DX

Bouvet is NOT easy. Currently, Bouvet sits at #2 on the Club Log Most Wanted list, right after North Korea (DPRK). It is that high up for a good reason. Doing a DXpedition to Bouvet is NOT easy. It is also quite dangerous. The last two attempts to activate Bouvet [3YØZ in 2018 and 3YØI (#1) in 2019] were aborted due to boat failures and severe weather. The third attempt (3YØJ #1) was aborted due to the sale of the RV Braveheart right in the middle of their early planning stages. The next one tentatively on the calendar is 3YØI (#2), originally scheduled for December 2020, and tentatively rescheduled for December 2021. Finally, another “full-on” DXpedition attempt (3YØJ #2 <www.3y0j.no>) is scheduled for early 2022 by a team led by Ken Opskar, LA7GIA. I am turning over the keyboard to Ken this month so that he can give you a full view of the team’s 3YØJ plans. I hope you find this “in depth” presentation interesting.

– See ya’ in the pileups … de N2OO

3YØJ Bouvet: A DXpediciton to the Most Remote Island on Earth

BY KEN OPSKAR, LA7GIA

Within the vastness of the South Atlantic Ocean, covered by ice, engulfed by clouds, and battered by constant winds, lies a speck of land, a mystical place that few can even have dreamed of visiting: The Norwegian territory known as Bouvetøya, or Bouvet Island. This cone-shaped inactive volcanic island is mostly covered by snow and ice (93%). And indeed, because it is as inhospitable as it is difficult to reach, very few people have ever actually visited it.

The year 1927 marks the start of a period during which Norway carried out the “Norwegian Antarctic Expeditions.” These expeditions were primarily sent to explore whale deposits in the Southern Ocean and were funded by the whaling pioneers. But the purpose was also to do meteorological and oceanographic surveys and the expeditions also had the mandate to research and annex new areas. On December 1, 1927, the Norwegian pioneers made the first ever documented landing on Bouvet (Photo A). The Norwegian flag was hoisted, and the island declared Norwegian territory. Peter I island was annexed in a similar way in 1929. The Norvegia expeditions also discovered several hitherto unknown land areas.

Today, Bouvet Island is a nature reserve protected by