YP1W -  is a special call sign released  to a Romanian special event station operating from Sacalinu Mare Island  in the Black Sea.  But where is located this mysterious island of which we have never heard before ?

    Here is the story...    

    Three years ago when I heard of  IOTA ( Islands On The Air )  program, I wondered if there is any island left in Romania after the Serpent Island was confiscated by the former Soviet Union (now Ukraine).

    I heard something about an island located near Sfintu Gheorghe (St.George) village in the Danube Delta - where the Danube river flows into the Black Sea.

    With some help from  the radio amateurs from Tulcea county (YO4) I gathered more information and a few maps.

   Armed with all the necessary documentation I had contacted IOTA's representatives  in order to obtain a registered number for the island.

    But it was not that easy.  The first answer from IOTA was that the Black Sea is not a "sea" according to their rules.  But I haven't  give up.

    Last year I applied again. This time I was asked to send more information which I did. Then a long waiting period followed...

    Finally on June 19-th 2000 this Romanian island appeared for the first time on  IOTA's provisional list as EU-????. However to get the official confirmation one should make at least 200 qso's from the island with at least 3 continents .

    What a satisfaction ! We were eagerly thinking to put the island on the air as soon as possible.   But surprise... We found out on the Internet that some Polish guy plans  to activate from the island during 20 / 22-nd of July 2000.

    We felt frustrated, after all those efforts, to find out that a foreign amateur is going to activate for the first time our island so the preparations were accelerated.

    We have applied to the Romanian authorities for a special call sign and with the support of Romanian Radio Federation  we got it shortly after: YP1W

    We were all the time in contact with local hams from Tulcea county, which helped us a lot to obtain the necessary documents to go on the island.

    Tulcea, the capital city of this county is also named "the Gate of the Danube Delta". Here the Danube River divides in three branches (Chilia, Sulina and Sfintu Gheorghe) creating the magic land of a delta.

    The Danube Delta Reservation of Biosphere, with its headquarters in Tulcea, is the third one of ecological importance in the world. In this sanctuary of the nature consisting in streams and lakes (over 400), floating reed islets (19.5 sq.km), "reed forests" (over 1800,000 ha) and willow forests it was built since the world a real paradise of migratory birds arrived here from all over Europe and other continents: over 300 species of which 176 nestle in the Danube Delta, and 184 being strictly protected by the Convention from Berne. Also in the Danube Delta, in the hundreds of lakes, streams, channels (20.25 sq.km of water surface) live a number of 64 species of fish.

    The abundant vegetation of the Danube Delta begins on the free surface of the lakes where thousands of white and yellow water lilies are floating. A water-rich area since 5,000 or 6,000 years, the Danube Delta is proper for the development of 1,150 species of plants, being the greatest unbroken reed area in the world. Among these plants there is even a carnivorous one, the Aldrovanda, which is waiting for its prey with widely open traps.

    To protect and to save this temple of nature the Law no 821/1993 was promulgated. The Romanian Government and world organizations started to give a special attention to preservation of this patrimony, the Danube Delta Reservation of Biosphere being included in some national and international programs to preserve it.

    The Delta Biosphere Reserve has placed strict limits on future exploitation of the region. Scientists have divided the delta into three types of areas: those in which controlled fishing and hunting are permitted; those in which tourism may be carefully developed; and those that are completely off-limits to all but the scientists studying them.  Sacalin island belongs to the latest category.  

    On Wednesday, July 5-th I contacted Mac - YO4BBH - a local ham from Tulcea  to arrange for me a meeting with the staff of the Danube Delta Reservation of Biosphere in order to get the necessary permits. He advised me that I had to be there next day early morning.    I had to pack up in a hurry all the equipment into my car and left Bucharest heading for Tulcea. Thursday morning at 7.00 l.t. I contacted Mac on 145.225 and he guided me by radio to the meeting place. There we met the reservation's officials who explained us the special status of the island and made us clear that the presence of visitors excepting the researchers is strictly prohibited. Finally we got a special access permit for a few days starting July  8-th.

    With this paper in hands we went to the Frontier Police to get also their approval the island is located on the Romanian border region.

    During this time, the local hams were preparing the antennas: a wire dipole for 14 and 21 MHz and a multiband vertical.
    Next morning on July 7-th the expedition formed by me (YO3JW), my son Andrei and Sandu - YO4BGJ embarked on board of a passenger river ship heading to Sfântu Gheorghe, a village situated at the spot where the branch of the Danube by the same name flows into the sea, at 70 miles south-east of Tulcea. Mentioned in records as early as 1318, the settlement was later used as a military base by the Ottoman fleet.. It has a fisheries station for the processing of black caviar, a new lighthouse (187 feet high), and an old lighthouse (1856). It has the most extensive sea beach on the littoral of the Black Sea. In its proximity are the Saraturile Sandbank and Sacalin Island (formed in 1897).

