The 3Y0J team has arrived and begun operations on Bouvet Island. The conditions have been difficult and the team is not yet operating at full capacity.

The 3Y0J Media Officer and East Coast Pilot, Steve Hass, N2AJ, wrote on Facebook that, as of Wednesday, February 8, 2023, the team has only enough power to operate two radios simultaneously. A storm is forecasted to bring high winds to the remote island, so the team is taking precautions. Some of the antennas may be taken down to prevent damage. According to Facebook posts, the yacht that brought the team to the island, the S/V Marama, has been moved farther offshore in anticipation of the winds.

Despite the challenges, the DXpeditioners say they logged 5,000 QSOs in the first 48 hours of operation. To date, the team has been heard working CW on 17 meters and SSB on 15 meters. No matter the mode, the operators will always be listening up. That means hams should listen for them on their frequency and transmit back to them 5 - 10 kHz above that frequency. The operator will be tuning back and forth to try and pull out the strongest station.

The Bouvet operators intend to work FT8 to give modest stations a chance to log the rare entity. They will always be working in Fox and Hound mode. The team asks operators who have already worked the island on one band or mode to not attempt another contact. The hope is that every station trying to make contact will be able to add Bouvet to their log.

The 3Y0J DXpedition is one of the most anticipated activations in recent years. Bouvet Island is ranked second on Club Log's DXCC Most Wanted List, right behind P5/North Korea.

Near real-time updates from the team are being posted to the 3Y0J - The Bouvet island DXpedition Facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/3093983840726129

Logs will be uploaded from the team as conditions allow. The operators have some access to satellite internet.