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3C0R PAGE 3C0R-ANNOBON ISLAND 1.999
It was during our last visit to the Republic of Equatorial Guinea during 1998, invited by our good friend 3C1GS, Ramón Gómez de Salazar, that we started to envision a possible expedition to Annobon Island. From that first moment we were aware of the difficulties a project of that scope would entail, but thanks to Ramón Gómez' perseverance, we were able to meet the various officials in charge of approving our requests. I would like to acknowledge, from this perspective, the kindness, interest and attention that the Guinean authorities showed us at all times.We had to wait ten long months until, in April 1999, Ramón Gómez told me the good news: He already had the necessary licenses and permits to operate from Annobon. The happiness I felt at that moment was indescribable. I had in my hands the 3C0R licenses.
Unfortunately, only four people were given
permission to travel, when from the start the expedition was planned for a
larger group, with the objective of covering various bands and modes at the
same time. We had, therefore, to follow the conditions offered by the
Government of Guinea.
All the parties understood the importance of a DX expedition to Annobon,
given that this island was among the most needy on the DXCC lists for all
continents. The operators named in the licenses were: 3C1GS (Ramón); 3C1RV
(Roberto); EA5YN (Vicente), and I, EA5BYP (Elmo). I remember the moment I
phoned Vicente (EA5YN), my good friend and travel companion. We both agreed
that we had to work very hard.
An expedition to this island entailed many
preparations, a lot of money, looking for sponsors, finding transport,
assembling equipment and materials and choosing the most appropriate dates
for good broadcasts that coincided with our vacations.
Enthusiasm spread rapidly and the most
prestigious international organizations offered their support.
In this way 3COR - Annobon 99, began to take shape. We selected September 12 - 26, 1999 for the expedition. We wanted to operate at least ten days from the island. During our preparations, we met daily with Ramón (3C1GS) in our habitual frequency of 15 meters band. Soon he informed me that he had found a boat in Sao Tomé that could take us to Annobon. I immediately telephoned John, the captain of the Nere-Balandra -a sailboat 12 meters long - to discuss our plans and get information on the rates, characteristics of the boat and other technical details. The asking price was within our budget, even though the ship seemed a trifle small for sailing those complicated waters. At any rate, Alleluia!, we were assured of transport. John mentioned that, if the weather was good, the trip would take 24 hours. Going to Sao Tomé did not present many problems; we would take the Alicante - Madrid - Ivory Coast - Sao Tomé route. From an operational point of view, our objective was to maintain three stations active 24 hours a day. We had at our disposal three HF stations from Kenwood 570-D, two laptop computers to store and process the contacts made, (RTTY Modem) two Yaesu 2100Z lineal amplifiers, antennas kindly donated by Bit-Radio and Cruscraft (two AB5M with 3 elements and 5 bands), vertical antennas donated by Telecom and Bi-Tronic, and Windom antennas donated by Grauta. Our departure date was getting closer and we didn't want to leave anything undone. Our pilot stations were going to be EA5BY (Tony), EA5FVY (Angel) y OD5NJ (Gaby). On the night of September 11 we went to the Alicante airport to do most of our shipping, since we had a lot of equipment and we wanted do as much as possible ahead of time. This resulted in our first scare: each kilo of excess baggage cost us 4,200 pesetas (about $27). We were able to pay for this because, on the way back, most of the equipment would stay on the island. On the morning of the 12th, EA5FVY and EA5BRE accompanied us to the airport again to send us off and help with the heavy hand luggage we were carrying. We arrived at Sao Tomé the same day at 21:00 Z, where our friend John was waiting for us at the airport. We had to wait a long time to resolve all our business with customs, but we were grateful that finally all the boxes and radio equipment were with us. So far, so good.
That same night John mentioned that weather conditions were deteriorating, a
strong storm was brewing and would possibly last for three days, which would
make our immediate departure difficult. The next morning we received a call
from Ramón and Robert telling us that for personal and physical reasons they
could not join us in the expedition, but they assured us they would be in
daily contact with us from Malabo to guarantee us good logistics. That
filled us with sadness. Only two operators remained. The ship's departure
for Annobon was scheduled for noon, and after clearing customs, we were
ready to say good-by to Sao Tomé.
We arrived at Annobon on the morning of the 15th. Before our eyes was a
marvelous paradise in the middle of the Ocean. After taking care of customs
formalities we proceeded to unload our materiel, kindly assisted by the
island's inhabitants. We were not in very good physical shape, but we
managed to transport everything, walking through the streets of the capital,
San Antonio de Palé, constantly observed by numerous citizens who greeted us
in perfect castillian, something that gave us the strength, to, finally,
arrive at the rooms that would be our SHACK during the next few days. The
Annobonese are a marvelous people, dedicated principally to fishing and
whatever agriculture volcanic soils can give.
At 17:00 Z we ate for the first time
since we left Sao Tomé, and after recuperating our strength somewhat, EA5BYP
(Elmo), made the first call in the 20m SSB band. Meanwhile, Vicente (EA5YN),
who was going to operate in CW, finished adjusting his equipment. The first
station to respond was EAS5BY, and the second one my good friend OD5NJ. From
there on, the pile-up was tremendous. I have to admit that during the next
four hours my skill in the pile-up was not as good as I would have liked,
since neither my physical not psychological condition was the most
appropriate one to embark on such an operation. At 19:00 Z, Vicente launched
his first CW call, with NI4H responding. Without losing our enthusiasm, and even less our hopes, we started to activate the different bands. In spite of all our efforts, and much to our sorrow, it was not possible to work the RTTY 6m and 160m. The pile-ups were terrible. It had been a long time since we had seen so much excitement as was provoked with 3C0R. On the other hand, the opportunity to visit the island was tempting, but by no means we wanted to abandon the pile-ups. At every moment we were aware of the importance that our operation had and wanted to repay the trust that the world of ham radio had deposited on us.The local authorities showed daily their interests on our operation, and we received a pleasant visit from Father Edelmiro, of the Claretians, offering us his help. His agreeable conversation touched on interesting aspects of the daily life of the island and its inhabitants.
At noon on the 23rd we finished our expedition. There was news of a new
storm. We didn't want it to surprise us during our crossing and make us lose
the different connections during our flight home. The last station worked in
CW was G3UDW and in SSB was RA3AJ. We achieved a total of 23,000 contacts
and operated in 16 bands/modes. Before we departed, we left on the island a
complete HF station, including a Yagi Crushcraft antenna. In the not too
distant future, we are thinking of a collaboration and solidarity project
with the people of Annobon, similar to the joint project realized some time
ago with the DX group in Cuba. If anybody is interested in this project
please contact us. Everybody will be welcome.
QSL MANAGER: |
