The Bouvet DXpedition team on island with WiMo Flag

After Bouvet is before Bouvet

Ok, so that's it, 3Y0J is qrt. Six antennas 'Made in Herxheim' first sailed halfway around the world and then stayed on board the expedition ship for two weeks, just off the island. Cleanly packed and unused, they are now returning. The brave radio amateurs around Ken, Rune and Erwann (LA7GIA, LA7THA, LB1QI) have tried a lot and risked a lot to activate the island in the South Atlantic. Unfortunately, the weather conditions proved so adverse that a landing with heavy equipment was not possible. So the very large-scale DX-pedition of the decade turned into a small event, however, with much fewer connections than planned.

Are we disappointed? Of course, a little bit. Are we angry or bitter about it? Not at all!
We knew from the beginning that it would be difficult. Nobody promised us anything impossible, nobody assured 100 % chance of success. This expedition has once again shown how unforgiving nature can be.

We at WiMo are glad that there are people who have the courage to undertake something like this expedition. We are proud that we were allowed to be a small part of it, that our antennas withstood the very tough selection criteria. We are glad that no one was harmed.

Would we sponsor such a DX expedition again? Of course, we would!
This is amateur radio, and we are happy to support it. This expedition in particular has shown that it is possible to take the "small pistols" into account even in very large-scale operations. Not everyone has an 18 m mast in the garden with a large beam. Especially the 3Y0J expedition showed with its comprehensive plans for FT-8 that the makers are well aware that the majority of radio amateurs only have small antennas and small power at their disposal. FT-8 may not be everyone's cup of tea - but for many radio amateurs it is the only way to participate in DX at all. That too is amateur radio.

So - 3Y0J - thanks to you and your dedication, your courage. Thank you for the years of work in the preparations, thank you for the financial commitment. We wish you a safe journey home!

Where do you go next? We will be part of it!

73
The WiMo team

 

 

P.S.:
Also desirable would be a better training and education of some radio amateurs: #1 we learn "What is split?" and #2 we learn "What is decency?". Maybe things will get better if the DX cluster is limited to non-anonymous participants in the future.