Staying in Contact - Where Do I Start ?

[catspaws]

I will be sailing from Florida, US via the Panama Canal and the Pacific to east coast Australia. I'd like to be able to stay in contact with friends and family through email and to access the internet, maybe attempt a blog. I'm a bit bewildered by all the tech talk...satellite phone, sim cards, wifi.....can anyone advise in basic terms if/what is possible and where I should start?

[atoll]

email for travelers to keep it simple.

lots of internet cafe's everywhere.

mobile phones with signal from the land most will give internet access.

wifi enabled laptop,most marinas,bars etc

computer dongle works like a mobile phone and will connect to local mobile network.

satelite phone,works like a mobile but coverage at sea most of the time,expensive,and slow internet connnection.

ssb or hf /mf radio need a licence,but can talk to other yachts and land stations.
also using a modem can be used to send and recieve short emails.

hope this helps and welcome to cf

[boatman61]

Hi.... Welcome to CF... good stuff from Atoll.... and you can bet there's more to come.. there's heaps of folk here with the knowledge..
Apart from me... I'm as clueless as you about these things.. once away from land I'm outa touch... but I prefer it like that..