Bouvet vs. Hams 2:0?

3YØI Press Release #3
March 27, 2019

Bouvet vs. Hams 2:0?

The “Furious 50s” zone is showing its real face now. Sea conditions are fierce with wind speed reaching 80kn/h (more than 148km/h) and last 6 hours were very difficult to the team. The MV Atlantic Tuna is making attempts to escape from a severe storm that is crossing an area surrounding Bouvet Island.

The current wind conditions near Bouvet Island. The black X mark indicated approx. location of MV Atlantic Tuna as for March 27, 2019 at 06:30 Z

In a satellite phone conversation, Dom 3Z9DX explained the vessel’s captain decided to shift their course off the island to relocate the vessel into a safer area by following wind’s direction to the East. Further details unveiled by Dom regarding the bad storm’s outcome are not too good: they lost one of their radars and marine antennas. Neither their /mm antenna survived the storm. The good news is that despite the bad conditions, the Team and the crew are safe and in good condition.

They need to wait out the storm to proceed with proper technical inspection and any further decision making: whether to continue with landing attempts at Bouvet or to go back to South Africa. The captain has been updated them with the latest weather forecast so he is well informed on what to expect in a couple of next hours – things are under control.

That all means that initial plans to reach the island by today are impossible to happen and if they decide to continue with the expedition, the landing will be delayed at least 1-2 days depending on sea and weather conditions.

Nevertheless, there is a weather improvement coming after every storm. See current perditions for the coming days:

Bouvet vs. Hams 2:0? Next couple of hours will determine the score.

Let’s hope things turn out in favor of the 3YØI Team. Expecting another news coming from the Team in a couple of hours. Stay tuned.

Stan SP8S
The 3YØI Press officer