What an amazing DXpedition to two islands off the coast of Antarctica, South Sandwich, and South Georgia. Despite the fact that it is summer there, it’s still one of the most inhospitable areas on the planet. Case in point, from DX World today:
January 25 @ 07:20z – Past night two tents and most of the yagis were destroyed by high winds. Both of their main tents collapsed partially and the team worked very hard through the night to save them. The Braveheart recorded winds of 70 mph (112 Kph). They are running only on 40 meters due antenna damage. Once they can assess damage they can determine whether they can proceed to South Georgia or not. Right now they are doing last QSO as VP8STI – they have asked the Braveheart to extract them when it´s possible. They regret that they have fallen short of their plans , however the team and crew safety is most important.
So as DX-chasers, we are sitting in our warm ham shacks, listening to a single station (and the occasional self-appointed DX police shouting “up-up”), while they are dealing with hurricane strength winds, blizzards, and trying to dig one callsign out of the thousands calling them at the same time.
- Why do these folks put themselves in harm’s way?
- How can they afford to do what they do?
- Why do so many DX chasers moan and groan when things don’t work out?
I feel blessed to have worked them on two different bands. And each time I made a contact I considered myself very lucky to have had some expert DX operator on the other end manage to hear my meager attempt over the top of howling winds and other hams. Believe me, 99.9999% of the skill and talent is on the far side of the contact.
NEWS UPDATE @ 21:20Z – Nigel Jolly, Braveheart owner, declared an emergency and ordered the VP8STI team to cease all operations and return to the ship. A large ice flow that had broken away due to last night’s storm starts to block the entrance to the Bay where they were camped. There was strong potential for the ice flow to prevent Braveheart reaching them.
The Team is now safely aboard the Braveheart and they are moving away from Southern Thule Is. All equipment and personal gear is still on the island. They hope to return to camp site during next good weather window. Once they retrieve their equipment they could make a determination as to whether they can proceed to South Georgia to do VP8SGI as planned – VP8STI QRT !
