ATLANTIC CROSSING: Problem-solving in the middle of the Ocean
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- Опубліковано 15 лис 2021
- Losing our satellite communications 1000 nautical miles offshore: • ATLANTIC CROSSING: Los...
Big thanks to our weather router Charlie from www.myweatherrouter.com for having our backs in this inconvenient situation ;)
Also thank you to St. Paul de Vence for the music! I've really enjoyed illustrating the footage of our crossing with Ben's beautiful music, and I hope you enjoy it as well :) You can listen to St- Paul de Vence on Spotify at: open.spotify.com/artist/6Gn9h...
We are almost halfway across the Atlantic ocean when our satellite communications device decides to crap on us, leaving us completely disconnected from the World.
With no updated weather forecast and no way to keep contact with shore to tell them that we were OK, we tried to activate our Garmin InReach, a satellite tracker that we kept as a backup.
While we believed that the InReach would allow us to reconnect with our shore support Willem, and our weather router Charlie, we quickly realized that without an active data plan (which required an internet connection to activate), our InReach was absolutely worthless.
Luckily, after two days without satellite communication, we passed a tanker ship that helped us contact Willem and pass along all the information he needed to activate the InReach's data plan.
Unfortunately, 48 hours after being in touch with Willem via the tanker ship, our inReach is still not functioning.
And while we do not receive updated weather forecast anymore, life onboard needs to go on, and we need to make do.
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We learned upon landing, that Willem was low-key harassing Garmin's customer service in order for them to activate our InReach unit, in spite of not knowing our account logins. Thankfully, his persistence made the customer service representative escalate the matter, and Garmin finally agreed to let him buy our plan. So thank you a thousand times Willem and Garmin for making it happen for us, this was absolutely life-changing at this point in our crossing! :)
Good of him and glad Garmin finally came through (or at least agreed to take the money!!)
Good job Williams thank for being helpful in times of great needs
Good one Willem! And great of Garmin to help :)
I know everyone likes things being done "in the proper order", but you'd think given their intended market, that Garmin would figure out a two factor ID system of some sort that would allow this kind of activation as a matter of course. That said Great Job Willem, and Garmin, getting it done!
Annette has pretty eyes. Ryan, apart from a SSB radio and a backup subscription for another sat gadget, may a Barometer would help.
You might consider an HF SSB transceiver that works on the marine channels and the ham radio bands. It will require you to acquire a license to use on the ham radio bands but there is a net that operates daily on 14.300 MHz that provides weather info for sailboats.
Ryan, marooned in the middle of the ocean with those two. Thanks for taking one for the team.
Ryan had such a terrible time in our company, he may even go solo next time! ;)
@@RyanSophieSailing My heart goes out to him.....NOT !!
@@RyanSophieSailing Ironically, I live in Iowa, *and* I have beer, so you know, Sophie, if you need a place to stay while he goes it alone... ;^) Anyway, that was another great video. Thanks.
@@karllewis735 hahahaha!!! Thanks Karl, duely noted 😉 on that note, we shall organize a little sailors party next time we’re in Iowa!
@@RyanSophieSailing You should know I show your videos to my wife, often, because when I retire I'd like to move the two of us down to the Caribbean to live on a Beneteau, or something rather like one, and this helps give her an idea what it might be like.
You need a SSB radio. Long and short distance comms with the ability to send email via Winlink. Also weather sat maps and information.
People forget about the value of Navtex
Love you guys and all you share!
Showing my age here... Started ocean passage making a long time ago. We planned our routes on gnomonic projection charts, used pilot charts for weather planning, and updated our celestial sights from LORAN time charts. 3 days from land we made weather decisions on what we saw around us. All that said, the tools available now make offshore sail MUCH safer. But we need to make sure the new generation of sailors know at least the basics of "the old ways". The one thing that is absolutely true at sea is that pretty much everything on your boat will fail at some point. System redundancy is crucial, but remember to constantly upgrade the most important system on the boat...the sailor.
That’s exactly our philosophy ☺️ we knew that we were going to be OK without satcoms (albeit, we were worried for our friends and family who are very much used to us having a tracker) and had everything onboard to make it work without the iridium go. Seamanship is what makes a passage safe, much more than the boat or it’s equipment!
Well said.
I just wrote the same thing. They are all too spoiled and dependent upon tech.
Makes me think all that time fiddling with SSB and Weatherfax and SSB voice forecasts still have a place in this world 🙂
I love the' "The yeah whatever", look on Annette's face when Ryan is doing his captain thing...
Regardless of Anett’s face, briefing a complex manœuvre that involves three persons before it happens is absolutely necessary. It considerably reduces the risk of something going wrong in the middle of the manœuvre, and something we do systematically!
@@RyanSophieSailing especially a jybe :)
Hi
Grate sailing
It,s really big gear and expensive, the voyage s are keeping people in good shape
Have fun and pleasuring.
Sophie you are the best!!!👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Fantastic! I’m glad your friend came through.
It was an absolutely amazing feeling :)
Respect from Slovenia👏👏👍💪
wow! your friend came through. Excellent news. Nice vlog. It sounds like morale on the boat is a Sophie + coffee = a happy trip. Happy sailing. Roll on next week.
thanks for a great update !
Good update.
As ever, your update. made my day. Thank you. ❤️
Your comment makes my day too! ❤
Yayyy Sophie! So happy when you got in touch with Zanzibar, stoked for all three of you and look forward to next weeks episode! :)
❤️❤️❤️😃
Good work
Life is amplified at sea
Highs and lows get amplified in ones mind . Great work you’re good good sailors doing a great job!
Thank you for the update. I’m planning a trip of my own next year and I’m absorbing advice!
I'm so glad this video can help you planning your journey! I always hope that when we talk about our mishaps, it helps other reflect and make decisions of their own :)
@@RyanSophieSailing ❤️🇨🇦
This shows the danger of relying on technology and not having a barometer and HF radio. You were relying on getting help from other people and not reading the sea and wind and barometer
@@williamparker2809 excuse me but what do you know about that 🤣
Congratulations 🎉👏👏👏 so happy you had luck 🤞 getting the in reach activated.
This makes me really thank all ships out there, all are heroes !!!
Very good vid. Thank you.
Great episode guys!
😍
Wow guys that was absolutely crazy, amazing, and Scary but you guys kept your cool which was awesome. And that beer is well deserved love you guys save travels
Thanks Monica!!! It was one epic adventure ☺️
Sorry to c u guys so stressed out. You knew your exact location,speed ,and distance to destination.many of sailor would have loved that info. I enjoy following you 👍
We never freaked out over loosing our iridium go (minute 14:01 “I’m happy right now, I had lost faith and accepted this was not going to happen, which is fine, we would have made it without”). But at that time we had friends at sea who didn’t know where we were and why we had dropped out of coms, hundreds of people checking out out live tracker everyday wondering what had happened and more than anything, families and close friends that were definitely worried. Putting them through that was not a good feeling. And while I’d say we did a good job at compartmentalizing it and making do with what we had (and had not) we were very relieved to have our link with shore back. We would have been absolutely fine without satcoms, and that was never lost on us.
Magellan had a similar problem with his Iridium-Go and yet somehow he made it.
It would be funny when it got back online that the weather guy contacted them and said a freakish out of season huricane has formed and you are going right into it. By the way have you made a will? Seriously, it seems like some suffer from seasickness a lot. Apparently 90 percent of people suffer from it to a varying degree. Did have scopalomine or similar medicine on board? If you wasnt sea sick I don't think garmin issue would be so much of concern. The skipper looks knackered 10 years than he normally looks.
He had a blue-water boat LoL
Great video !
Wowza! I had this feeling ya Folks would make it, somehow😜…Continue to Stay Safe & Enjoy😎
I want every video to have "Sophie is feeling warm and fuzzy" moment. Otherwise, I get concerned ,or even scared
Hahaha 😂😂😂 thanks Dave!
Good to be back in reach!
Really looking forward to your end of trip lessons learned
I mean.. there weren’t much to be fair, but yeah, definitely have the InReach activated for real next time 😆
@@RyanSophieSailing lessons learned are not all negative. I'd love to hear your thoughts on your taking on crew for a long passage. How long would a future passage need to be for you to say that you will look for crew? What were your favorite meals? Did the watch lengths stay the same throughout the trip or were they adjusted due to conditions? How well did provisioning stand up? Etc. I think it's a topic to consider as it's really not done on the sailing channels
Thanks for providing a GREAT channel
I love that!!! It’s so true. All in all, we ADORED that passage and had tons of great fun. Just the right level of challenge, just the right level of adventure. We loved having crew and is something we want to continue doing. We also stayed on the same watches all along and that worked pretty well, and having a little more off time allowed me to cook a lot more and better. Only sad thing is we didn’t catch a fish! You are right, we should film a little debrief 😉
I love the new graphics!
