S/V MARATONGA missing in Atlantic

[svlamorocha]

Originally Posted by cloggieboots

Does any of you have any knowledge about cell phones and pinging?........

I recall having read in the Argentine press that the mother of the young crew member said something about position updates sent by cell phone.
I am familiar with all sorts of communications available at sea and concluded that the poor woman was confused. I do not blame her.

I am sorry for one more boat lost at sea that unfortunately did not make the most of the tools available to help vessels in distress.

(Rant on)
Please let's take this as proof that Spot trackers are not the right tool for distress messages on a boat! For those who sail on many boats and do not trust the EPIRB of the owner, you can always carry a waterproof PLB that costs less than US$300 including recoding to the country where your next of kin live or have a phone number.
(Rant off)

Sent from my GT-I9192 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Exile]

Originally Posted by svlamorocha

I recall having read in the Argentine press that the mother of the young crew member said something about position updates sent by cell phone.
I am familiar with all sorts of communications available at sea and concluded that the poor woman was confused. I do not blame her.

I am sorry for one more boat lost at sea that unfortunately did not make the most of the tools available to help vessels in distress.

(Rant on)
Please let's take this as proof that Spot trackers are not the right tool for distress messages on a boat! For those who sail on many boats and do not trust the EPIRB of the owner, you can always carry a waterproof PLB that costs less than US$300 including recoding to the country where your next of kin live or have a phone number.
(Rant off)

Sent from my GT-I9192 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

I believe SPOT has a satellite-based device that pairs with a smartphone, and that it was available at the time of this incident. Maybe this was what was meant by sending position updates sent by cell phone. They are really sent via satellite by the SPOT device, of course, but through the cell phone for convenience. Now the Iridium GO! and I think one of the new DeLorme devices have this feature, but they may not have been available at the time.

[Don C L]

I have been following the thread in the hopes of seeing good news. I don't have anything to offer except my heart goes out to you and I'll say another prayer for all of you.

[barnakiel]

Yes. Newer devices can pair with smartphones but older ones could not.

An AIS transceiver can be tracked though - also offshore. At least one company (I think in Canada) can actually backtrack an AIS signal.

Spot IMHO is a very poor choice for cross ocean voyages as it delivers worst where it may be needed most - at the central part of the ponds.

I think Spot 'coverage maps' must be read with caution and observing the extra data given (% of chance ... etc).

Contacting the tanker might help getting some info but this only assuming the tanker actually noticed them. It is so easy to see a tanker from a small boat but it is not always that the bridge crew will spot a small craft out at sea.

b.

[SaltyMonkey]

After following a number of journey by folks on here using SPOT, my conclusion is it is NOT available 100%. Whether it's a rotation availability issue with the satellites it uses, or something else, I notice that there are holes in the reception and it seems to be a recurrent pattern depending on time.

[boatman61]

One must remember us Spot users do switch them off on big crossings.. sadly non-users seem to think they are 24/7 tools.. takes an awful lit of batteries for a crossing.
Another thing.. if you lack the confidence to go out there without these gadgets.. maybe.. you and your boat are not ready..

[svlamorocha]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I think Spot 'coverage maps' must be read with caution and observing the extra data given (% of chance ... etc).
.

I agree. Those maps are based on probability of message going through after many attempts over a 20 minute period. If you have an unforeseen emergency then you do not have 20 minutes before the thing gets wet. EPIRBs are designed to survive water.


Sent from my GT-I9192 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by svlamorocha

I agree. Those maps are based on probability of message going through after many attempts over a 20 minute period. If you have an unforeseen emergency then you do not have 20 minutes before the thing gets wet. EPIRBs are designed to survive water.


Sent from my GT-I9192 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

Never chucked it in water.. however it has survived torrential downpours and waves occasionally soaking it.. switched on or off it stays topsides the whole trip so it can be grabbed in a second.
One day I may even start making up a grab bag..😂😂😂

[cloggieboots]

Honestly, we have no idea what happened after the last track coordinates from Spot device. What we could see is that they turned from heading east to south south east .....

