• Second 3Y0Z Bouvet DXpedition Attempt Unlikely for 2018 – 2019 Austral Season

    From ARRL de WD1CKS@VERT/WLARB to QST on Monday, April 30, 2018 18:11:52
    04/30/2018

    The ill-fated 3Y0Z DXpedition[1] to Bouvet Island, halted earlier this year because of poor weather and engine problems with its transportation vessel, will very likely not be rescheduled for the 2018 - 2019 Austral season, organizers say.

    "It has become apparent that the chance of finding a suitable and affordable vessel for the 2018 to 2019 Austral season is becoming less and less likely," the team said in an April 26 news release. "It appears that the very earliest we could mount a second attempt to activate Bouvet would be the 2019 to 2020 season, or possibly beyond."

    The 3Y0Z team reports that it has reached "a fair settlement" with transportation contractor DAP and has received a partial reimbursement of its payments. "Our vessel Betanzos is now back in Punta Arenas, and we believe that the container with our personal gear and equipment is intact. We will be arranging to transport the container back to the US, arriving in a few months."

    The 3Y0Z organizers say they want to offer prorated returns of the DXpedition funds in their account, although this will not happen until after the shipping container has arrived and the DXpedition has paid its bills and knows how much money will remain.

    "[T]his is going to be an enormous task, with 137 DX clubs and foundations and 3,700 individual DXers," the announcement said. "The process will take some time. We ask that you be patient as we complete this."

    The process to claim a refund has not yet been established at this point, but the 3Y0Z DXpedition team plans to offer a choice of a prorated refund, or contributors may designate a foundation or club to receive the contribution. Any "unclaimed" refunds will be proportionally distributed to the major contributing foundations, and the 3Y0Z books will be closed.

    "We all are unhappy and extremely disappointed that the project was not completed due to a mechanical failure on our vessel," the announcement said. "This left the captain no choice but to abort the mission for safety reasons. Please accept our team's heartfelt thanks for your outstanding support of this project."

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    [1] https://www.bouvetdx.org/

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