One of this year’s most interesting DXpeditions is already under way. The team RI1FJZ departed from Murmansk on September 7 aboard the yacht “Apostol Andrey”, heading through the Barents Sea toward Alexandra Land in the Franz Josef Land archipelago.
According to the September 8 report, the vessel was at position 69°25′N, 34°01′E, having passed Kola Bay and Kildin Island. At that time, approximately 700 nautical milesremained. Maintaining this sailing speed, arrival at the archipelago was expected around September 13–14.
The expedition’s official website provides the RI1FJZ tracker LR30us, IOTA EU-019 and DXCC RI1F – Franz Josef Land. The original plan called for operation from September 9 to 25, but the yacht’s departure was postponed, so actual operations from the island will begin later than originally planned.
The station plan is very ambitious. The team has prepared operation on the 160, 80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 m, as well as VHF and satellite operation. They have announced transmissions in CW, SSB and FT8 and contacts via QO-100. The official equipment list includes numerous transceivers, amplifiers and antennas prepared for simultaneous operation.
The complete log is to be uploaded to Club Log and LoTW, while QSL card management will be handled by R9LR.
Expedition website: RI1FJZ – Franz Josef Land DXpedition