The thing that might be of interest to others is that SPOT whipes all messages after 1 month and only the person who took out the order can get the list of coordinates. So if this person happens to on board ....... too bad.

It was only after my friend who's husband is on board kept pestering SPOT for weeks, that she heard that they would not sent her anything,..... only to the registered client.

We keep on hoping for something somewhere

Carla

[Muckle Flugga]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Yes. Newer devices can pair with smartphones but older ones could not.

An AIS transceiver can be tracked though - also offshore. At least one company (I think in Canada) can actually backtrack an AIS signal.

Spot IMHO is a very poor choice for cross ocean voyages as it delivers worst where it may be needed most - at the central part of the ponds.

I think Spot 'coverage maps' must be read with caution and observing the extra data given (% of chance ... etc).

Contacting the tanker might help getting some info but this only assuming the tanker actually noticed them. It is so easy to see a tanker from a small boat but it is not always that the bridge crew will spot a small craft out at sea.

b.

AIS is a VHF based signal. It cannot at present be tracked beyond line of sight to another AIS station. To my knowledge there is no network of satellites tracking AIS signals. Therefore it cannot be tracked far "offshore".

[CarstenWL]

To my knowledge there is no network of satellites tracking AIS signals. Therefore it cannot be tracked far "offshore".

... there are companies using satellites to receive the AIS data, see for instance here: 3 Facts About Satellite AIS That You Should Know | ORBCOMM (or google "Satellit AIS")

Regards,

Carsten

[MarkJ]

Yes, of course AIS can and is being tracked by satellite.
Marinetraffic.com does it but you need the premium service to track.

The difficulty is that Class B is not strong enough to get to the satellites often. Class A is fine.

On my recent 10 day passage from Beaufort North Carolina, USA to St Martin in the Caribbean there were only 2 position reports from satellites whilst I was in the deep ocean. (Ie not a costal reception. I was 600nms to 800nms off any coast station)
So its not much help to find Class B boats.

It does give a good reason to buy Class A if you have $3k to spend.

Mark

the Satellite AIS service provides position updates less often, at intervals that may vary from a few minutes up to several hours. On average, for vessels sailing at the oceans, equipped with a Class-A AIS transponder, we see*one position update per hour.

Subscribe to one of the Satellite-AIS plans and use our*Live ship map*to follow Satellite AIS position updates with 6 or 12 hours delay.


Read more at http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/p/sa...TXOdUZgiIZg.99

[Exile]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Yes, of course AIS can and is being tracked by satellite.
Marinetraffic.com does it but you need the premium service to track.

The difficulty is that Class B is not strong enough to get to the satellites often. Class A is fine.

On my recent 10 day passage from Beaufort North Carolina, USA to St Martin in the Caribbean there were only 2 position reports from satellites whilst I was in the deep ocean. (Ie not a costal reception. I was 600nms to 800nms off any coast station)
So its not much help to find Class B boats.

It does give a good reason to buy Class A if you have $3k to spend.

Mark

Hey Mark, I'm a bit confused (not unusual). I'm assuming you didn't have internet access while offshore. So wouldn't the two position reports you received be coming to you directly through your VHF? I thought the function of the satellites was to pick up the signals, report them to the stations, which in turn post them to the internet via marinetraffic.com, etc. But I could easily be mistaken.

Didn't know about the significant time delay, or Class B not always making it to the satellites at all. Helpful info, thanks.

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by Exile

Hey Mark, I'm a bit confused (not unusual). I'm assuming you didn't have internet access while offshore. So wouldn't the two position reports you received be coming to you directly through your VHF?

No I did not receive them. They were received by a guy in the UK monitoring my voyage with his premium subscription to MarineTraffic .com

[Steadman Uhlich]

Cloggieboots,

So nothing has ever been found of the boat or crew? Is that correct? All lost at sea?

Sorry to hear they are still lost.