3Y0K: MARCH NEWS UPDATE

[IK0ZCW]

"In February 2026, less than a year away, an international team of very courageous amateur radio operators will land on Bouvet Island. Bouvet is a Norwegian overseas territory and lies in the South Atlantic Ocean, with 93% of its surface covered by ice and snow. It sets the record as the Most Remote Uninhabited Island on Earth and currently ranks #10 on the Most Wanted DXCC listing at Club Log.
Operating as 3Y0K, our team will attempt to give as many ATNOs as possible and be active in all amateur radio bands from 10 to 160m. We will direct our attention to human modes of CW & SSB, but will also be active in FT8, RTTY and QO-100 satellite with up to 12 operating stations.
We have secured the necessary permit to land on Bouvet Island by helicopter, issued by the Norwegian Polar Institute. Our plan is to start the sea journey in Cape Town, South Africa, from where an icebreaker under the Icelandic flag we'll take us to the island in (hopefully) 7 days. Since landing depends on the weather conditions, we are scheduled to be on and around the island for up to 21 days. A helicopter will assist us in bringing ashore a significant amount of equipment to setup a camp with two radio tents. One radio tent on the lower area of Cape Fie, and one radio tent on the upper area with better take off to NA. Upper camp will focus on working NA.
The logistics behind this project are complex and require a budget of $1.65M. Most of the money will be used to pay for the services offered by the icebreaker and its crew, the helicopter with its two pilots and one mechanic, as well as the fuel for both. Each team member is contributing a significant amount to the budget, and they will also incur additional costs for commercial airfare, two side trips to Norway required by various tasks, winter sleeping bags and clothing, etc.
Passionate amateur operators and clubs around the world as well as multiple companies are supporting this project. As prime example, Northern California DX Foundation (NCDXF) have pledged up to $200K, of which half matched against donations received from outside of North America. Companies such as DX Engineering, Icom, RF Power and ACOM a re supporting the team with a multitude of radio equipment components. We also teamed up with a small private group to share the large costs of the DXpedition.
Please visit our website at http://www.3Y0K.com to read more about this project, the team, the latest news, and learn about the complex preparations the team is engaged in to ensure that its mission will be executed safely and successfully. At this time, we are looking to raise an additional $200K to avoid putting further financial strain on the team.
Your financial support is critical, so please consider donating either directly and/or through the clubs, associations, and foundations that you are members of. We will be very happy to make a Zoom presentation about this project to the membership of your organization at a time of your convenience. Meanwhile, we intend to continuously track the level of fundraising on our expedition website to inform everyone as to where we are in this endeavour.
Thank you in advance for your support, we look forward to contacting you from the Most Remote Uninhabited Island on Earth!"