Update September 17, 2026: The team is alive and well, working on antennas. There are a lot of polar bears on the island and they are forbidden to go outside from 6 pm to 10 am. Power supply restrictions do not allow them to operate at full capacity.

Update September 16, 2026: The team is doing well. We will be operating on shared digital frequencies. Due to the current regime and security concerns, movement is severely restricted: at least 14 bear dens have been identified in the protected area, and there is a risk of encounters with polar bears. Internet access is available, but minimal and intermittent.

Update September 15, 2026:  Although there is no official confirmation that the operation has started, RI1FJZ has been reported on 30/20/17/15m, mostly on FT8, but with "some" spots on CW and SSB.

Update September 14, 2026:  By midnight, the yacht approached the landing site and anchored offshore, but border guards prohibited disembarkation until 10 a.m. At 2 a.m., a severe storm arose, the yacht was torn from its moorings, and we were forced to return to sea. We are waiting for the wind to change direction to return to the landing point.

Update September 13, 2026: 🧭  RI1FJZ: land on the radar! Closing Cape Neale Friends, the moment has come — Franz Josef Land is showing on the screen.

At 17:54 Apostol Andrey was at 80°15.04′N, 46°31.13′E, course 020°, making 6.0–6.7 knots. The first shoreline echoes are already glowing on the radar off the starboard bow. Less than three miles remained to the turning point at Cape Neale — about half an hour’s run.

⚓️ 36.9 miles to the landing point, with an estimated 5 hours 50 minutes to go. The ground log reads 41,601 miles — Apostol Andrey knows what an ocean is.

📜 A little history. Cape Neale is the western extremity of George Land, the largest island of the archipelago. It carries the name of William Henry Neale, the English naturalist and physician who sailed with Benjamin Leigh Smith  — the expedition that discovered George Land itself in 1880 and named it after the Prince of Wales, the future King George V. Almost half a century later, in September 1928, the icebreaker Krasin came to these shores while searching for the lost crew of the airship Italia . It was at Cape Neale that the Soviet flag was raised over the archipelago for the first time. You don’t pass a place like that in silence.

We’re under engine, as we have been for this whole final stretch: there’s almost no wind, but the water is calm, and an approach to the archipelago in weather like this is a gift.

Ahead lies the most demanding part: anchoring and going ashore by boat. The new outboard has been tested and run in, and the equipment is packed and waiting for its hour.

📻 On passage we remain active from aboard: 14, 18 and 21 MHz as RW6MD/MM and R2BEA/MM.

Soon RI1FJZ will be heard on the air — from the northernmost DXCC entity.

Update September 12, 2026: 140 miles to go. Already on the air!

Friends, here is a fresh report from aboard Apostol Andrey. The passage is going without incident. There is almost no following wind, so the diesel is doing the work — average speed 5.4 knots. Most of the Barents Sea is astern: the yacht is now north of Svalbard's latitude, between the archipelago and Novaya Zemlya, heading straight for Alexandra Land.

⚓️ 140 miles remain. Entry into the 12-mile zone of the archipelago is expected tomorrow.

🌤The weather is on our side: over Alexandra Land both tomorrow and on Monday a steady moderate wind of some 15–20 knots is expected, with no gale-force spikes and lighter air close inshore. Nagurskoye is reporting around +1…+4 °C. Good working conditions for the approach and the landing.

📻 And the best part — the team is already on the air! Aboard we're running a SunSDR2 DX with mobile antennas by Expert Electronics, powered from the ship's supply. On battery we put out 25 W, on ship's power 45–50 W. The reports and feedback from correspondents have been excellent.

Look for us on 14, 18 and 21 MHz as RW6MD/MM and R2BEA/MM.

🛥 The landing will definitely be made by boat — the new outboard has been tested and run in. Everything is going to plan.

Update September 10, 2026:  The third day at sea is drawing to a close, and the night watch is beginning.

Last night, the aurora dazzled with its beauty, shining brightly through the clouds, yet it also stirred up anxious thoughts about the passage ahead.

The wind has shifted to the west, veering slightly toward the north, blowing at around 10–14 knots. We are still experiencing a beam sea, but we are partially counteracting the rolling motion by using two sails: the headsail and the mizzen.

Today was brightened by glimpses of blue sky, pods of common dolphins, seagulls, and birds resembling murres. And, of course, we enjoyed a delicious hot lentil soup with pork ribs, prepared by Vladimir (R9LR).

