22 October 2014

From The KP1-5 project
RE: Navassa Island (KP1) Operation
Dated: 22 October 2014

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has notified the KP1-5 Project that they will be the team to activate Navassa Island (KP1) in January 2015.

The DXpedition will be a maximum of fourteen days.  The exact dates in January will be determined by USFWS mission requirements and weather windows.

Our experienced team of fifteen is complete and is ready for the challenge.  The weeks ahead will be extremely busy as the team has less than 90 days before the DXpedition comes on the air.

January is the month of minimum bird nesting activity and this is the primary reason USFWS is asking that the operation be completed during that month.  However, the weather is unpredictable in January and because Navassa is surrounded by cliffs, this may preclude a safe landing by boat.  For safety reasons and in order to maximize our time on the Island and on the air, a helicopter operation is planned.  Navassa is over 100 miles (160 km) from the nearest helicopter staging point and as many as ten round trips will be required at the beginning and end of the operation.  Obviously, this means that there will be a significant cost for activating this #1 ranked DXCC entity.

In the next few weeks, we be working with USFWS and as details firm up, we will issue periodic press releases.  Check our webpage, the KP1-5 Project for more details of the operation and how you may financially support this DXpedition.

The KP1-5 Project team has committed to fund 50% of the total costs.  We are hopeful the DX community will fund the remainder.

for The KP1-5 Project,

Bob Allphin, K4UEE, President
Glenn Johnson, WØGJ, Vice-president
Mike Thomas, NA5U, Secretary