this morning at sunrise, our position was 16 24n 111 20 w, approximately 380 nautical miles from clipperton atoll. we are expecting to be at the island early in the morning on march 5th. when we arrive at clipperton, we will circle the island and look for any possible indication that there might be human activity there. if there is, we will need to determine what type of activity is going on. over the years there have been a variety of reports of the island being used for illicit purposes. but mostly the island is visited from time to time by fisherman and boaters that happen to land.
most importantly is the level of the surf at the several possible landing spots that we have in mind. we are anxious to attempt a landing near the north part of the island. we want to set up our primary dx antennas on the north shore so we can be in a position to most effectively cover europe where clipperton is high on the most wanted list. north america, oceania and asia will be easy paths from most spots on the island, so positioning is not as critical. from the usual landing spot, it is a 2 kilometer trek to the north shore under the blazing sun and we want to limit the distance we have to carry our equipment and the time it will take to set up the north shore operating camp. we are planning on making our base camp at bougaimville where all previous dxpeditions have set up. it is the only place on the island with trees that will provide shade from the hot tropical sun.
our journey thus far has been pleasant. we've spent the last several days working on our operating schedules, preparing our equipment for loading on the zodiacs, considering the best spots on the island to position our antennas, working on various projects on our computers and sometimes just laying around in the warm south pacific sun. the seas have been very calm and the weather has been ideal. we have been operating as fo5a/mm and have made 4,577 contacts thus far. we've been operating primarily on 20 meters during the day, and 40 meters at night. our operating position has been active from 5am to 11pm so please try to work us.
also, be sure to view the personal operator journals available from the operators page.