Update September 9, 2026:  The yacht "Apostol Andrey" is heading for Franz Josef Land. The mooring lines have been cast off. The vessel's online tracker is available for real-time tracking. https://share.garmin.com/r9lr

Update September 6, 2026:  We’ve resolved the internet issue for when we’ll be on the island, so will be able to upload our logs to ClubLog and LoTW daily (for donors, sponsors and OQRS requests). We’ve also found a way to optimize mailing costs for sending QSLs to EU, AS, and NA; the cost of sending a special QSL will be 6 USDs. For those who don’t need a paper QSL, there’s an option to confirm a QSO in LoTW without overpaying for mailing costs. We’re looking forward to seeing you on the air around September 13th!

Update September 5, 2026:  Today the yacht Apostol Andrey welcomed special guests — children from a special-needs group, accompanied by the Deputy Governor of the Murmansk Region and representatives of the Murmansk regional branch of the Russian Geographical Society.

The crew gave the visitors a tour of the vessel: they described the upcoming voyage along the Northern Sea Route, showed the radio room and station equipment, and explained how contacts are made from the Arctic with hundreds of correspondents around the world.

Captain Nikolai Litau signed the flag of the Murmansk regional branch of the RGS — the flag will stay with the branch as a memento of the meeting with the crew.

For many of the children it was their first encounter with a real ocean-going sailing yacht — one that has completed several circum- navigations.

 ⚓️  Departure update
Final preparations continue on board. Due to an approaching storm, departure from Murmansk has been postponed to 7 September.

Stay tuned — Franz Josef Land and RI1FJZ on the air are coming up.

Update September 3, 2026:  The team is assembled and busy preparing the yacht for sailing.

The entire team arrived in Murmansk on September 1 and is busy transporting and loading equipment and provisions onto the yacht.

Due to the approaching storm, the yacht's departure may be postponed until September 7th.

Update September 2, 2026:  All border permits have been received for the upcoming RI1FJZ DXpedition to Aleksandry Island, Franz Josef Land, to take place between September 9-25th, and the team is ready to sail.

DXW states, "Every member of the team has received their pass from the Border Service. Franz Josef Land is a restricted border zone and a protected nature area, and no vessel sails there without
these documents. The paperwork — the most nerve-wracking and least predictable part of any Arctic project — is finally behind us."

Their equipment is packed, the antennas are stowed, the crew has assembled and the permits are in hand. The "Apostol Andrey" is ready to set sail/depart to the Barents Sea, the passage north, and to the northernmost DXCC entity.

Update August 27, 2026:  During the preparations, we decided that, in addition to the SPE Expert 1.3K units, already tested on previous expeditions, we would bring ready-to-use 600W amplifiers from three Russian suppliers:

    * GROM2K — https://g2k.su/
    * EB-104 — https://eb104.ru/
    * RZ1ZR — https://rz1zr.ru/

Note: These amplifiers are not sponsored. We simply purchased them during expedition preparations, without any special setup from the manufacturers; we used them as is.

Each unit has been tested, adjusted to the same parameters via the menu settings, and its casing was slightly modified to suit our conditions. There were a few minor issues during shipping through
Russia, but none affect its final functionality.

Following the expedition, we will do our best to publish an impartial report on each of them.

Update August 20 2026:  From Vasily, RA1ZZ:  "We continue to actively prepare for the trip. Some of the teams have already purchased train and plane tickets for arrival in Murmansk on August 31st. We expect the yacht to arrive at the port of Murmansk on the same day. Some equipment has also been sent to Murmansk by a transport company."

Update August 19 2026:  From Vasily, RA1ZZ: "We're having some minor team changes. Alexander, R9LM, won't be able to take part in the expedition due to certain circumstances. But luckily, Evgeny, UA6EX, has joined the team. Evgeny just returned from the "Legends of the Arctic" expedition to the Kara Sea islands, arrived home, and immediately started preparing with us for Franz Josef Land! Even I couldn't do that."

Update August 17, 2026:  The Arctic’s Legends 2026 baton passes to other members of our team. From 9 to 25 September 2026, the RI1FJZ DXpedition will be on the air from Aleksandra Land — the northernmost DXCC entity.

The vessel is the same one that carried us along the Northern Sea Route: the sailing yacht Apostol Andrey. Her skipper is Nikolai Litau (R3CN), a Merited Master of Sport, holder of several world records and of several circumnavigations aboard a yacht he designed himself for long Arctic voyages. Departure from Murmansk is planned for 3th of September; the passage to the island takes about five days and much will depend on ice and weather. At least two weeks of round-the-clock operation are planned on all HF bands, plus VHF and satellites — LEO, QO-100, EME 144/432 —
with /mm activity when possible.  

