Technologically challenged

It is just a matter of days before we depart now.  But I am still busy trying to get the system working so that we can send and receive email on the yacht.  It is not that straight forward.  I have all the right parts now, but am back to the satellite people on Monday to see if they can assist on the software front.  What this means is that we will be able to send more than a text message of information along the way, and will be able to receive "limited" emails.  If it gets working, and you send an email (will supply address when I can get it happening), they have to be in plain text with NO PHOTOS, signature blocks etc.  Small and to the point is best as to receive via satellite will be hellishly expensive!  Perhaps the best option is to make a comment on this blog site, and my brother will be able to get a message to me....see what happens, will update things again before we leave...  Hope you all had a great relaxing Christmas and New Years does not create too many hangovers.  PS - Map has been fixed - Thanks stickybeak!!

We now have 2 sat phones to take (one is voice only, the other allows data - thanks to my biggest/oldest brother!).

Nearly there

OK, so things are up and running. This is the yacht. She is a 51 foot (17 metre) "Sovereign" from South Africa. It has all the stuff needed for a good trip, like desalination for fresh water making, fridges and freezers, 3 cabins (each with ensuite). And for those that are concerned - yes, there is a life raft, EPIRB, flares and all the normal safety equipment. It is very comfortable looking inside, but I won't put all the pictures up here - we will try and get more of them along the way.

It seems that we now have a map - set to the start of the trip in St Johns in Antigua....just got to get there now! and that is a mere couple of weeks away. Have a great Christmas everyone! More soon......

Just testing

Hey,
Just starting to test this out and make sure it's working. If you have already logged into it, then you are way ahead of yourself! As you know, I have not even left yet. Patience....

I will update over coming weeks with some information about how this will work. You are free to look here, but I will try and email everyone with details as well.

Have a great Christmas and new year!!

Questions for Pete and Geoff

March 4th, 2008

Wondering about life on board the boat? If you have questions for Pete and Geoff, leave them here(in the comments to this post). Next week they'll answer your questions in their own voices, by recorded satellite phone call and I'll post that on the blog. This will happen before they get to Fiji. You have until March 10 to leave your questions. Just for fun:)

You can leave your name, or just be anonymous of you prefer.

UPDATE March 9th: cancelled due to lack of interest.

Detailed maps & weather - updated frequently

This page is updated regularly. Check back here for the most up to date location, maps and weather info.

Current location: Near Mooloolaba, Australia.

View Larger Map

Current Weather Information




Arrows in above map indicate wave direction. Colours indicate wave height.





FAQ for these weather maps

How do I read a wind barb?

The wind barbs indicate both the wind speed in knots (nautical mile per hour) and the wind direction (from which the wind is coming from). Each flag on a wind barb indicates 50 knots, each long segment is 10 knots, and each short segment is 5 knots. To get the wind speed, just add up the flags and segments.

What are the different color wind barbs on the marine observations page?

Observations are color coded by type. Buoys are shown in red, ships are shown in blue and CMAN (Coastal Manned Stations around the U.S.) are shown in purple.

Where do the ship observations come from?

Ships that are part of the VOS (Voluntary Observing Ship) program report weather in realtime and this information is forwarded to weather centers around the globe. The NOAA VOS page www.vos.noaa.gov gives more information.

What are the gray contours on the marine observation images?

They are sea level pressure in millibars (mb). The labels are "short hand" that show just the last two digits: 998mb becomes "98", 999 mb is "99" 1000mb is "00" and 1001 mb is "01" and so on.

More Weather Links

South Pacific graphical weather - current conditions (from stormsurf.com)

South Pacific marine weather forecast from the World Meteorological Organization.

Current time for Geoff and Pete