Yeay!!! 🥰
At the end of the day having an up to date weather forecast makes life better but it is not the end of the world. Remember what past generations of sailors did?
We deliberately turned off comms and sat links when we sailed from NC to the Azores. Sure does make you learn how to read the weather, communicate with ships , use a sextant and navigate by the stars.
That French toast looked amaze balls!🤤
Those French toasts were the ultimate comfort food!
Best backup SSB, a tad old school, but in the event of satellite failure SSB works
Just installed SSB on mine - MRCC's will still monitor for many years to come
I think that calls for two beers. ;+)
Well, I was reasonable and only had one... hahaha! I actually think that it was my last blue moon!
Polar Seal never give up :) good job , another wonderful video and a great sophie's comedy face at 5:05 loll (if i were an iridium inreach representative this video would be a wake up call...just saying...thanks to Willem persistence) Enjoy the second half Polar Seal can't wait for #103 . Bon vent!!!!!:)
To be very fair, PredictWind was awesome and a new unit was on its way to us right as we made landfall. We don’t really need satcoms for passage that aren’t longer than 7 days anyways, and we don’t do a ton of them. At the end of the day, we had a backup and while it wasn’t as ready as we thought it was, it worked out well ☺️
Hi, I just got the same IrridiumGo for my next passage, I would love to know what is the problem with your. Just to be prepared…..
Thanks for sharing. Very nice videos.
All the best.
Blue Moon, favorite beer !!!
Mine too!!!! 😊 I can’t find it in Europe, but I bought a case in Bermuda and I think this was my last one
Blue Moon good choice
French toast looks gorgeous
I have noticed your husband face and blood rooting to old noble families
Having crossed oceans before any satcomms were possible, I think it is a shame that we "need" them now, you did well to overcome your modern fears. Remember you can look at the sky, watch the birds, read your barometer, and be ready for a little weather. To newbys, don't wait too long until you have all the expensive gear, just go.
Yeah, they're spoiled millennials.
What can I say. I simply could not survive without my hair dryer and my hair straightener offshore. It wouldn’t be sailing otherwise, right?!! But as dboboc puts it, it’s not me it’s my generation 🤣
He radio weather fax is invaluable
It can fail too!
✨💯✨Again! ...and again, tho one is aware that these happenings happened quite some while awash in the wake of time, "we're back inReach" 😂, compelling nonetheless!
Yeah, it happened a while ago, but man I love reliving those moments ☺️ great fun!!!
'We are back inreach' xD
I think Ryan is right. Redunance in communication is really important. One primar, two second and one of them is inreach? Yeah, the other one needs to be better but not this hard to activate. Is there even such a gadget? Good luck! /Catta
There are so many ways to do redundancy for satellite communications, InReach is one! The limitation though, is that the InReach doesn't do phone calls. So in case of a medical emergency, it wouldn't be great. It's a bit of a complex topic, but I think we should adress how we'll do it for crossing number #3! :)
SSB was the only way in the day and it still might be the way.
@@justlooking2222 I was just thinking that. When SV Delos lost her Iridium they got weather info by linking a laptop to SSB. It was glacially slow but accurate.
I wouldn't be without SSB. Costs you nothing, so why not.
This journey reminds me of The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym.
Hmmm is that a good thing? 😅
best backup for an Iridium Go is a second Iridium Go
But if the best backup is a second unit, what's the point of even buying one?! 🙈With that said, we'll do backup better next time...
@@RyanSophieSailing the best spare tyre for a car is another tyre. If these devices are really that fragile then why not? But I don't have a spare and I also don't trust my InRech anymore (it actually said "I'm broken now" midway between Madeira and Curacao). But there are limits to what spares you can carry - you did OK.
They’re not “that” fragile 😉 we had it for over two years and used it A LOT before it pooped on us. Not everyone who owns a Go will experience a failure. Ours failed at an inconvenient time, but at the end of the day, we would have made it without it :) we shall see how we do back up on crossing #3
In theory, Sophie is right, because heterogeneous redundancy is better. In reality, it's all just a matter of luck. Have two Iridium Go and their service might fail, or both die due to the same software problem, have something else like the Inreach and that will find a way to refuse service. Have a spare boat and that may sink right before your eyes if you have a bad day. As I said before, a HF weather receiver is cheap in hardware and free in service, not without problems to operate, but a valid weather forecast backup. You can't have too much redundancy. Anyway: You had a valid plan to get along without communication and you would have made it, and that counts.
