Communication at Sea for Sailors and Cruisers—4 Devices You Need to Stay Connected
/While sailing the world, it is possible to stay connected with communication devices designed especially for sailors and cruisers. Especially on long passages, like sailing across the Atlantic, you will need to get weather updates and may want to stay connected to family and friends. These four devices will help sailors and cruisers communicate while at sea!
By Michelle Segrest, Navigate Sailing—How to Get Your Sea Legs
Going off the grid and escaping from the ordinary world is among the main rewards that make living full-time on a boat and sailing the world extremely appealing. But sometimes, especially in heavy offshore conditions or on long sailing passages, you will want weather updates and you may want some communication with friends and family. If you are like me, you may have to work while sailing the world, and this requires some level of connectivity.
There are four devices that I have used to communicate at sea and can highly recommend to help keep you connected while sailing the world.
Garmin InReach Satellite Tracker
Thuraya Satsleeve Plus Satellite Phone System
Iridium GO Satellite Hotspot
Mobile Phone with WiFi-Boosting Hotspot Device
Here is a detailed review and more information about each of these!
(This article contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you click the link and make a purchase, it allows me to make a small commission at no extra cost to you!)
If you only have one communication device onboard, this is the one I would recommend. We invested in this very cool Garmin inReach satellite tracker that allowed us to send coordinates of our location using the Iridium satellite network. There is no capability to talk to people using this device, but we could send and receive text messages with family, friends, and work colleagues via email addresses—even from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean—when other forms of communication were impossible.
There is also a Garmin InReach App that allows you to actually text from your mobile phone through the device. The text messages are limited in characters, but we had a plan that allowed for unlimited messages.
This device was not cheap, but I would consider it absolutely essential. The initial cost is relatively reasonable, however, it’s the monthly plan that can get pricey depending on the package you choose.
Using the worldwide coverage of the Iridium satellite network, these go-anywhere portable devices let you exchange text messages with any cell phone number or email address, while using GPS to track and share your journey’s progress. You can also post to social media or even communicate inReach-to-inReach in the field.
In case of an at-risk situation, you can also use inReach to trigger an SOS to the 24/7 monitoring center, text back and forth about the nature of your emergency, and receive confirmation when help is on the way.
inReach SE+ and Explorer+ give you all the tools to stay totally connected. You don’t have to worry about being within range of a cell tower or encountering spotty coverage in fringe zones or blackout areas. The Garmin inReach communicator offers two-way messaging via the global Iridium satellite network.
2. Thuraya Satsleeve Plus Satellite Phone System
With regard to onboard communication, I would also highly recommend the Thuraya Satsleeve Plus satellite phone system which kept us somewhat connected when we didn’t have regular mobile service and for about 1,000 nm from the Canary Islands.
It allowed us to send and receive text-email communications with our family and friends. We could make calls out, but calls coming in were ridiculously expensive for the sender and the receiver, so we saved that for only serious emergencies. We told family and friends, “Don’t call us, we’ll call you.”
SatSleeve + introduces a new voice routing system that improves the sound quality of previous SatSleeve models, and can be used with a wider range of smartphone models than ever before. The SatSleeve + comes with a universal adapter and is compatible with several iOS and Android models, and can have any smartphone between 58 and 85 mm wide.
Please note this product does not work in North America, South America or Canada. Please ensure you will be using within the Thuraya coverage area before purchasing.
This device works like a hot spot and is easy to use. It turns your mobile phone into a satellite phone. The sound is routed through the smartphone, resulting in better sound quality. Please note this product does not work in North America, South America or Canada. Please ensure you will be using within the Thuraya coverage area before purchasing.
On the other side of the Canary Islands, we used the Iridium Go Satellite Based Hot Spot.
3. Iridium GO Satellite Hotspot
Once we got to an area of the globe that did not support Thuraya, we downloaded GRIB data using our device and app combo of Iridium Go Predict Wind offshore.
Iridium GO is a compact, rugged and portable device that provides global SAT voice and data on up to five different devices (smartphones, laptops, or tablets). Operation is very simple—just flip up the antenna and it auto connects to create a WiFi hotspot.
Once connected to the hotspot use the Iridium apps to make voice calls, access Iridium-specific email, tweet, send photos, send SMS (text), create GPS tracking, send an SOS alert, and most impressive and important, use the PredictWind Offshore App!
The device is compact and made to be a standalone unit. It is water, sand, and dust resistant, and can be tossed in a backpack and taken on any adventure.
It’s a necessity for long sailing passages because it works with the PredictWind Offshore App—which became the go-to for weather forecasts. PredictWind details PWG/PWE, ECMWF, GFS and GMDSS forecasts. GRIBs, satellite imagery, and weather routing.
4. Mobile Phone and Remote WiFi Boosting Hotspot Device
If you are cruising close to shore or island hopping, often your mobile phone with some sort of international plan can keep you connected for the most part. Of course, some cruising areas will be remote and without strong cell service. In many remote places, you can find a data card to boost your internet signal. Many popular sailing ports have some areas with free or paid WiFi access.
We never used a remote hot spot, but many sailors we know tried mobile hot spot devices with mixed reviews. There are many WiFi boosters out there, but the recommendations we received were the feature-heavy Winegard ConnecT and the more basic Wave WiFi Rogue Wave. Sailor friends told us both are great at boosting WiFi signals from long distances, but the Wifi Ranger has a few extra features that may be important to you.
These features include:
Load Balancing – Winegard ConnecT can tether to your smartphone and other WiFi sources and simultaneously load balance data for maximum speed and reliability. However, remember there is no compensating for slow internet speeds. This device simply boosts the signal, not the service itself. When working with super slow connections, adding a little boost can make a big difference.
Networking – The Winegard ConnecT router allows you to connect all of your devices to one signal, which is great when WiFi signals are sold per device.
Bandwidth Management – If traveling with kids, this may be a needed feature. It allows for automated parental control and manages data usage and speeds.
Extra Security – The WPA2 encryption, firewall, and SafeSurf features encrypt all data to help add an extra level of security to unsecured public networks.
Don’t forget your Sailor’s Logbook & Journal!
Write your own memories and document your sailing adventures with my Sailing Logbook & Journal
This sailing logbook & journal is designed to inspire you to pursue grand adventures. Come along for the ride on a few worldwide sailing adventures, enjoy some of the most inspirational sailing quotes of all time with stunning images, and document your adventures and memories in an easy-to-use captain's logbook.
With more than 100 pages of stunning, full color images, this logbook and journal includes more than 80 sailing quotes that will inspire your wanderlust, four swashbuckling real-world sailing adventures, and detailed captain’s log for 12 sailing passages with room to record your most detailed sailing adventure memories.
Captain’s Logbook entries include prompts for date, departure port, destination port, weather, forecast, wind, sea conditions, visibility, ETA, Captain, crew, guests, time, course, speed, distance, navigation notes, time completed, average speed, days run, fuel used, nautical miles, time of passage, observations, wildlife, obstacles, milestones, maintenance, notes, and memories.
This sailing logbook and journal is handy and efficient enough to use onboard while beautiful enough to set out on your coffee table to share memories with family and friends. It is designed by a sailor for sailors to inspire your grand adventures.
