromises and propose new projects on a win-win basis as it has been the
case so far. 

 

To this day, the frustration is of course great as we worked hard countless
hours. However, we will continue in a professional manner to deal with our
interlocutors. We will continue our research to improve our solutions and
make them even more compatible with the constraints imposed so far. Radio
amateurs have had the chance to accompany and participate in the life of the
bases for more than 60 years. We are therefore convinced of our legitimacy
in the Scattered and Southern Territories, as well as in the ability of the
TAAF to maintain a framework for our activity. 

 

Many of you send me emails asking "when will Crozet take place? " or " when
will Glorioso take place? ". Let’s hope that this communiqué is going to
give you a better idea of our current projects. My goal is not to exchange
ideas. No need to contact me to ask me more questions or give me your
opinion, I may not have time to answer you. 

 

It is also not a communiqué to tell you not to try to propose an alternative
project to the competent authorities. As of today the chances of moving
forward are slim. The administration has already received a number of cases
in recent years, more or less serious, and I personally think that has made
things more confusing and has not made our case. 

 

I imagine that many will be disappointed with this information. We
definitely are too. But we want to remain very positive and above all
satisfied with the projects carried out towards Tromelin and Juan de Nova.
We are aware of the privilege we have had. The work done with the various
TAAF services to date has been fascinating. We have met people who live
their missions with a passion and it is with great pleasure that we will
perhaps work with them again in the future; it is our dearest wish. 

 

For the time being, patience is the keyword... 

73’s de Seb-F5UFX 

 

 

See ya’ in the Pileups!

73!

Bob Schenck, N2OO

President INDEXA  <http://www.indexa.org/> www.indexa.org

President South Jersey DX Assn

GO SJDXA!!!  <http://www.sjdxa.org/> www.sjdxa.org

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www.cq-amateur-radio.com

Trustee 835 Amateur Radio Group  <http://www.146835.org/> www.146835.org

ASM-SNJ ARRL  <http://www.arrl.org/> www.arrl.org

 

 

 

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