• [NEWS UPDATE] 

Everything still looks good for the August 26 – September 5, 2024 St Paul Island CY9C DXpedition.

The first load of gear was successfully delivered to Dingwall, Nova Scotia on August 6th. Ironically, the DXpedition gear is safely stored at the St Paul Lighthouse Museum in Dingwall! Museum staff members helped with the unloading of the gear. Since all gear will be transported to the Northeast Island at St Paul by helicopter, all gear must be weighed. This process was completed yesterday and the total weight of the CY9C gear is 7500 lbs.

The Breton Air heavy lift helicopter will be slinging the fuel, water, tents, tables, chairs, coax and all other gear needed to build the camp. Air Dolan will be transporting the team members along with their personal gear. The first team members will arrive in Dingwall on August 22nd.

The estimated cost of this DXpedition has now approached $100,000, by far the most expensive CY9 DXpedition. By contrast, the boat transportation cost for the 1995 CY9 DXpedition with team leader WA4DAN was only $300! Please note that the main island at St Paul is no longer available for DXpeditions. The Northeast Island is almost impossible to land on by boat, especially with tons of gear. As always, the schedule may shift a little depending on weather and flying conditions. Donations are very much welcomed and appreciated. Donations can be made through our website at www.cy9c.net

  • [JULY 31] 

The CY9C DXpedition team confirmed with Breton Air on Tuesday that the airlift of infrastructure gear over to the Northeast Island of St Paul will take place on Saturday, August 24. Six airlifts are currently planned and the airlifts will be taking the tents, tables, chairs, generators, fuel, electrical cables, coaxial cables and all other necessary gear to build the CY9C camp. As with most DXpeditions, weather will play a factor in the schedule. Preparations for the airlift will commence on Monday, August 5, with the arrival of the first load of gear in Dingwall. The estimated cost of just the helicopter airlifts is $48,300 Canadian. Any support to help with this expense will be greatly appreciated. The CY9C team members are excited and have completed packing their personal gear for the trip – website.

  • [JULY 24] – Lou, N2TU reports:

The packing continues! Here is a portion of the gear getting ready for transport to Nova Scotia. Team Co-Leader Murray, WA4DAN is arranging the loads for the helicopter ‘slings’. All equipment and personnel will be transported to St. Paul via helicopter. Personnel will not ride in the slings!….(smile!) Only the equipment, thank goodness! Although riding in a ‘sling’ under an helicopter would be a first! This is a very expensive method of moving equipment and personnel from the mainland, but absolutely necessary as there is no viable water landing area. As mentioned a few weeks ago, get your personal station ready. This will probably be the last St. Paul operation for a very, very long time. 

  • [JULY 21] 

The CY9C St. Paul Team welcomes an additional member…Adrian KO8SCA. Most of you recognize him from the many DXpeditions he has been on. He is joining a Team of outstanding DXpeditioners and his expertise will only add to the fun! He will be joining us on St. Paul following his participation in the upcoming Jarvis Island DXpedition N5J. From one side of the world to another! Thanks Adrian…see you soon!

In other news, Craig, K9CT is busily preparing the Flex Radios, laptops and Flex PGXL amplifiers. He is pre-loading the logging program, digital interfaces and assuring all the PCs are networked together. Craig is an expert and has done this for many DXpeditions. Once Craig finishes the operational part of the set-up, the gear will be packed in Pelican cases…one for each station. This immensely facilitates station set-up. Thank you Craig for your outstanding efforts!…..and another thanks to FlexRadio Systems for the use of the gear!

  • [JULY 19] – Lou, N2TU reports:

CY9C will have an All-Time-New- One day, depending on the weather and propagation conditions. It will probably be in the second week of the operation. Please, please if you hear us asking for ATNO do not try to work us again! We want to get everyone in the log…at least once! 

Meanwhile, the team will be using eight generators:

Our ‘power plant(s) are 8 Honda generators to power the rigs, amps, computers, lights, kitchen (Mess Tent), fans and anything else needing AC. CY9C is serious about getting everyone in the log!

Support the team here

  • [JULY 18] –

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada has executed the license to access the Northeast Island of St Paul.  WA4DAN signed the agreement, paid the $500 fee on behalf of the team and returned it to the DFO. As part of the license, there was a 930 page "Environmental Site Assessment and Human Health Ecological Risk Assessment”. In short, this assessment lists and explains all of the hazards with visiting St Paul Island. The CY9C team was required to obtain a $1 million dollar liability insurance policy. Both the license and the insurance are in force from August 21 – September 7, 2024. The actual dates of the DXpedition are August 26 – September 5. The team wanted a little buffer in the access time to get gear to and back from the island. Donations to help offset the high cost of the two helicopters and the boat are much appreciated and came be made through our website: