3B7M
3B7M STORY
Lubo,OM5ZW
The idea to visit St. Brandon started sometimes in May 2022 before Sylvia OM4AYL and me
visited 3B8 and I was trying to get a license for a 3B8 holiday expedition. I did not get the
licence as I applied for it late and so there was nothing to do but take a holiday. At that time, I
had already arranged some appointments in Port Louis regarding the activation of Saint
Brandon 3B7 and the organization of the expedition. Saint Brandon was at that time most
wanted DXCC in the chart very highly at #54 and in NA somewhere around #30. Many things
had to be arranged from licensing, logistics, transportation, entry permits as well as putting a
team together. The initial idea was to do a Czech-Slovak expedition with maximum six people
due to capacity. So, I approached David OK6DJ and a few people from CDXP because they
have the best experiences in organizing DX-expeditions. The problem was that even they had
never been on the expedition of this type before, as it was a desert island in the Indian Ocean
with no water, food, electricity, the Internet, etc. A new experience or a challenge? Yes, for all
team members. It was necessary to have a person in Mauritius/3B8 to help us with that. And
that was Mathieu from Raphael Fishing who helped us with getting all the necessary permits as
well as organizing. It was necessary to arrange transport, permits, power generators, power
cables, food, drink, fuel, etc. Especially the license which was not easy to get. We obtained it
after several urgencies sometime in October. As we were still in the pandemic period there was
a threat that we would spend a week in state quarantine and this project would flop. In the
meantime, negotiations were going on between Mathieu and the Ministry to cancel the
mandatory quarantine. Fortunately, after many sessions, they succeeded and our goal was a bit
closer. The team gradually formed and the final line-up was known in December as OK2ZA,
OK6DJ, OM3PC, OM4AYL, OM4MM, OM4MW, OM5RW and OM5ZW. OK friends were
still waiting for the expedition to Congo TN8K and our Slovak part of the crew started with
preparations of equipment and other things. Satellite Internet was the alpha omega of our
expedition. Luckily, I managed to contact WRX Slovakia who helped us with satellite internet
as well as satellite transmitters. We were limited by data but it should be enough to update the
logs and send some photos. We still had to get access to the island from OIDC (Outer Island
Development Corporation). This was the responsibility of our agent Mathieu, who told us every
day that we still did not get it. We had 10 days to go. Fortunately, it was done on time and all
the documents from our side were processed. However, we did not know what was coming in
that area. The summer season is considered the cyclone season. This year there was no
difference. We watched Cyclone Freddie anxiously and the predictions were not the best. It was
supposed to sweep through 1 day before our arrival somewhere between 3B8 and 3B7. Even
at that time, we knew we were going to have a problem. In the meantime, Mathieu had already
called me that because of the cyclone they had to evacuate the people who were on the south
island of St. Brandon and were evacuated to the North Island about 50 km away. On 21.
February we set off towards Vienna airport. The Czech part of the team OK6DJ,OK2ZA leaves
from Ruda OK2ZA a bit earlier. We meet at the airport full of expectations how it will turn out.
At the airport, Austrian Airlines charged us for oversized luggage. A bad beginning, hopefully
a good ending. In the morning, we land in Port Louis. Mathieu and his companions eagerly
await us with two big taxis. We go to his company called Raphael, where we put our things
away and head out to the shops to do some shopping. Our main food supplies are with them but
we buy things for the supply and things we do not have included. We are adjusting to the African
way of life and we are waiting 1.5 hours for food. Everything is somehow going slower even
our pace and thoughts. In the meantime, Mathieu arranges for the power generators and we
meet again at their company. We load the main luggage the day before. In the evening, we have
a hotel booked in Chinatown for some members it was an inferior place, but they did not know
what is waiting for us at Brandon hi. The Ministry for a blue economy will not grant us an ocean
sailing permit after 6 hours of waiting in port. How does it go on? If we want to broadcast from
the island for at least 9 days, and assuming that we get the permit the next day, there is nothing
to do but rebook the tickets. This costs us a considerable financial expense, but unfortunately,
the train is already running. After 6 hours of waiting at the port, we go back to the hotel,
fortunately at Raphael's expense. We head into town to get to know a bit about the indigenous
life. We have had enough of that and the hardest part of the trip is waiting for us - the ship.
