The 3Y0I Bouvet Island DXpedition website has announced that the team of operators — led by Polish DXpeditioner Dom Grzyb, 3Z9DX — set sail on March 19 from Cape Town, South Africa, for the remote Antarctic island on board the MV Atlantic Tuna.

“The 3YØI Bouvet Island Expedition has officially begun,” the announcement said. “If everything goes well, we should reach Bouvet in 7 days around March 26. Landing on the Island will be strictly dependent on weather conditions met upon arrival.”

According to the website, 3Y0I could be on the air by the end of March but notes that the information is subject to change, noting the vagaries of sea and weather conditions. “The team plans to stay at the island at least for 2 weeks, with an option to extend the stay to 3 – 4 weeks, if weather and other factors permit,” the announcement said. “We will sign as E51DOM/mm on the way to and back from the island.” The announcement invited anyone interested to track the vessel.

“Stay tuned for further updates and cross fingers for us, the announcement concluded. “History has begun!”

The DXpedition has enlisted the assistance of noted DXers Martti Laine, OH2BH; Wayne Mills, N7NG, and Yasu Inoue, JR1AIB, to serve as “ambassadors” for the DXpedition, sponsored by the Rebel DX Group.

“This is a historical undertaking under very severe conditions with no DX Foundation support nor involvement,” their announcement said. “One of their objectives is for bringing the cost down to affordable level for more people.”

Unlike the unsuccessful 3Y0Z DXpedition, which reached Bouvet Island but was unable to land because of sea conditions and a mechanical problem with the vessel, the 3Y0I operators plan to land using Zodiac inflatable vessels. “The budget of 3Y0I is about 200,000 USD, and it [will] not utilize weather sensitive and expensive helicopters,” the announcement said.

3Y0I will attempt to produce a workable signal on 160 and 80 meters in the challenging Bouvet Island environment. “Dom has detailed experience on the Zodiac landing on Bouvet, while Tack, JE1CKA — a WRTC-rated contester and seasoned DXpedition operator — is now in charge of the low-bands. Tack has excellent field knowledge for creating powerful low-band signals,” the announcement said.

Plans call for establishing a camp some 100 feet above sea level, next to and above their landing area on the Bouvet glacier on the island’s southeast corner, “with open view to EU/JA but high mountains to the NW (USA).” 3Y0I will run 1.3 kW with each of four stations — CW, SSB, FT8 plus one for a CW/FT8 combination.

The high-volume bands are expected to be 20, 30, and 40 meters.