Federated States of Micronesia
V62P - Pulap Atoll (OC-155)
V62S - Satawal Atoll (OC-299)
November 1 to 16
NEWS:
26 Sep 2023 I have now purchased the plane tickets and the updated time schedule is as follows: Oct 26: drive to Syracuse, NY, and fly from there at 08:10 am (12:10 UTC) to Denver and from there to Honolulu, where I'll arrive at 03:16 pm (Oct 27, 01:10 UTC); overnight at Dave's (AH6HY); Oct 27: depart Honolulu at 07:10 am (17:10 UTC); the plane will stop for refueling in Majuro (V7), Kwajalein (V7), Kosrae (V6), and Pohnpei (V6); Oct 28: arrive in Truk at 03:45 pm (05:45 UTC); transfer to Weno by boat; Oct 28-30: carry out local purchases (generator, oil, fuel, extension power cable, food supplies, as well as medical and school supplies as gifts for the local communities) and get ready for the voyage at sea; Oct 31: travel to Pulap and arrive the next day; Nov 1 to 7: radio operation from Pulap; Nov 8: travel to Satawal and arrive the next day; Nov 9 to 16: radio operation from Satawal; Nov 17 and 18: return to Weno and arrive on Nov 19; Please note that dates for travel at sea and island operations may change due to weather conditions and/or unforeseen aspects. Please bookmark this page and check it for updates closer to the respective time. I am allowed to travel to FSM without a visa for a stay of up to 30 days. Consequently, the current plane ticket has my departure from Truk scheduled on Nov 26 at 12:10 pm (02:10 UTC). This allows me to incorporate contingencies associated with the voyage at sea. However, if I will be able to return to Weno in time, I will attempt to change my ticket for an earlier flight. 21 Sep 2023 I just finished a very informative, almost two-hour Zoom meeting with the boat captain and my contacts down in FSM. We reviewed every step of the logistical plan, and the captain confirmed the transportation schedule I already announced, as well as a number of other logistical details. Meanwhile, he indicated that relatively small delays may occur, due to weather conditions and/or other unforeseen reasons that may arise. However, this is not going to shorten my stay on each atoll. If anything, my stays will be longer than originally planned. 14 Sep 2023 I am very pleased to report that several organizations have already responded positively to my grant applications by accepting to support this complex and madly expensive project. I wish to assure them, as well as all individual donors mentioned on this page of my sincere, heartfelt gratitude for their generous assistance. Meanwhile, I would like to encourage more of the IOTA chasers and DXers to consider supporting this project. I do need your assistance, so please join in the adventure! 28 Aug 2023 My contact in FSM indicated to me last night that my stay on each atoll may be longer than intended. I am sure that more chasers will appreciate that. Meanwhile, I submitted DXpedition grant applications to various foundations, associations and clubs, in hope that some of them will take them into consideration. Fingers crossed! 22 Aug 2023 The Department of Transportation, Communications, and Infrastructure of FSM issued today the licenses AT/28/23 for V62P and AT/29/23 for V62S, which I will use for this project. V62P is intended for radio activity from Pulap (Chuuk), OC-155. This rare IOTA reference was last operated from 19 years ago by Lanny, W5BOS, who was active as V6O. V62S is intended for radio activity from Satawal (Yap), OC-299 New. I will travel from Canada to Weno (Chuuk) via Guam, from where I will reach Pulap (Chuuk) by chartered boat and operate from this atoll for 5-7 days. Then, I will be picked up by chartered boat and transported to Satawal (Yap), from where I will operate for 5-7 days as well. After the end of this activity, I will return to Weno by chartered boat and fly from there back to Canada via Guam. This is a very expensive project ($26-28K), and I am looking for all possible financial support from the community. This will be a full-time operation, as the sole scope of my voyage is to activate these rare IOTA groups. 11 Jul 2023 I arranged in early 2020 to travel to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in order to operate from the IOTA references OC-155 (Chuuk) and OC-299 (Yap). Due to the covid pandemic, FSM enacted stringent travel conditions, which were not relaxed for more than a year. In the meantime, the person I retained to provide me with boat transportation to one of the atolls belonging to each of the above references passed away due to a heart attack. His replacement continued to offer me the charter I needed, but at $40K, twice the price agreed upon just a little more than one year earlier. As a result, our communication stalled. Following my return from Fiji (OC-189), I re-engaged with my contact in FSM regarding the OC-155/299 project. Based on the results of our communication, I am happy to announce that we are now working to finalize the logistics of a trip to FSM coming October/November. Its detailed schedule will be announced on this website, in due course. Note that the original voyage included boat transportation from Chuuk to Yap and back, while the current plan is for separate boat transportation within Chuuk and Yap, respectively, and flying between the two FSM state capitals via Guam. THE PROJECT
Map of the Federative States of Micronesia (FSM).
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