Bouvet Island DXpedition 3Y0Z on vessel Betanzos

[IK0ZCW]

Bouvet Island DXpedition 3Y0Z on vessel Betanzos, 19 Jan - 17 Feb 2018


Using vessel AIS data detected by antennas and satellites, we tracked the journey of the Bouvet Island 3YØZ DXpedition on the vessel "Betanzos" (IMO: 7310923) from Punta Arenas, Chile to Cape Town, South Africa in January/February 2018.

Starting in Punta Arenas on January 19, 2018, the DXpedition team headed east to their target of Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic Ocean. They arrived and anchored on the east side of the island on January 31, but unfortunately poor weather conditions and the failure of one of the ship's engines led the captain to abort the mission on February 3.

The team initially set their return course to Punta Arenas, but on February 5, with only a single engine and rough seas ahead, the captain decided to redirect the vessel to Cape Town, South Africa. After a month at sea, the team finally arrived in Cape Town on February 17, where members of the local ham community came out to greet them on a 37-foot sailboat.

You can find more information about the DXpedition on their website: http://www.bouvetdx.org/

See the Betanzo's track on Vesseltracker here: http://www.vesseltracker.com/en/Ships/Betanzos-7310923.html