In the morning, we go to the port again where this time we are greeted by smiling faces. I guess
we have permission to sail. The cyclone is heading south and it is far enough away to threaten
us. Well, we have the green light and it looks hopeful that we will set sail today.
On 24. February at 10.30 we are leaving towards 3B7. In the meantime, however, we are going
to refuel for 1.5 hours, as the boats that are anchoring in the harbour, must have almost empty
tanks had. The fun starts an hour later after leaving the port. We get to the open ocean and the
feeding fishes follows. Some members of the team have managed to take pills called kinedryl
and they are in a sleeping mode now. Nobody wants to go to the cabin, everyone feels dizzy. It
is ideal to watch the ocean surface. OM5RW is the best of us as a former sailor and he has a
smile on his face. We sail at 8-10 knots an hour, but we are very heavy so the trip drags on.
Moreover, we have to go to the north island to pick up the evacuated crew which will make our
trip a minimum of another 6 hours longer. We are trying to sleep but it is a torture. Sysa's tablets
kinedryl saves us. After 29 hours, we arrive at the north island in the dark and load the evacuated
crew together with the transport boat. After boarding, we head to the south island and arrive at
our destination around midnight of the local time. The problem is to find a buoy at all in the
dark and to anchor. We have to be careful not to catch the underside of the boat and we walk
carefully slowly to the shore. At night, disembarking is a big problem. We only take the
essentials and one radio plus PA and an antenna at 30m to start operating at night.
After the arrival, we are horrified. Cyclone Freddie has left a distinctive trail. The rooms were
full of sand, dirt. Ruda and David are building a 30 m tall antenna at night. We unpack one
radio and start operating. First QSO on 30m DM4AO. By the morning, we alternate with
OM4MW and have about 800 CW QSOs in the log. In the morning, we start to build antennas.
1xSpiderbeam, 2x VDA on 10 and 12m, and Vertical on 40 and 80m. It is very hot and humid
on the island. A few members did not use the sunscreen and after 2 hours, they were sunburnt.
At the same time, we are ramping up operations on the upper bands of 10 and 12m. The pipettes
on SSB are also 50 kHz and on CW 20kHz. Condx are very good on the upper bands and we
are mostly targeting 10 and 12m where for most stations we are also new one. We have 4
stations in operation and try to work mainly CW, SSB. At the same time, we are starting
1xTS480HX where we have FT8 operation running. By the way, FT8 was launched from the
island for the first time ever. The upper bands are open until 02.00 local time about 8 hours
after sunset. We are trying to give QSOs to as many stations as possible while giving priority
to NA since 3B7 is very high in the rankings. On SSB we have Ruda OK2ZA, Sylvia OM4AYL
and Martin OM4MM. CW is mostly Joe OM4MW, Rudy OM3PC , David OK6DJ, Miro
OM5RW and Lubo OM5ZW.
After the first day, the diesel generator that Raphael uses to power the house fails us. But the
problem was probably not in the control panel but in the supply cable which was 3x1,5mm 2.
Fortunately, we had spare supply cables ready as well as spare central units. One was a 6.5
KVA Honda EU 65 and the other was a 3 KVA Honda EU 30 which we rented on 3B8. We
also brought about 700 litres of petrol and 700 litres of diesel to the island. We were really
thoroughly ready for this scenario because we could not have done it without electricity.
