I love having the use of SSB email on the boat.
If you are a ham radio operator you can use winlink for free. It works
great. We can also download about 300 different weather charts and weather
data from winlink which is very helpful.
Fair Winds
Eric
Amel Super Maramu #376 Kimberlite
_____
From: amelyachtowners@...
[mailto:amelyachtowners@...] On Behalf Of Richard03801
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 7:28 PM
To: amelyachtowners@...
Subject: Re: [Amel] Re: HF Radio
We done a lot of off shore miles and would take the ssb over the sat
everytime so long as you have a pactor and sailmail
Regards
Richard Piller
"Yacht Brokerage Service above and beyond the expected"
Walczak Yacht Brokerage Service LLC
2 Compromise St
Annapolis, MD 21401
Cell 603 767 5330
Office
Fax
www.Walczakyacht.com
On May 25, 2011, at 5:28, "Judy and Bill aboard SV BeBe"
<yahoogroups@... <mailto:yahoogroups%40svbebe.com> > wrote:
Conn,
OUR EXPERIENCE:
We are 2/3rds or more away around beginning in the Caribbean and currently
in Marmaris. We have HF, a Pator3 modem, winlink and sailmail. Hen not near
civilization we used the HF for email communication and downloaded weather
information. When near civilization we used WiFi and/or 3G modem. We seem to
be using the 3G modem about 60% of the time recently.
When crossing the Pacific from Galapagos to French Polynesia we found a
large hole in sailmail stations until we got closer to the Marquesas where
sailmail has installed a new station at Manahi.
However, while making passages around the world, some of our best
information came from informal Nets that included cruisers ahead of us as
well as some behind us. You cannot duplicate these daily meetings on sat
phones for lots of reasons, but one is that sat phone to sat phone calls can
be very expensive. I have seen some as high as $14/min.
We have a sat phone for emergencies and only pay for airtime when used. I
do not believe you can write a contract like that anymore. We did not use it
for 2 years, but when crossing the Bay of Bengal, we encountered an
un-forecasted LO which was fairly violent. We were unable to get weather
information (grib files) that recorded this LO, but we were being hit with
45kt winds...we used the sat phone to call Commander's Weather who was able
to give us the position of the LO, allowing us to plot a course out of it.
MY COMMENTS/ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION:
Your rigger is absolutely correct if you only analyze the situation from
his perspective...the additional cost of the rigging could buy you lots of
minutes for your sat phone...does he also sell sat phones?
If you currently have HF, you may want to look at an HF halyard antenna to
replace your rigging antenna...it will not be as good, but will probably
suffice.
If you do not have HF and you do not want 2-way communication with fellow
cruisers on passages, then your rigger is probably correct. With the money
you will save from not purchasing and rigging HF, you can buy a lot of sat
phone minutes.
BTW, out of 20 yachts crossing from Galapagos to French Polynesia with us
in 2008, only one did not have a HF transceiver, and he had a HF receiver.
Best,
Bill
BeBe, SM2k, #387
Currently Marmaris, Turkey
--- In amelyachtowners@...
<mailto:amelyachtowners%40yahoogroups.com> , "Conn" <connwilliamson@...>
wrote:
I am going to get some standing rigging replaced on our Mongo. We are
intending to cruise the Pacific in the next few years. My Rigger suggested
to do away with the HF aerial system on the tridadic and back stays, saying
that HF is outdated. What do Amel owners that are cruising full time think
of this. HF or Sat phone?.
Cheers to all...Conn.. Jasmyn #28
