[Paul Elliott]

I voted, but haven't posted (until now). Here is my communications setup:

* VHF at navstation with remote mic at helm
* Two waterproof handheld VHF xceivers, one of these is kept in the ditch bag
* Marine SSB with Ham-band capability - Icom 710 RT, Icom auto-tuner w backstay antenna
* SCS Pactor 3 modem hooked to the SSB for Sailmail, Winlink, Weatherfax, etc.
* Iridium satphone with railmount "mushroom" antenna. I use this a lot for email, through the XGate system. I use it also for phone calls.

I get my weather through the satphone email: gribs, pressure/wind/wave charts, text forecasts. If the satphone stops working I get gribs and text forecasts through Sailmail (Marine HF) or Winlink (Ham), and I use marine HF to pick up weatherfax transmissions.

If all the radios crap out I am forced to poke my head up and look at the sky.

For email Iridium has been faster and more reliable than HF, but it is more expensive. HF Sailmail using Pactor has also worked well for me, but during my last trip I saved time and power my picking up the weather charts through satphone email, rather than via HF weatherfax.

I do use the HF marine bands for voice communications with other boats, and have used the ham "Pacific Seafarer's Net" as well. Even on the high seas I often keep the VHF radio turned on -- especially at night. I only turn on the HF radio for scheduled nets or weatherfax transmissions.