One of the items on our check list for passage making is seeing if our SSB radio is working. With the advent and expansion of the Iridium satellite network and the more reasonable cost options they offer, the need for an SSB radio on board a cruising boat is diminishing. We now have the Iridium Go, which pairs with our smart phone so we have 24/7 communication worldwide. It also allows us to post our daily blog, send and receive emails and request and download weather reports and GRIB files. Thus, it basically replaces the function of the SSB radio. It also has the advantage of not having to figure out which frequencies one should use depending on the time of day and solar interferences.

Nevertheless, we still have our 10-year-old SSB and I was anxious see if it was still working. Ally, of S/V Blue Heeler, has set up a radio net for those boats that are sailing to the Azores. A number of boats left last week and she has been conducting the net each morning at 0700. She has not been able to reach many of them as the atmospheric conditions and the condition of their respective radios are variable. However, she has been in contact with a few of the boats and they pass on information about those boats that she cannot reach.

This morning at 0700 I fired up the ol’ Icom 802 SSB and could hear Ally just fine. However, I was not surprised since she was just sitting about a half mile from us out in Simpson Bay. I was just picking up the ground wave that she was propagating. Fortunately, I was also able to pick up the one other boat that Ally was able to receive. This boat, whose name was garbled, was located at 31 33’N:55 25’N or almost a 1000 nm to the NNE of us. The signal was weak but I could hear most of what she was reporting. Ally moves through a set of 4, 6, 8 and 12 Megahertz frequencies in hopes of making contact and it was on the 8297.0 MHz frequency that she and I were able to hear this other boat.

I was able to test our calling signal to Ally and she heard us just fine. I did not try hailing the other boat as I did not wish to interfere with Ally’s established net.

Based on this test, I have concluded that our radio is receiving just fine and it is sending out a signal. In the next few days, I will try hailing Ally again since they started their passage making today for the Azores to see how strong our sending signal is.

Mary Margaret has started cooking up a storm as she prepares the various dinners we will be having during our passage. Today, she made eggplant parmesan. She will be making dinners each day between now and when we leave (hopeful in about a week) and then she freezes them. While underway, she just whips out a tasty meal and zips it in the microwave. This assures us of a yummy dinner each night, regardless of the conditions of the seas. You would be surprised how important it is to morale to have a great meal each evening.