The next day we start building more antennas: Spiderbeam 2, Vertical on 160m and Beverage
and EWE antennas on RX. The crossing of the island is literally like a Hitchcock movie, with
birds swooping in to defend their nests. At night, we start operating on 160m and suspect that
with reception on the island it will not be so easy. Beverage ant. is not listening, as there's no
proper ground on the island. In addition, interference from power stations causes us a lot of
problems. .Miro OM5RW has built the EWE antenna which can be partially listened to, but it's
not the same. Nevertheless, we are making some QSOs.
In the morning, we are trying to get the satellite internet up and running and update the logs.
We are communicating with our pilot Peter, OK1FCJ who is giving us all the necessary info on
mail. Since we have limited data, it is necessary to keep communication with the outside world
to a minimum. We will make a short call home via INMARSAT satellite network to let them
know we are OK. David OK6DJ is starting QO-100 operation. The contacts are gradually
coming in and we are trying to work mainly CW, SSB modes. After 4 days of operation, we
reach the first 50.000 QSOs. 2xFTDX10, 3x SUNSDR, 1xTS480, 1xIC705, 2xPA Expert 1K3
and 2xPA JUMA1000. Bandpass filters, micro-keyer, and about 8 laptops.
The kitchen is simple, and getting even simpler as time goes on. OM4MW is starting to feel as
hungry as a wolf, and the word fish sounds more like a swear word than food to some members
of the expedition. There are some members who still enjoy it and looking at the amount of fresh
lobster, makes it look like a Sunday lunch for them, except a few individuals. Breakfast is
already in the style of toast bread with peanut butter and jam. Luckily, there is plenty of beer
since we have lots of teetotallers on the team...hi and so toast bread with beer is a good
combination for breakfast as well. We are definitely not starving, as we do not really like the
high temperatures.
Gradually, the fatigue is getting to us and it is obvious. It is the time to relax, so Sysa, Lubo and
David decide to accept Mathieu’s offer and go on a fishing trip. The local people give us a tour
of the nearby islands and take us fishing. David OK6DJ catches a nice catch and the dinner is
certain. In addition, we swim in the beautiful water of the Indian Ocean without the crowds of
tourists and crowded beaches. After a 3-hour trip and being on the sun, we are completely
exhausted, so we must necessarily rest in the bed. Meanwhile, the rest of the team maintains
the pile-up and Rudo,OM3PC together with Jozo OM4MW perform a meritorious activity. We
have about 80.000 QSOs in the log and we have 4 days left until the end of the expedition. We
know for sure that if nothing extraordinary happens the second magical 100.000 QSOs will be
a reality. However, as the days went by, we had more and more frequent storms which caused
us quite a few problems. After one such storm, both Spiderbeam and the 80m vertical are blown
away. At night, it was almost impossible to work due to the strong QRN. We are crossing the
magical 100.000 QSO mark and we have more than 2 days left until the end of the expedition.
Slowly but it is necessary to pack up and so we are putting down the lower bands and RX
antennas and gradually everything else. There is a lot to do so one group is transmitting and the
other is packing antennas, cables, etc. In the morning of our departure, we pack the last setup
and David OK6DJ makes the last QSO.
The ALBATROS boat is ready to leave and so we gradually carry all the stuff with the help of
small boats. Finally, the power packs are left. We end with the number 123.000 contacts. A
long boat trip to Mauritius awaits us. Most of us will sleep the whole way, because of fatigue.
The boat is full of fish and we are looking forward to a classic hamburger and fries or a simple
pizza. After 24 hours, we sail to the port in St. Louis and Raphael Fishing arranged a ride to our
hotel near the airport. Finally, there is a normal shower and draft beer. We have dinner together
and we evaluate. Thanks to the CDXP guys for their help and we hope this was not the last
mutual CDXP and OM7M expedition. The next day we have a flight to Europe. In any case,
despite all the problems, we rate our expedition as a success and we are happy to have made
connections to 25,000 unique stations possible. Thanks to all OK/OM stations for calling in as
well as to the many OK/OM sponsors listed on our website www.3b7m.com.