Tracking for family and friends

[jackdale]

InReach

[wannacat]

Garmin InReach has worked great for now almost 9-10 years for us. Reasonably priced and able to stop plans whenever required.

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by dlane1181

Just curious as to why there seems to be no support for the Iridium GO, from which position reports can be sent (manually or automatically), as well as texts, simple emails, and voice calls. And it is compatible with connecting with SailMail.

+1 for IridiumGo.

I use IridumGo with the external antenna mounted on the back my yacht. Bought through PredictWind.com. In addition to weather, tracking, text messages, I can also send and receive email. Furthermore, it enables voice calls from my smart phone! Here is a recent track: I made from Bari, Italy to the UK:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tra...erSource=ECMWF

[wingssail]

In the first place I wonder why we think family and friends will be watching every hour to see where we are. Ok, maybe at the beginning of our travels, when it is still a novelty, maybe. But after a while the rest of the world will get on with their lives and stop hanging for the last 6 mile change in position. Honestly, you're not that important.

One family member asked me, "You're still in Thailand, right?" (I was).

So we used SSB and Pactor and sent emails periodically. We also were able to update our Google Blogspot by email (text only because of limited bandwidth of SSB/Pactor) so there would be blog postings with position (if we put that in the email) and comments. If people are following your blog they will get notifications. If they get worried they can send an email to you, "Where are you? We haven't heard from you for several minutes, we're worried".

And you can get this whole thing off to the right start by telling them, "We're going to be sailing across oceans. We'll be off the grid for days or weeks at a time. It will be OK, It's normal. We'll send a post card from Tahiti."

[NaClyDog]

Originally Posted by Brendan

+1 for IridiumGo.

I use IridumGo with the external antenna mounted on the back my yacht. Bought through PredictWind.com. In addition to weather, tracking, text messages, I can also send and receive email. Furthermore, it enables voice calls from my smart phone! Here is a recent track: I made from Bari, Italy to the UK:

https://forecast.predictwind.com/tra...erSource=ECMWF

Wow, nice trip.

[dlane1181]

DeeBee, that's a nice track you documented, and I like the annotated comments/texts off to the side, too. I've got to learn how to do that with our Iridium GO and Ocens/WeatherNet system.

[GordMay]

1. The Iridium GO! has phone functionality. The InReach does not.
2. Email functionality is only available on the GO!. The InReach provides SMS and social media posting only.
3. The InReach is much cheaper than the GO!
4. Service plans for the InReach cost less than the GO!

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by GordMay

1. The Iridium GO! has phone functionality. The InReach does not.
2. Email functionality is only available on the GO!. The InReach provides SMS and social media posting only.
3. The InReach is much cheaper than the GO!
4. Service plans for the InReach cost less than the GO!

Iridium GO is the way to go.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by jackdale

Iridium GO is the way to go.

I'd probably go with GO if I got more dough. But when I in-reach in my pocket I see all my dough has GOne. So inReach it is.

[jackdale]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I'd probably go with GO if I got more dough. But when I in-reach in my pocket I see all my dough has GOne. So inReach it is.

I am in a similar boat

[Discovery 15797]

Originally Posted by wingssail

In the first place I wonder why we think family and friends will be watching every hour to see where we are. Ok, maybe at the beginning of our travels, when it is still a novelty, maybe. But after a while the rest of the world will get on with their lives and stop hanging for the last 6 mile change in position. Honestly, you're not that important.

One family member asked me, "You're still in Thailand, right?" (I was).

So we used SSB and Pactor and sent emails periodically. We also were able to update our Google Blogspot by email (text only because of limited bandwidth of SSB/Pactor) so there would be blog postings with position (if we put that in the email) and comments. If people are following your blog they will get notifications. If they get worried they can send an email to you, "Where are you? We haven't heard from you for several minutes, we're worried".

