International/offshore Internet

[wiseleyb]

My last off shore run was (omg - it's been a while) 10 years ago going from Seattle to San Francisco. We were using SSB Modems to connect to the net and it worked - but, luckily we has LOTS of time at sea.

What are people doing these days? I'm wondering if there's an easier way to get the weather fax and maybe do some email while off shore or anchored away from society. Mac, PC, Linux - doesn't matter to me (programmer).

This is for a trip from Seattle to Boston - via Panama if it matters.

[camaraderie]

The Expensive way is with a KVH receiver and pay by the character.
The cheaper way is with a Globalstar phone and a data connection kit.
The SSB/Pactor/Sailmail way continues to exist as well...but if you don't have the SSB or the Pactor...it's kind of expensive too! Sailmail is $250 bucks a year for the e-mail service.
Nothing REALLY inexpensive and reliable exists...but a lot of harbors do have wifi hot spots that are open.

P.S. I should mention Iridium as well as Globalstar but for your trip, Globalstar has decent coverage and WAY lower per minute charges. Crossing an Ocean...Iridium is probably the best choice.

[Radio University]

Watch out for Globalstar. There was a recent announcement of Satellite failures. I posted it on my blog.