3Y0K: BOUVET ISLAND 2025

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A common website for the Bouvet 2025 and Peter I 2026 Projects is now up and running on https://3y0k.com/.
* The fundraising for 3Y0K has started. The budget is USD 440,000, with 67% already secured; an additional USD 150,000 in support is needed, "which is significantly less than all previous DXpeditions to Bouvet".
* Plans are for three operators (LA7GIA, WD5COV and DL8JJ) to stay on Bouvet for up to 21 days, assisted by a support crew of four people: "our landing plans have been optimized, and given our previous experience in landing we have a mature and realistic plan to go onshore that again will be a staged landing".
* In addition to the main camp at Cape Fie, a "dedicated North America camp" will be set up on the top of a small hill 600 metres away. This area "offers low angle take off to NA and will make our signals much louder all over NA compared to previous time". The purpose is for "one operator to run multiple radios - one CW/SSB and one FT8 - and work NA on dedicated frequencies".
* In addition to the on-site operators, there will be a remote team. AA7JV will design, test, and provide four remote radios that will be accessible via Starlink to any operator worldwide. The search for remote FT8/CW operators is underway. Candidates should have experience with DXpeditions, and preferably with remote operations. They should be willing to dedicate some of their time to remote operations, and be committed to operating like any other on-site operator as part of the Bouvet team. Remote operators are being sought from around the world in different time zones. They will be subject to a smaller operator fee. For more information, please send your experience and motivation to Ken, LA7GIA (ken...@opskar.no).

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"To date we have secured $22,000 of the remaining $150,000 needed to reach the expedition budget", the News Update #3 posted to Facebook on 2 January states. "January and February are critical months to achieve the needed funding to make the expedition viable.
We will begin the purchase of equipment not committed as donations and continue to solicit sponsor agreements, but every dollar helps: so please visit https://3y0k.com/ and click that little donate button - and remember, Century Club Donors will receive a special Thank You regardless of being in the log or not.
Coming in late February/early March we will have the vessel inspection to verify its seaworthiness for the long journey from the Falklands to Bouvet.
At this time, we must make the first $100,000 deposit presuming the boat passes professional inspection so funding is time critical, please help if you can, with whatever you can.
We will also be procuring the custom-made tents to survive the harsh environment found from our previous activation of Bouvet, as well as proper antenna systems.
Up to June we will complete the testing of the remote equipment on a South Pacific expedition by some of our friends in the DX community and begin training the chosen remote operators. Note that the remote will be FT modes
- all SSB and CW will be from the island only.
All other equipment, radios and antennas will be tested under duress to ensure all work without failure on Bouvet.
The next steps are to optimize our landing plan relative to predicted weather conditions, put the finishing touch on our logistics plan and prepare all equipment and supplies for shipping to the Falklands.
By late August or early September, the container will be packed and sent to meet us at the boat in January or February of 2025. All equipment, hard supplies and logistical materials will be used for our Peter I expedition the following year, greatly reducing the costs for that adventure".
Updates will be posted as things progress and milestones are reached.

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"What is the current 3Y0K plan for landing the equipment? Learning from the 3Y0J mistakes is essential to achieve success. Last time we planned based on little to no information about the landing conditions. This time we base our plan on our own real experience - three of us already did many dinghy landings, and we know the waters". Read Press Release #3 on https://3y0k.com/3y0k-press-release-3/.

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Ken, LA7GIA reports that plans for the January 2025 trip are firm and all necessary contracts, including the vessel, logistics, and landing contracts, have been secured. 3Y0K is the only group with a valid DXpedition license for that period.
The fundraising is encountering some challenges, though, particularly with major US clubs. To ensure the success of the DXpedition, the following decisions have been taken: the vessel inspection and deposit have been postponed until May; all purchases have been postponed until May; the remote RIB operation has been cancelled (a 7-man team will operate on the island with six radios and amplifiers); the budget has been reduced to the bare minimum of USD 400,000.
However, the team still needs a minimum of $85,000 to make it to the island: https://3y0k.com/#supportus. Bouvet is the top priority: if the operation is postponed or cancelled due to insufficient donations, the 2026 DXpedition to Peter I will be similarly affected. A decision will be made in May based on the funds raised during March and April.

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"Donations have been temporarily suspended. Unfortunately, the financial risk for the small team is too high and we will spend the next few weeks in April to assess the situation and decide what to do. We will explore all possible options and will return with more information once we have reached a conclusion. We will not collect donations in this period".