Luderitz Bay

The V5 DXpedition will be at Luderitz Bay, Namibia. The operation site is within a few hundred feet of the ocean at Diaz Point.

The exact location is Long: 15.0918ºE (15º05'31"E), Lat: 26.6356ºS (26º38'07"S), and the QTH Allocator JG73NI.

Luderitz Bay is is set on the border of the Namib Desert to the east, one of the driest places on Earth, and the cold South Atlantic Ocean on the west. It is very windy, as borne by these wind statistics. While the steady and strong winds are highly sought after by kite-sailors after world sailing speed records (50+ knots already), they do make antenna work hazardous and unpleasant. Fortunately the cold Benguela current comes up straight from Antarctica, which will keep the summer temperatures relative cool.

Here are a few more web pages on Luderitz Bay.

PBase has a huge collections of very high quality pictures of the Luderitz Bay and Diaz Point areas.

Nacoma, the Namibian Coast Conservation and Management Project.

Wind Guru for Recent Wind Data

Wind Guru for rain over the last year showed 27mm in 12 months. Its not uncommon to go for 18 months without rain.

The V5 team will be staying at Diaz Point Accomodation. We'll be taking over an entire house for two weeks. Pictures can be found here, as well as a nice aerial photograph. Luderitz Bay was "discovered" by Portuguese explorer and navigator Bartholomey Diaz in 1488. A replica of the cross he erected can be seen at Diaz Point. One challenge for the team is Internet access at the site. While it is available via cell phone, we plan to investigate a temporary broadband connection to the town of Luderitz Bay using commercial grade Delibernat WLAN equipment. If that is not possible, we may use an Inmarsat BGAN satellite terminal.