References: DXCC RI1F (Franz Josef Land), IOTA EU-019, RRA RR-05-04, RDA AR-32, WWFF RFF-0180, ITU 75, CQ 40, LOC LR30us.  

Team: Vasily RA1ZZ, Alexander R9LM, Vladimir R9LR, Dmitry RA9USU, Evgeny RW6MD and skipper Nikolai R3CN.

Franz Josef Land has never been activated on FT8, so the team will spend most of its time outside the usual digital segments — watch the frequencies listed on the site and please spot them.

FT8: 1839.0; 3570.0; 7056.0; 10133.0; 14095.0; 18097.0; 21095.0; 24925.0; 28095 kHz, F/H and normal mode.

You can follow the expedition in real time: live yacht tracking at: https://share.garmin.com/r9lr
Live broadcasts from aboard Apostol Andrey are also planned, and all news will be posted in our channel.

An expedition to Franz Josef Land is a very costly undertaking — vessel charter and provisioning, fuel, permits, radios and antennas. Any financial support is therefore most welcome; a support button is available on the expedition website. Those who support the expedition get priority LoTW upload and their QSL sent to their home address automatically.

It looks like a second operation will take place from the Franz Josef Land island group, but from Aleksandry Island (IOTA EU-019;RRA RR-05-04; RDA AR-32; RFFA RFF-160; WWFF RFF-0180. The callsign RI1FJZ will be used on the air between September 9-25th, 2026.

Operators mentioned are: Vasily/RA1ZZ, Vladimir/R9LR, Dmitri/RA9USU, Alex/R9LM, Nick/R3CN and Eugene/RW6MD.

Activity will be on 160/80/40/30/20/17/15/12/10m, as well as the VHF bands and the satellites. Modes will be CW, SSB and FT8 (Normal mode, Fox mode MSHV software; NO SUPERFOX). They will also be on the QO-100 satellite with an amateur radio transponder. Suggested HF frequencies are:
  CW  - 1835, 3535, 7035, 10135, 14035, 18085, 21035, 24905 and 28035
  SSB - 3675, 7175, 14175 (14275), 18155, 21275, 24975 and 28475
  FT8 - 1839, 3570, 7056, 10133, 14095, 18097, 21095, 24925 and 28095

Equipment:

    RADIO 1 — SUN SDR2DX + PA Expert 1,3 K-FA
    RADIO 2 — SUN SDR2DX + PA Expert 1,3 K-FA
    RADIO 3 — Elecraft K-3 + PA Home made 500W
    RADIO 4 — ICOM IC-7300 + PA 500W
    RADIO 5 — Yaesu 897
    RADIO 6 — IC-705 +PA 1KW 144 mHz
    RADIO 7 — IC-705 +PA 500W 432 mHz
    RADIO 8 — IC-9700 for all types of satellite operation
    RADIO 9 — DIY QO-100 setup (up to 20 watts)

Antennas:

    ANTENNA 1 — Vertical DL2KQ 160/80
    ANTENNA 2  — 4 el yagi 20m fixed to NA
    ANTENNA 3  — GP for 40m
    ANTENNA 4 — 3 el yagi 20m fixed to AS
    ANTENNA 5 — Spider beam 20/15/10
    ANTENNA 6 — Spider beam 30/17/12
    ANTENNA 7 — RX Beveredge
    ANTENNA 8 — DIGI side GP ¼ for all bands
    ANTENNA 9 — DIGI side Vertical DL2KQ 160/80
    ANTENNA 10 — ЕМЕ- 144 MHz  2*9 el
    ANTENNA 11 — 432 MHz 2*17el circular polarization
    ANTENNA 12 — SAT  5H9V
    ANTENNA 13 — POTY+homemade antenna, 1.2 m direct-focus antenna, collapsible from ANTEX and a backup kit

QSL via R9LR, direct, by the Bureau or ClubLog.

    Full DXpedition log will uploaded to ClubLog and LoTW
    Fast LoTW upload for donors and sponsors
    QSL is OK via buro or direct
    For Russia, QSL cards sent to a home address can be ordered via the

           "Legends of the Arctic" website.

    For QSL-request please use log search form ClubLog
    For Sponsors and Donors QSLs will be sent direct automatically!