As we wait for the beginning of the Rebel DX Group DXpedition to Bouvet Island, we wonder: How will it come off? How many of “The Deserving” will emerge with a new one or even DXCC Number 340? How many will make a QSO? Or make a QSO on a particular desired band? There are lots of questions, and not many answers.
Yet, this expedition will likely be different from what we have come to expect in recent years. DXpeditions to the difficult Southern Ocean have become expensive – very expensive. Suitable ships are limited in number, and are very expensive. If helicopters are necessary or desirable, adding a helicopter or two can easily double the cost. In addition, fuel costs for ships and helicopters have greatly increased in price in the last few decades. All of this has made foundation involvement important – inclusive and demanding.
This past week – finally – the 3Y0I DXpedition team departed Cape Town for Bouvet Island. Despite the lateness of the season, the plan is to arrive at Bouvet, land via Zodiac in a Southeast section of the island, haul equipment a short distance above the surf and set up camp.
But logistics is not the only issue. The current Bouvet team is experienced in this type of seamanship, and some have previous landing experience on Bouvet. Assuming the landing goes as planned, there are additional chores to be completed. These include surviving ashore, building stations – including antennas – and making them work. Questions have already arisen regarding antennas and, which of those included will best fulfil the needs of the particular operating location. Which will perform as expected on the glacier?
And what about operating strategy? How about the storming pileups? What should the team aim at in order to maximize the “happiness”? In other words, how will the performance be optimized for the Deserving? Is it necessary to do so?
WITH NO MONEY – NO HONEY?
In the past, with considerably less expenses, the operators usually provided seed money and relied on donations made after the fact to balance the books. These later donations were highly dependent on the quality of the performance. We asked: “If you enjoyed the performance, please put an extra donation in the post when requesting the promised confirmations.
The waters are now muddied in this regard, with sometimes-foundation-funding and OQRS, personal contributions depend on personal desires and how the expedition fulfills the needs.
In the case of an operation where seed money is initially self-funded, DXer “happiness” is probably more important than when large portions of the necessary funds have been supplied on a more anonymous basis though the foundations.
So, the performance characteristics of the DXpedition must be considered. Will the team aim at maximizing “All Time New Ones” (ATNOs) by restricting the number bands put into play? Or will they maximize the happiness by spending large amounts of time and energy on the low bands – even Topband? Do we even know how many serious DXers actually need Bouvet? Will the team simply aim at the largest possible number of QSOs? These are all important parameters that may trace directly back to the ultimate funding.
For the3Y0I expedition, funding seems to be closely held. There appears to be no large scale funding effort that has raised a significant percentage of the total cost in advance. In fact, there seems to be no obvious single source of large-scale funding at all – other than perhaps the operators themselves.
In the past, additional funding to complete a project came – voluntarily – in the form of contributions along with QSL card requests via post mail. Now, with Logbook of the World, that particular avenue no longer exists.
For the sake of argument, let’s now assume that for some reason foundation money has not been made available. We may ask why: Under what conditions will a funding organization make seed money available? Should this be clearly defined and reasonable?
So, here we are, waiting for the next Big One. Will the team be successful? What defines success? How would the organizers recover the expenses with limited success or no success if a landing never takes place? Would formal insurance be an option? What would it cost? Is insurance practical?
Some things are there for sure: With no external money available up front to help 3Y0I, these people are taking on a huge personal risk. The effective cost per QSO will be high and as there is no advanced financial support from the foundations, the team members will have to come up with some new concepts for external money so that the DX audience would have a fair opportunity to support 3Y0I after the fact. This suggests that for the first time early QSLs and LoTW may need to carry a larger price tag than has become recent custom with traditionally structured DXpeditions.
It is clear that the DXpedition funding model of the recent past will need to be altered. What will it become?
OH2BH / N7NG