3YØI Bouvet Island Expedition
Hi there
My name is Dom Grzyb and I'm an experienced world traveler, amateur radio expeditioner and one of the most traveled men in the world . For the last 2 years, I organize an expedition to the most remote island on Earth - Bouvet Island - to conduct a much anticipated amateur radio expedition to the island. Bouvet Island:
The first attempt took place in March’19. I and the team of international and experienced ham radio operators left Cape Town, South Africa for a 12-days long oceanic voyage to the island. We were as close as 63 nautical miles from the island and were forced to abandon plans. A powerful fatal storm damaged our vessel, putting the team and crew in danger, forcing us to sail back to Cape Town, South Africa.
A glimpse of sea conditions at South Atlantic ocean as seen from our vessel in March 2019, before the storm hit... (video courtesy of Mietek SP3CMX):
The first attempt was darn expensive. U$ 225.000 were from our private funds to make it happen. I now plan the 2nd attempt, which would be cheaper - I already have secured a lot of equipment and logistics, shrinking our missing budget to U$ 85.000.
I will use the received and withdrawn donations to:
- cover the cost of fuel for the vessel for the return trip to Bouvet Island (that is ca. 3400 nautical miles (approx. 5100 km by the ship - no wonder it's expensive!),
- cover shipyard fees and any other related payments,
- to buy food provisions for at least 3 weeks of stay at the island for all the expedition's participants.
The donations would be withdrawn and spent as stated above ONLY if I manage to receive at least required U$ 85.000 that secures the missing budget. If I don't reach this goal, all donations will be returned to donors.
None of the donations are to be spent on any other goals but the expedition and its execution I organize and coordinate in person.
Why Bouvet Island?
It’s a small piece of land that lies in the far South Atlantic Ocean. This subantarctic island belongs to Norway and covers just 49km2 (9.5×7 km wide). This is the most isolated and most remote island in the world.
The nearest land (Antarctica) is located over 1700 km away, while the nearest inhabited land (the Aghulas Peninsula of South Africa) is 2600 km away.
Such a gigantic remoteness and hard weather conditions surrounding the island with subantarctic marine climate + a total lack of nearby marine transportation routes in this part of the world has caused the island to be one of the least visited places on the globe.
There are fewer people who have visited the island than have visited the Earth’s orbit, and its peak has been visited by fewer humans than have landed on the Moon.
Our goals:
- The amateur radio expedition to the subantarctic island of Bouvet,
- Making radio contacts with amateur radio enthusiasts from all over the world with our ham radio expedition,
- Exploring the island, including reaching the island’s highest peak, Olavtoppen (760m a.s.l.), which is covered in 93% with an ice cap,
- Providing free photo and video documentation for the Norwegian Polar Institute,
- Placing a „time capsule” at Olavtoppen - the highest peak at the island, for the future generations.
An international ham radio expedition, DXpedition, will highlight my mission. Thanks to advanced high-tech radio equipment, I and the participants will be able to make contacts with hams from all over the world. Bouvet Island is placed #2 on so-called the DXCC Most Wanted List (right behind North Korea) – the list of places that appear on airwaves the least. It is no wonder there are thousands of hams around the globe on all continents waiting for a chance to make radio contact with Bouvet. The island was heard on the air for the last time about 10 years ago, and the last serious amateur radio expedition to the island took place 30 years ago!
Thanks to Bouvet’s unique and demanding location, with 3 week-long cruise on stormy seas and the ability to broadcast live from the island, the expedition will become a worldwide event across international media.
It will be present on Facebook, Twitter and more while at Bouvet Island, delivering fresh news from „the end of the world”.
The expedition vessel docked in Cape Town's shipyard, South Africa, now waiting for the 2nd attempt to reach Bouvet Island
Firefighting training in prior the 1st attempt in Cape Town, South Africa, December 2018
Firefighting training in prior the 1st attempt in Cape Town, South Africa, December 2018
Water safety training in prior the 1st attempt, Cape Town, South Africa, 2018
Uncertainty of future similar expeditions
It may happen traveling to such remote oceanic places like Bouvet may become even more dangerous and expensive in the coming future. Global climate change’s impact is getting worse. It’s currently more and more pronounces in the higher latitudes where the changes occur faster than anywhere else. Ice caps and glaciers meltdown causes there will be more and more sweet waters getting into the oceans. That will impact all sea and wind currents there in the first place. They start to shift quickly and weather conditions will become more and more unpredictable and violent. Additionally, the changes will produce an enormous amount of ice pack and icebergs, reaching even middle latitudes putting sea travelers in threat. We’re all, unfortunately, living witnesses of the change coming and it’s very possible that visiting those places by hams may become too risky and too expensive.
Today, each visit to those dangerous places, including amateur radio expeditions, is hard to overvalue. Visitors have a unique chance to document climate change impacts and to collect important data for scientists. Since we‘ve been in touch with the Norwegian Polar Institute (which is in charge of monitoring and protecting Bouvet island) from the very beginning of our project, all information we would collect at the island will go under scientific supervision and inspection by the institute.
If you feel the expedition is worth our 2nd try and to receive your financial support, donate now and help to make it happen!
The time is now!
Follow the project at:
- https://bouvetoya.org , where you can find more details on the project and news,
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bouvetoya.org/
- and Twitter https://twitter.com/Bouvetoyaorg