WeatherNet vs. SailDocs

[Aussie_Sequoia]

Hope this is the right place to post

I am curious to hear about people's experience using WeatherNet from OCENS vs. a free service to receive weather info/files (such as GRIB files) like SailDocs.

I like OCENS and have had dealings with them before. I find them knowledgeable and helpful and certainly understand what cruisers need.

I also know that SailDocs was developed by and for cruisers and is a bit more cumbersome to use, but highly flexible.

We will be doing a Pacific crossing and will be downloading files and info using an Iridium 9555.

WeatherNet has an upfront cost of a hundred bucks plus a cost per file requested (not counting the data charge).

I'd love to hear anyone's experience with WeatherNet especially compared to SailDocs and especially if used on a long crossing.

Cheers!

[Aussie_Sequoia]

And today, OCENS just released a Mac version of WeatherNet 3.

[GypsyHawk]

I subscribed to Global Marine Networks XGate email software for a recent similar trip using an Iridium phone for email/data connection. They also provide access to free weather gribs. Once the phone is connected you can of course choose to use SailDocs with this same set up. GMN also had the best price on prepaid airtime for the phone. No problem purchasing any of this from Australia.

[GypsyHawk]

I forgot to add ... I found SailDocs completely adequate for grib file downloads and pretty good weather forecasting.

Another software product I used with this was Xaxero's WindPlotter (GRIBPlot). Also worth looking at as low bandwidth grib file software.

[Jim Cate]

G'Day AS,

We have no satphone experience, but have used Saildocs for years via Winlink pactor, and find the service reliable and adequate. With a bit of research one has access to just about any text based web page extant plus of course the gribs (from several models). Official f/c's from the French, the Kiwi's, the Aussies and (I think now) the Fijian met offices can be downloaded daily. This coupled with wx charts via JVcom32 provide all the info one needs to plan one's wx strategy.

In the South Pacific, one can access Bob McDavitts weekly weathergram which gives a useful met office type analysis of the coming weeks weather throughout the SP. We've found this to be useful as well.

Hope that you have as good a passage across the SP as we have had.

Cheers,

Jim

[SV Demeter]

IIRC SailDocs costs $250 per year just like the other services, only saildocs doesnt charge you additional per file fees. Ive been experimenting with viewfax, which was free but have not yet gotten it set up to retrieve files through the sat phone. Been using it at the dock here where i have wifi. Tomorrows plan is to figure out how to connect to internet with sat phone to download small txt and grb files.