@@RyanSophieSailing ironically, "in-reach" uses the iridium satellite network so it must be the "iridium go" unit itself that failed. Ryan, if "Hell Broke Loose" such as medical emergency you can push the SOS button on the "in reach" right ? Garmin will mobilize SAR 24/7/365 to your GPS fix.
Did you ever find out why you were disconnected? Did it have anything to do with the battery? The O'Kelly's had problems where the battery destroyed itself. My guess is bad charging chip.
It would have been interesting if the HF relay works if you had an HF transceiver. As a sorta old tech techie, I would have experimented with weather fax off the NOAA satellite for weather transmissions. Just asking if you had a choice would you have both satellite systems (iridium and Garmin inreach) running at the same time?
Yes, we will have the InReach activated next time, for sure. We only really need redundancy for passage longer than 7 days, so I don’t think we will be installing an HF radio. Incidentally, on the days before we made landfall, our friends on the water did not manage to get a forecast through SSB cause the propagation wasn’t good. So, they’re not that infaillible 😉
@@RyanSophieSailing Yeph, remember those HF blackouts when most transatlantic flights suddenly start calling on VHF to relay position reports. 🙂
Are your videos ever going to catch up with real time? Found out about you guys from Sam Holmes Sailing weeks ago when you were in the Azores. I've enjoyed the videos none the less.
Heck if Ryan don't drink, you should drink two. lol
How do y’all upload videos in the middle of the ocean ? And how long does it take for the video to upload ?
Well... we don’t 😅 this happens back in July (yes... that’s a little too long I know 😬)
@@RyanSophieSailing oh ok awesome. I was wondering thanks and safe passages . Y’all are real big inspiration. Hopefully I’ll get to sail soon . Never been
why not have a satellite phone as well? Great video- lots of suspense!
Because we’ve always been able to trust our iridium go! Also, it only is “somewhat” critical during passages longer than 7 days. Which we don’t do a ton of ☺️
@@RyanSophieSailing You are a terrific narrator, Sophie! 😍
Hey Seamen/Ladies... many centuries, many decades thousends of sailor made it without iridium and internet... :-)
Must admit, despite it being the fastest Crossing, I avoid West to East across the North Atlantic Route via the Azores, , and same East to West too, for me, it has always felt to a bad JuJu iffy Crossing to avoid, and go the slower route South Crossing into a 2 knot ish Current off Brazil up to Cape Verde, that was used by the Old Welsh Traders Coming back with Cargoes from Peru and Chile, after taking Cargoes of Coal, Slate etc I'm that Direction. Yes, you can get stuck in the Doldrums with no Wind, but that's what inboard engines and motor Sailing with them, can soon get you out of . Worth Checking Out imho, and to play it safe, carry extra Jugs of Diesel Fuel, and if building new, with a Watermaker, have an extra fuel Tank instead of an extra Water Tank Fitted, or retrofit into a Secondhand boat, would be my way of preparing for Crossings, plus there are more South Atlantic West to East Crossing options. But that's just me. Best Wishes. Bob.
Not the second
Still awesome though ;)
have you reconsidered Ham radio?
No! We only really need redundancy for passages longer than 7 days, which really don’t happen often. The only thing we’ll do differently next time will be to have the InReach actually activated. The risk of our unit pooping on us again on a crossing is minimum, and all we need is to have the backup *actually* activated. We’ll be fine ☺️
Perhaps if Ryan had larger knickers he might smile sometime, obviously his current ones are to small.
That’s because he has huge balls.
How come you didn't bring a sat phone with you?
Because we’ve always been able to trust our iridium go! Also, it only is “somewhat” critical during passages longer than 7 days. Which we don’t do a ton of ☺️
did you ever find out why your Iridium go failed?
So busy with the gadgets, does anyone aboard actually cast an eye over the bow?
No I’m too focused on the camera and other equipment failures to really look around at what’s going on, or actually keeping my watch 🤪 but hey, that’s how YOU get to cast an eye over our bow! 🤣
Would it not be a good idea for you to invest in a portable handheld Sat Phone? The Cost is peanuts
I think we may end up doing it for crossing number 3, and resell it right after. We only really “need” satcoms redundancy on passages longer than 7 days, which we really don’t do a ton of. They are also not that cheap 😅
:-)
StarLink
One day!! :D
Single Sideband CB radio can randomly skip to the middle of the ocean. That's stock standard 12 watts American / world frequencies. Avoid British FM junk. CB has a long shallow skip and efficiently spans continents and oceans, especially at daytime.
