IOTA Expedition 2018
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French Polynesia

TX0A  Acteon Group (OC-113)
TX0M  Morane Group (OC-297)


THE PROJECT

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The DXCC of French Polynesia.
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FO5BI/P QSL card
(Marutea Sud, OC-113).


The Maria Est atoll is part of the Acteon Group (OC-113). The only amateur radio activity from this group took place more than 28 years ago by Robert Berry (FO5BI/P). He operated in April 1990 from the Marutea Sud atoll. This IOTA reference is currently ranked #6 on the Most Wanted IOTA Listing, needed by 98% of the IOTA members. Since at the time of this operation there will be 1126 IOTA references activated to date, compared to 340 current DXCC entities, the rarity of this IOTA group corresponds to #2 on the DXCC Listing. The Morane atoll is the only counter of the New IOTA Group OC-297. It fits the "Remote island group" criterion (IOTA Programme Structure B.1.3).

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​Cezar (VE3LYC) and Adrian (KO8SCA) will fly on December 2 from Toronto and New York City, respectively, to San Francisco, from where they will travel together to Papeete (Tahiti), where they are scheduled to arrive the same day, around 9 pm local time. After spending a full day and two nights in Papeete, they will fly out to Rikitea, on Mangareva Island. Their flight is scheduled in the early morning of December 4, arriving in early afternoon local time (UTC - 9). Since the Mangareva airport is on a neighbouring atoll, they will have to make their way to Rikitea by a small boat across the lagoon, before boarding the yacht for a two-week voyage at sea.

The atolls of Maria Est and Morane are uninhabited, and there is no boat transportation to them commonly available in Mangareva. Worth noting, the skipper agreed to bring his yacht to Mangareva specifically for this project, which involves rather complex logistics. The coral reef of both Maria Est and Morane atolls offer no entrance into the lagoon, which are fully enclosed and hypersaline. To say that landing on and departing from these atolls will be challenging is an understatement. However, once we manage to cross the reef (fingers crossed!), moving all the equipment to and from one of the sandbanks will be equally difficult. In order to mitigate the hazards and increase safety, the skipper will bring on his yacht two inflatable dinghies. One of them will remain with the operating team at all times during their stay on each atoll.
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With skipper Jean-Yves (right) and his wife Sandrine (center) at the southernmost bar
in the world, run by Micalvi Yacht Club (Navarino Island, Jan 2011).

The plan is to operate from each atoll for 5 full days. The typical dominant wind for that period of the year tends to blow from the east, in which case the first stop will be Morane, followed by Maria Est. If so, the tentative schedule is to operate from Morane between December 6 to 10 (based on the UTC time), and from Maria Est between December 12 to 16. Nevertheless, the wind can also blow from the southeast or northeast, which can change the above tentative plan. Consequently, the final decision regarding the sailing itinerary will be made at the time of leaving Mangareva, based on the weather forecast.

On each island, the operating team will communicate with the crew on the yacht via VHF radio. The chasers will be able to track our progress via the InReach system. The tracking link will be made available between December 2 and 19. The inReach system will also allow us to exchange information with Johan (PA3EXX), our Pilot Station. He will keep the community informed on our progress, and provide us with appropriate feedback.

The team must return to Mangareva by no later than the morning of December 18, in order for Cezar and Adrian to catch their flight to Papeete, from where they will fly first to San Francisco, and then to Toronto and New York City, respectively. They should be back home before midnight on December 19.

This is a complex and extremely expensive project, and we need your support to defray some of the considerable costs incurred! All donors will be acknowledged timely on this website.

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SPONSORS & DONORS

Thank you for your support!

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The stations listed below offered support prior to the start of this DX expedition:

4X4-2238
5B4AHJ
7K3EOP
9A2AA
AA5AT
AB5EU
AD1C
CT4NH
DG2AT
DJ3XG
DK1FW
DK7TX
DL1BKI
DL1BKK
DL3ZZ
DL4FCS
DL4KQ
DL5AXX
DL5ME
DL5MX
DL6DQW
DL6KVA
DL6MKA
DL6MST
DL8USA
DO4DXA
DS4DRE
E72U
E73Y
EA8AKN
F-59706
F4FET
F4WBN
F6BFH
F8AMV
G3YBO
G3ZAY
G4VMX
GI3OQR
HB9BZA
HS0ZIV
I2YDX
I4EAT
I4MKN
I6COJ
IK4DRY
IK4WMA
IT9DAA
IZ2AMW
JA1BPA
JA1EY
JA1SKE
JA2AYP
JA2IHL
JA3UCO
JA4GXS
JA5IU
JA6EXO
JA6FIO
JA7BWT
JA7DOT
JA7MGP
JA8COE
JA8MS
JA8RJE
JA9GPG
JA9IFF
JE1DXC
JE2VFX
JE3GUG
JE7JIS

JF1SEK
JF4VZT
JG1UKW
JH2IEE
JH2RMU
JH2XQY
JH3GFA
JH4DYP
JH7VHZ
JI3DST
JI3MJK
JJ0NCC
JK1KSB
JK1TCV
JM1PXG
JM2LEI
JN3SAC
JN6RZM
JO1CRA
JP7EIP
JR1WCT
K0AP
K1NU
K1OA
K5MT
K6RNK
K9RR
KA1R
KD1CT
KJ3L
KM4HI
LA8DW
N2AJ
N4II
N4WW
N5ET
N5UR
N6AWD
N6FX
N6JV
N6VR
N9EAJ
OE1HHB
OE2VEL
OE3EVA
OE3GCU
OE3RPB
​OE3SGA
OE3WWB
OE6IMD
OH2BCK
OH2FT
OK1TN
ON4CD
ON4IZ
OZ1HPS
PT7WA
PY7ZZ
R9OK
RA6AR
RJ3AA
RZ3EC
S57L
S58N
SM3DMP
SM3EVR
SM5LNE
SM6CVX
SM7DXQ
SP5APW
UA0CID
UA0FO
UA0ZC
UA1OIZ
UA1OLM
UA3AGW
UA4CR
VE3JV
VE3VHB
VE3ZZ
VE7DP
VE7JH
VE7QCR
VK3GA
VK3QI
VK5CE
VK5MAV
VK7BC
VK8NSB
W1JR
W1NG
W4DKS
W4FOA
W4PID
W5BOS
W5GAI
W5PF
W5WP
W7BEM
W9OO
WB2YQH
WC6DX
WD8PKF
YT7DX

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