By Thierry, F6CUK (ex-FT8WW).

More and more friends are asking me for news of the Kerguelen expedition project. It has now been two years since I was active from Crozet. It is therefore necessary to take stock of the progress of the project.

During my stay in Crozet, I had established contacts, sometimes friendly, with many people working at TAAF. After having drawn up the file with the REF, I was quite confident and we sent it directly to TAAF. The TAAF personnel had noted that the station did not disturb the animals, particularly the birds, and that my presence among the base personnel had gone well. Despite this, as you know, we were refused, which was a surprise to me. We did not really understand the reasons for this refusal, but we had to deal with this situation.

We therefore forwarded the file to the services of the ministry in charge of the TAAF. There, we received a rather positive reception, which made us hope for a favorable response to our request. Unfortunately, despite two new requests to the TAAF, we still have not obtained an agreement to leave. We are asked for a certain number of justifications that I have difficulty understanding. In addition, the political situation in France does not facilitate our efforts, even if our contacts at the ministry remain the same and seem to be favorable to our project.
 

READ ABOUT THE ENTIRE PROJECT HERE

 
We are granting ourselves until spring to secure the necessary approval; beyond this timeframe, the project will be abandoned.

With a departure planned between December 2025 and March 2026, it is essential to dispatch the trunks by mid-August. Five months are required to finalize the arrangements with the TAAF regarding the installation of stations and antennas at the base, as well as to design and gather the necessary equipment. Training sessions with LATMOS equipment are also crucial, in addition to the shipment of the containers. If we are unable to accomplish all of this within the coming year, we will no longer be of the right age to undertake such an expedition, which would lead to the project’s cancellation. We are, therefore, now in the final sprint.