   Contrary to the arrangements nobody was waiting for us so we had to hire a  small coach pulled by an ass  to carry our equipment till "our base".

    We stayed overnight in Sfintu Gheorghe and next day at 4.30 lt in the morning we were already on the Danube's banks waiting for the motor boat which transported us to the island.

    It was still dark when we were finding our way out of  the Danube's canals  bordered by  reed forests. There was a dense fog over the water making up for a mysterious atmosphere.

    Suddenly the reed disappeared and a large water surface full of rare birds lying on it appeared in front of us. Somewhere near the horizon a savage piece of land covered by reed: The Big Sacalin Island with a total surface of about 21000 hectares.

    We approached the island in silence not to disturb the birds. Finally we got there and started unloading the equipment. We made arrangements with the boat owner to come back for us in the evening.

    And there we were, alone, on that desert island. After a short investigation of the place we set up the equipment and  raised  the inverted Vee antenna.

    But surprise.... Murphy strikes again.   In the preparation's hurry we forgot the supply  cable for the transceiver. Fortunately we had some spare wires from which we have improvised a supply cable. However the transceiver still refused to start.  After a while we discovered  the reason - a switch pushed by error during transportation.

    Finally at 04.00 UTC we were on the air with the new call: YP1W

    The first contact was LA2PHA who received us 59!  We asked him to spot us on the DX cluster so that everybody knew  we are active from the island.

    In order to get the reference number for the island we had to make at least 200 qso-s  with minimum 3 continents (except ours).  In the first 2 hours of operations we made more than 200 qso's and worked all continents.

    I was looking for Roger G3KMA - the authorized IOTA official  to give us the reference number for the island. At 6.32 UTC we were called by him giving us the long awaited number: EU-183. We had already 280 qso's by then. There was a terrible pile-up on our frequency.

    At 08.00 UTC we switched bands on 21 MHz and worked split 2 listening  5 Kc down. We worked again some of the stations we have worked before on 14 MHz. There were also new DX stations from JA, PY, W, etc. The propagation was strange especially for small distances.

    YO4BGJ took over the mike and filled the logbook rapidly.  We were in a hurry as the IARU Championship was going to start at 12.00 UTC. We wished to avoid the contest QRM. However we decided to work till the boat's return. In the afternoon the wind started blowing heavily. We had no more time to install the vertical antenna for a comparison.  Maybe next time.. The boat was approaching the island.

    The last contact was on 28 MHz at 16.15 UTC. All in all we succeeded to make 1250 qso's on 14, 21 and 28 Mhz in 12 hours and 16 minutes of operation with 40 watts output and an inverted V dipole antenna. Not too bad I presume...

    We packed the station and cleaned the place of the remainings of our  presence on the island. We left the island and sailed back to Sfintu Gheorghe.

    The weather  worsened and the waves were menacing our boat. After we arrived at destination a violent storm began.  It rained and thundered all night.

    Next day we returned home hoping to come back on the island one day for more fun.

The second expedition

took place between 29-th of September and 1-st of October 2000.

This time the expedition was larger and better equipped. The participants were: YO3JW , YO9FJW , YO3FWC , YO3FLR .

The have worked 5462 stations from all continents in the 80 - 10 m bands in SSB, CW and RTTY.

A detailed story of this expedition can be found here ! and the expedition's log can be checked here !

Story by YO3JW

Translation and web presentation by YO4AUL             

QSL via YO3JW  Fenyo Stefan Pit
P.O.Box: 19-43, Bucuresti 19, ROMANIA  

Visitors' comments:

Hello Corneliu
Many thanks. I really enjoyed reading the report on Pit's trip.
Best wishes
Roger

Roger Balister, G3KMA
RSGB IOTA Manager
E-mail: [email protected]
WWW: http://www.eo19.dial.pipex.com/index.shtml

Dear Friend,
I enjoyed visiting your site and got information on your IOTA operation. I would like to ask that you return with the goal of working the many IOTA hunters in North America. Unfortunately, I could never hear you due to the poor band conditions. I think it will require a beam antenna and at least 100 watts if possible. The European QRM is so strong and continuous that it is very hard to hear you unless you specifically look for us since my station is quite weak compared to the European island hunters.
Best wishes and hope to hear you and other YO gang from the island in the near future.
73's Don, W9DC 

Dear Pit,
I enjoyed seeing your fb website showing the YP1W DXpedition for a new IOTA. Congratulations!
Please confirm OK that you are manager for YP1W as my log show I had a QSO on 8.July.2000 @0402 utc on 14.260...your signal was 59 2XSSB.
I would like to QSL direct for a new IOTA EU-183. Let me know....
BCNU on the bands, good luck and DX!
73,
Garry V. Hammond, VE3XN
IOTA checkpoint for Canada and C.A., and Caribbean.

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