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Firefly - Weather Information



We continue to scoot along on a broad reach on port tack. We have about 20 knots of wind from the South East and are rolling a fair amount in the swell. Firefly is averaging nearly 8 knots with the occasional fast bit when she surfs down a wave and slow bit when she loses the wave and waits for the next one to catch up.

On the SSB radio net yesterday there was some discussion amongst the fleet regarding the wind potentially dropping in a couple of days time. In order to plan the most appropriate route to get us to Hiva Oa, the largest island of the Marquesas, we have consulted several sources of weather info and thought it may be interesting (sorry if not) for our readers to know how we do this considering we are in a very remote area.

Using the SSB radio, the boat's laptop computer and a device called a Pactor modem (similar to the old devices used to get on the internet in the early days - it makes lots of noise, beeps etc) we connect to one of several long range radio stations spaced out around the world. We are members of a voluntary organisation called Sailmail who maintain these radio stations solely on behalf of long distance yachtsmen - there is an annual subscription of $250 US and from then on its free. The Pactor compresses our e mails and they are transmitted to the radio station and then effectively fed into the WWW, This is how we send these blogs and also e mails to family. Using this system we can also automatically request and receive Grib files via Sailmail - these are not weather forecasts as such but raw data that predicts wind direction and strength for the area we are in - Gribs are used by most long distance sailors.

Our next method is to use the Satphone and this enables us to get synoptic charts. Using the satphone costs about £1 a minute using prepaid airtime and its primary purpose on our boat is as a safety device (although it can also be used for e mails) - if anything happened, particularly healthwise this would be our primary method of contact for help (ie to call a doctor and ask for advice on which drugs to administer etc). For 2 reasons therefore we don't use it very often, although its always left switched on - firstly we need to keep plenty of minutes of airtime available and secondly as the SSB system is free!

Getting weather via the satphone involves connecting the satphone to the laptop. The satphone service is provided by several companies, we use Mailasail (this costs about £250 per year). Requesting forecasts via the laptop (which automatically dials the phone) is fast and trouble free. There are a number of preset forecast areas and durations to choose from - the information coming back and downloading quite quickly. Earlier today we requested a synoptic weather chart for the area of the Pacific between 50N and 30S and East of 145W. The whole process took about 5 minutes and has provided us with a PDF of a synoptic chart we can view on the laptop.

Our final method is via e mail again using the SSB system. Simply to ask someone at home to use the internet to view one of the on line weather services such as Passage Weather and to send us a synopsis of what is predicted to happen. A request was made and yesterday we got a 7 day interpretation of the forecast from a 'loved one' based in Devon!

When the information all comes in we sit and have a look at it at the chart table and then discuss any changes in course or plans. Everything we have received recently from the sources described above currently corresponds and we are looking forward to good winds all of the way to Hiva Oa as long as we stay on the rhumbline or stay south of it - the information we have tells us the wind will be lighter or zero in the north!

Paul, Peter and David

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