And you can get this whole thing off to the right start by telling them, "We're going to be sailing across oceans. We'll be off the grid for days or weeks at a time. It will be OK, It's normal. We'll send a post card from Tahiti."

You choose to keep a paper logbook. I have chosen not to waste time keeping paper log books full of superfluous data that nobody will read, and quite honestly I would likely never refer to again once I turned the page.

Instead I use an electronic "log book" that is automatically uploaded and stored in the cloud, and then presents almost real-time vessel position in a visually appealing and contextually recognizable format (esp. for non-sailors like my mom who has never heard of Nauru and still isn't exactly sure where it is in the vast Pacific, and in all honestly I'm still not sure she believes it's a real place. ).

My Iridium Go is setup to update positions to my PredictWind tracking page hourly as my "electronic" log book with daily entries. It is also valuable as a redundant system for immigration officials and SAR resources. (For example, in April I'll be departing for Fiji. They require my AIS on 24/7 once I depart Oahu. Should my AIS fail, I still have proof positive that my transit was non-stop as required for clearance into Fiji at this time.)

Additionally, it automates the task of recording and showig my track on my vessel's webpage as I make my way to where ever the winds blow me in my future. (I'm all about simplifying redundant tasks.)

(As a side note, I use a customized database app to record other data that is important for me to track such as maintenance, repairs, finances, etc. that is sync'd between all devices onboard for redundancy, and to the cloud when connected to the internet.)

I agree with you that anyone not on the boat cares about a change in position every 6 hours. I also think that absolutely nobody cares that the wind was 13 kts @ 260 degrees on June 17 at 16:05 either.

As noted previously, my automated log also contains a daily narrative/journal/blog entry of the day's important events, my personal notes, or my rants and ramblings. (The logs of Columbus and Cook and others are interesting reading not because they record the wind direction and speed on June 17th, but because of the journal entries in those log pages that describe events of the day. And no...I am not comparing myself to Cook, Columbus, or Nelson or others.)

I don't expect anyone to be watching my tracking page hourly. However, my family, and a few close friends referred to the page daily. Other's checked it periodically. They checked in on my not because I am important, but because they care about me, they were curious, and they were sometimes entertained.

Trust me...for my family and friends it was way better than receiving a postcard from Tahiti (or Oahu) after the fact. This is, after all, the 21st century.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Discovery 15797

You choose to keep a paper logbook. I have chosen not to waste time keeping paper log books full of superfluous data that nobody will read, and quite honestly I would likely never refer to again once I turned the page...
(As a side note, I use a customized database app to record other data that is important for me to track such as maintenance, repairs, finances, etc. that is sync'd between all devices onboard for redundancy, and to the cloud when connected to the internet.)...

I don't see any substantive difference between what I do and what you do regarding keeping a log. Maybe a different choice of data items and method of recording them. I find the data recorded on our log is very useful and referred to frequently. But each to his own.

Both of us, in the end, are keeping it in the cloud in electronic form. I just don't send it hourly, via a satellite, or on any other regular basis. We batch it up. I save money that way, and after so many years and so many crossings our families have stopped watching every moment anyhow.

[Time2Go]

another thumbs up for Inreach
Has worked flawlessly for years
I use the freedom plan and only activate
while on passage
Great bit of kit

[Dartanyon]

As far as a service that will make a little lovely map of tracking points, regardless of what hardware you use to report your position, we use NoForeignLand. It will take position reports manually, from GPS in cell phone, from InReach, or IridiumGo, or Yellowbrick, or even coastal AIS stations ... basically anything. Also made by cruising sailors. No affiliation, just happy users.

[DeeBee]

Originally Posted by wingssail

...
So we used SSB and Pactor and sent emails periodically. We also were able to update our Google Blogspot by email (text only because of limited bandwidth of SSB/Pactor) so there would be blog postings with position (if we put that in the email) ...

I'm a ham, I'll have HF-SSB and Pactor. Can you give details on how to get email etc?

TIA - ny9k