March 25th, 0600 UTC, Marion Reef. We are still on Marion Reef.
This morning, when trying to free the anchor from the coral in preparation for our departure, the entire bow pulpit broke off.
We have made some temporary repairs, so we are back in business, but still on Marion. We intend to leave tomorrow for Mellish. Cyclone Jasper is gone (we hope permanently) and the weather is forecast to improve.

Operators George/AA7JV and Tomi/HA7RY, who were expected to be active as VK9GMW early this week (possibly Monday), suffered a major delay due to weather.

As of Saturday, March 21st, the operators are on Marion Reef and have been there March 17th. As this was

being typed, their latest press release states):

"It appears the Tropical Low has dissipated. If this is correct, a serious danger to us has been removed.

Winds, however, are still near gale force and are forecast to remain strong at least until Tuesday. This means that we will not be able to leave for Mellish until Wednesday, the earliest. 

The soonest we are likely to be on the air from Mellish is Friday, March 27th.

In any case, we will be able to extend the operation to make up for any lost time. While we continue waiting at Marion Reef for the weather to break, we are operating as HA7RY/MM and AA7JV/MM using a short vertical and 00W.

Please follow updates at: http://www.vk9gmw.com

LAST MINUTE UPDATE:
On March 22nd, the team reports: "We are still on Marion Reef. The weather has improved slightly -- winds are no longer 40 knots -- they have eased to 30 kts. The imminent threat of a hurricane has also been removed. Winds for tomorrow (Monday, March 23rd) are forecast to be 25 kts, seas 9 to 12 feet (3 to 4 meters). We will make an attempt tomorrow to cross the 440 km distance to Mellish Reef. Our plan is to turn back if the seas are too dangerous or untenable. If not successful tomorrow, the next weather window will probably be on Thursday."

[OPDX]