Keeping The Folks Back Home Informed

[sher9016]

We are preparing our new boat for a West to East crossing next year (we did this last year also in our previous boat) and are looking for some program that will allow the landlubbers to get on the Internet and see our track. We will have AIS class B transponder, SSB, and may consider renting a sat phone. I know there are lots of apps that show position, but want one that also shows track. The only one I know if is Yellow Brick, but that is kind of expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions?


Jim and Sherrin formerly aboard Persistent Lady; soon to be aboard P. L. II. Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Yeti]

I believe that the Delorme InReach would be useful in this regard.

[StuM]

Originally Posted by Yeti

I believe that the Delorme InReach would be useful in this regard.

I second the Delorme Inreach. Here's a recent track of mine to give you an idea: https://share.delorme.com/alize

It was initially set to 4 hourly updates - the last leg from Carins was 2 hourly.

(It also lets you send and receive text messages - we received a text message from home while halfway across the Coral Sea.)

[sher9016]

Thanks for the responses. I do think this will be good for us. Looks like it is not too expensive either from initial purchase or monthly fee standpoint. We may even want to get it while cruising the East Coast as for shake down.

[farmall.dude]

If your vessel has AIS (transmit), which I think you said it did, they may be able to use this for free:
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/
I use it to track some friends adventures since I can't be on the water with them *yet!

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by farmall.dude

If your vessel has AIS (transmit), which I think you said it did, they may be able to use this for free:
https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/

I left my AIS on for the trip from the Chesapeake to Florida last fall. I went on the "outside" and the only places that marine traffic saw me was when I came in at Charleston, Savanna and Jacksonville. They don't have enough shore tracking stations and AIS only transmits so far.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[fjwiley1]

I like my InReach for it's 100hr battery not to mention Global 24/7 coverage as well as ability to communicate with recovery Team if Emergency occurred. Just some of the benefits.

[adlib2]

Originally Posted by sher9016

We are preparing our new boat for a West to East crossing next year (we did this last year also in our previous boat) and are looking for some program that will allow the landlubbers to get on the Internet and see our track. We will have AIS class B transponder, SSB, and may consider renting a sat phone. I know there are lots of apps that show position, but want one that also shows track. The only one I know if is Yellow Brick, but that is kind of expensive. Does anyone have any suggestions?


Jim and Sherrin formerly aboard Persistent Lady; soon to be aboard P. L. II. Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

VesselFinder : Free AIS Ship Tracking of Marine Traffic Free AIS Shipping.
Live Ships Map - AIS - Vessel Traffic and Positions - AIS Marine Traffic

I use both, Marine Traffic shows good TRACK~

an EPIRB or Personal Beacon will also send an email to interested parties when configured to do so.

[monte]

I'm interested in this too. We used a yellowbrick that worked ok. It was a loaner so I don't know what the cost and plan costs are. Would anyone with a spot, inreach, yellowbrick etc mind listing the price for the unit and basic plan with tracking?
Also, if anyone has a method for emailing or SMS a lat/long to a server, such as google earth, that will place a mark and comment I think that would be a ballbighter. Or an app that sends an email would work. Maybe something like travel pod. I think iridium go can track but it requires at least a $10/m subscription and tracks prob lay disappear after a year.
There is a NZ weather site that has this feature but it's pretty clunky and I think tracks also disappear after 1yr.

[grantmc]

An excellent free service called YOTREPS is provided at Pangolin has been going for years. Yacht sends in their position updates and preferably include weather observations by email or radio net. Check out the FAQ section on their web site.

Worth noting is that the site's data are also used by weather forecasters to determine actual weather conditions being experienced and so we all receive better forecasts. Pangolin forwards on all weather reports to US National Weather Service (NWS) immediately they're received.

[travellerw]

Inreach for sure.

I use mine with an Anker solar changer and now it has an infinite battery life. We recently used it on 4 day crossing. Sent tracks every 30 min plus over 5000 texts in and out(yes my crew has a text problem)

One tip. Look on kijiji, Craigslist or ebay. Many people buy them for one trip and sell them after for 1/2 price.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Mike OReilly]

Another happy inReach user here. We used it for our three month journey through the Great Lakes last year. Allowed friends and family to keep track of us, and was also great for sending short text messages out to individuals or pre-set groups.

InReach lets you drop from full-service contract mode to a low-price maintenance mode when you don't need the full tracking/sending services. This is good for seasonal cruisers like us.

[Old Swampy]

If you are an amateur radio operator, you can use Winlink to send and receive e-mails at no cost (you should contribute support). If you have a marine SSB, at a modest membership fee you can do the same thing using Sailmail.

[sailjumanji]

For you InReach users, I have some questions about their use. I have read all of the literature. "Send and receive text message worldwide - SMS availability may vary by country." What does that mean, re: SMS texts?

It also says it sends to email address? How do you do that? It says made for I-phone and some android compatibility. Is it tethered or wifi to these devices, which would make it much easier to send texts and emails with the touch pad or keypad of those, vs the clunky interface on the InReach.

We are planning a three-month Bahama trip leaving next January. Need a way to keep in touch, especially with elderly parents. One set does email, the other can get messages thru my sister. The other option is Batelco, but not always near cell towers. Any other suggestions?

[cofc]

There is an app that you can download to iPhone/iPad. You can then connect your phone to the Delorme via Bluetooth and write messages using your phone. You can send messages to a phone number (text) or to email addresses. Each message is limited to 140 (I think) characters. The Delorme will work anywhere in the Bahamas.

For what it's worth, the only place we didn't have Batelco coverage was in the Land and Sea park and at Conception Island.