Captain Cook just carried on regardless and didn't moan once. Mind you, he was British!
He also ran into the great barrier reef and ended up getting murdered :-( !
@@tomriley5790 ... in Hawaii.
Remind me again when we interrupted our passage in a bout of panic and decided to turn around? 🤣
Next time carry a hf radio and learn to rely on the captain and crew. Technology is good but you must be able to navigate when it fails
Take a medical book with you and take some courses
Oh that’s so cool I thought when you were telling the story about Ryan doesn’t drink and Annette doesn’t either did that meant three for you but no we don’t want anybody on board three sheets to the wind so you get one beer
I’m a fairly reasonable person 😉 especially offshore!
Sophie, since you are trilingual you obviously must learn to curse like a sailor, not just use boring old obsceneties! And which languages you curse in, is entirely your choice. A good string of invective always translates itself.
I can in fact curse in three languages, but mostly do it in french and english. Cursing in Swedish sounds a bit weird to me :p I'm trying to keep this channel clean though! (but trust that the cursing absolutely happens :p)
I myself have found that when wrenching on a vehicle the best results are obtained when cursing in the language of said vehicle. So I've cursed in Americanish and German but have not had to learn much Japanese. What's that say about the various manufacturers? 😄
Hahahaha 😂😂😃
You're right not to curse in Swedish. People will think you've turned viking and are trying to loot and plunder their lands.
@@cecilpacetti1491 😆 And Polish is one of those languages that when you hear cursing even though you don't speak the language you *know* it's cursing!
Give me a break. Even just 20 years ago we didn’t have/need daily updated weather. We didn’t have/need satellite phones. Geeesh.
You have the break Frank, you have the break 😂
It's a SUCKY backup... YOU NEED A SAT PHONE w/voice & data.
It worked though :)
@@RyanSophieSailing
Very true... just like deciding to sail through a hurricane to save some time, and then making it through the storm.
Did it work? Yes... Smart? Not so much...
@@mattthompson8329 dude... are you really comparing having a satcoms backup that’s not fully activated and willingly sailing into a hurricane? Who’s “not so smart” again?🤦🏻♀️ there are days I feel a bit discouraged with the comment section 😂
@@RyanSophieSailing
Having a satcom not fully activated would be daft. Sailing with a satcom (as backup) that is activated would be intelligent.
12 month duration on prepaid min. and for some plans you can get 24 months.
Ya'll usually seem way more competent than this level of drama over sat comms portrays. I wonder if this experience of having no comms for a few days made you more comfortable not relying on fickle modern tech, or if it's just deepened your dependence? Do you think that SSB is still more mature and robust than the affordable sat options if you really need to rely on full time communications?
We never freaked out over loosing our iridium go (minute 14:01 “I’m happy right now, I had lost faith and accepted this was not going to happen, which is fine, we would have made it without”). But at that time we had friends at sea who didn’t know where we were and why we had dropped out of coms, hundreds of people checking out out live tracker everyday wondering what had happened and more than anything, families and close friends that were definitely worried. Putting them through that was not a good feeling. And while I’d say we did a good job at compartmentalizing it and making do with what we had (and had not) we were very relieved to have our link with shore back. Incidentally, some of our friends at sea had an SSB but could not receive a forecast through it on the day that it mattered the most, as propagation wasn’t good enough that day. A lot of people in this comment section want to believe that SSB radios are the most reliable option, but they too fail!
@@RyanSophieSailing So it seems the biggest problem is people worrying from home. A story as old as the sea, and one that won't be assuaged by disclaimers of "don't worry if the tracker goes out". Cheers!
If you have a water maker why are you not taking showers?
PS please get yourself a real screwdriver. That uni-tool is just so frustrating to watch at work
I love our Swiss Army knife! ☺️
@@RyanSophieSailing Just it's like having a room full of tools then having to spin the whole room to simply remove a bolt
In the future, I will down vote every video without Anett. Just sayin.
Damn. We lost that one 😉 does it count if we bank in a tons of Anett content on the channel before she goes back to her own boat? 😅
@@RyanSophieSailing That would be a treat for sure. Thanks.
Stay tune tomorrow! 😉
@@RyanSophieSailing Can't wait!