Email access while offshore

[meshugah]

I'm planning to cruise around the top of Australia in July/August this year, travelling from Cairns to Darwin. I expect to be away for some weeks most of which will be out of cellular mobile phone range. I propose to rent or buy an Iridium phone for emergency purposes. My problem is that I must have regular and reliable email access as part of my work commitments. I simply must be in contact with the office.

Can anyone advise how I can achieve reliable email access - presumably via an Iridium satellite phone? Even though the email access is required for work purposes, we don't have money to burn and I want to secure the email access at reasonable cost. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Gary on the yacht Meshugah.