Sent from Surface Pro 3

 
Date:  4 December 2014

Press Release:  K1N Navassa Island DXpedition

From: KP1-5 Project

The KP1-5 Project and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have been working together on preparations for our joint 14 day visit to Navassa Island NWR.  Although the actual dates may still vary, it now appears we will begin transport to the Island during the last week of January 2015.

Our container of equipment and supplies will depart late in December enroute to our helicopter staging area.  All of our equipment is being assembled, tested and packed.

We have visited and contracted with the largest helicopter operations group in the Caribbean to transfer personnel and equipment to the island.  Our window of opportunity, dictated by USFWS, is during the period of least bird nesting.  But it is also the time of the most treacherous seas, making a safe sea landing of all our equipment and people all but impossible.   The famous "ladder” used to access the island at Lulu Bay was removed when the U.S. Coast Guard turned administration over to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.    For safety reasons, the USFWS uses helicopter transport to the island and we will too.

Consequently, and as one might expect, the costs of this DXpedition are quite high.   The team has contributed approximately half of the total cost.   Foundations such as NCDXF and INDEXA have been very generous, as have a number of DX Clubs and individuals, and for this generosity, we are deeply grateful!

The particulars of this DXpedition require more "up front” payments  than most DXpeditions and we have a "cash flow timing” situation that needs to be addressed.  The helicopter contractual agreement requires all charter costs to be paid prior to the conclusion of the project.    Many older hams need a mode or band fill from Navassa, but an entire generation has grown up without Navassa being on the air.  Hence, it has risen to the #1 Most Wanted on the ClubLog list.   If you need Navassa for an all-time new one (ATNO), or for a particular band or mode, we could use your financial help.   If you plan to help support the DXpedition, we ask that you do so now, not later.

We have an excellent team of fifteen operators who will be manning eight stations 24 hours/day, dedicated to giving out as many contacts as possible over the two week period.

Your generous financial gift will help insure a most successful DXpedition for all!

Please visit www.navassadx.com for details.