Yes, ignore the armchair folks.
I just came
offshore to
New England from the
Bahamas last week.
Hard to beat
Ipad weather (Ventusky.com is my preferred since it shows three models). I had workable data a few times 25 miles
offshore but normally at 10 miles. I think it does depend how the shore antennas are aimed. And my booster didn't really seem to extend the data range help even though it's supposed to do LTE. I think Verizon may "shape" the LTE signal somehow. On this trip most days my course took me close enough to land at some point in the 24 hours to grab a
forecast off the
internet.
Farther offshore I use the Delorme Inreach in two ways:
- The Inreach's
weather is quite good and is based on Ocens. Well worth the $1 for a three day
forecast but it only shows a
single lat/lon and no "big picture". Getting three forecasts for different Lat/Lon's helped and was still only $3 a day. It's much more convenient and more dependable than the Ham/SSB setup I had on my last
boat.
- I would also message my son ashore on the Inreach and he would check the
internet weather and send me back a forecast. It's amazing how detailed a forecast he could fit into a
single Inreach 160 character message. He would also send me offshore buoy reports if relevant.
I won't go offshore without the Inreach. An
EPIRB backup (with two way communication), a convenient way to keep
family from worrying, and reliable weather. It sits on my chart table as it works fine transmitting through the
deck. Would never bother again with Ham or
SSB.