Cruising with Osprey

28 July 2011
27 July 2011
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25 July 2011
23 July 2011
17 July 2011
17 July 2011
16 July 2011
15 July 2011
14 July 2011
13 July 2011
08 July 2011

How we did it - Communication

24 October 2008
There are a multitude of ways to stay connected whilst afloat and it appeared that no two boats would have the same approach. It would seem that the majority of the different technologies worked OK as I really don't recall hearing of anyone not being able to keep in touch with friends and family. We tried to keep things as simple (and cheap) as possible.

Phone: We let one of our cell-phone contracts expire so by the time we left we had only one regular cell phone. We use Verizon as our carrier and are very happy with the coverage. We also have an unlocked GSM phone to use as a second phone for Tom when I am off working. We made sure it was a triple band phone so it would work in the US. With a US SIM card it is used just like an ordinary cell phone but you only pay when you use it and don't have to sign up for a contract. We keep it switched off when not needed which can be for months at a time. The other major advantage of the GSM phone is that it will work in any country. We bought a SIM card in the Bahamas and it worked great. Not that we needed a phone very often but it did come in handy on a few occasions. It is also worth remembering to suspend any US cell-phone service when out of the country to save the monthly charge. Verizon were quite happy to do this at no cost.

WiFi: We use a Verizon broad band card for wireless internet. Having cruised in the past without one we were very happy to have it and it was well worth the cost to have reliable connectivity. We pretty much had good coverage down the whole East coast. We came to rely on the internet for our weather forecasting (before we got satellite weather), we do all our banking on-line and I need to be able to check e-mail regularly for work. Obviously this card did not work outside the US so we were relying on picking up signals from various land based services. There is an Island-wide internet service in the Abacos but it was quite expensive so we didn't really use it. Instead, we found that we could usually get a signal from somewhere, be it a large house ashore or a fancy yacht, with their own network, in the anchorage. I used an external WiFi antenna (Engenius EUB-362) to increase the range of reception. This worked very well and was relatively inexpensive. I was often able to get connected when others, without an external antenna, could not. Our trusty little antenna spent many an hour on another cruising boat!

Skype: No discussion of communication would be complete without mentioning Skype. I was very sceptical about the utility of Skype but as my Dad sent equipment (camera and headphones) with Tim when he came to visit, I felt duty bound to try it. I have to say I am a complete convert. First of all, I am able to communicate with my Mum and Dad on a regular basis and see their smiling faces, all for free because they have Skype on their computers at home. I can also make relatively cheap calls to land-lines if neccesary (a good thing if our cell-phone minutes are running low). We met a lot of cruisers who were also using Skype and this was a good way to keep in touch with each other.

SSB (Single Side Band Radio): We do not have one. We contemplated installing one before we left but the cost was just too much. In the end we are glad we didn't spend the money because we really didn't need it. Long distance cruisers usually advocate SSB for safety reasons. It can be used to get the latest weather forecasts when offshore and can be used to call for help when out of VHF range. My impression is that with the advent of satellite phones, Skype and improved WiFi connectivity, fewer new cruisers are relying on SSB for communication. We did install a Sitex SSB receiver and were not happy with it. It is a cheaply made and unreliable piece of equipment. Tom was eventually able to get it to work to receive weather faxes but we never got good voice reception. Our friends on Legacy had the same model as us and never did get theirs to work - they have sent it back, I wish we could.

Satellite Weather: We didn't install this until just before we left the Bahamas and it was another one of those things where you are left wondering how on earth you managed without it. The receiver (Garmin GDL 30) was not too expensive and was very easy to connect to our Garmin Nav system. We then subscribed to XM satellite weather ($50 / month for the Master Marina Plan). We now get the latest weather radar overlaid directly onto the navigation screen on our chartplotter. We also have instant access to the latest marine forecasts for the entire US and Bahamas. Because it is a satellite based system there are no distance constraints like there are with VHF or WiFi. We have suspended the subscription whilst we are land based so it is not an ongoing expense.
Comments
Vessel Name: Osprey
Vessel Make/Model: Shannon38 #33
Hailing Port: East Greenwich, RI
Crew: Tom & Vicky Worosz
About: We have cruised to the Bahamas and back twice ad are now back on land for a while. This Summer (2012) we have outfitted ourseleves with motorcycles and are heading off for a month long "land cruise'

Who: Tom & Vicky Worosz
Port: East Greenwich, RI