Starlink Anarchy

[SASSAFRASS]

we see it’s a RV non tracking. We are in Hawaii now taking delivery for the Alaska season. Scrounge an old dome when I get there to hide Elon thing in. Anyone got any good ideas I have been told it has to be enclosed. I am electronics dunce but gifted tig welder so the mounts might be ok lol

I have three vessels operating in Bering Sea using the Marine settup. The weak link is the connection point to antenna. Several of the shore side ones in Aleutian islands some friends had all failed here. You can fit the RV unit in a 24" dome the marine ones need a 30". Not cheap. We built custom enclosures and have PTFE covers. I believe the KVH domes are ABS.

I would guess you could pot cable point effectively, the cable and antenna are robust and probably not something I would worry about other than extended multi year stuff common to anything on a boat in the sun.

 

[Drunkonwatch]

I might actually have something in the infinite alaska style hoard to for the rv. Appreciate the response.

 

[MaxDog]

Sunrise over Starlink. 2000nm to Hiva Oa and it turns out that Starlink is not just for entertainment. My 10 year old radar has died. I don't consider it mission critcal, but it was nice to have. The next stop I could find one in person is likely Australia, but I have internet! So I shopped, selected, and paid for a new radar to be shipped to Nuku Hiva. It should arrive before I do. I could not have managed that without the SL.

 

[slug zitski]

View attachment 578748
Sunrise over Starlink. 2000nm to Hiva Oa and it turns out that Starlink is not just for entertainment. My 10 year old radar has died. I don't consider it mission critcal, but it is nice to have. The next stop I could find one in person is likely Australia, but I have internet! So I shopped, selected, and paid for a new radar to be shipped to Nuku Hiva. It should arrive before I do. I could not have managed that without the SL.

Time will tell but that ant looks very fragile

 

[MaxDog]

Time will tell but that ant looks very fragile

I can buy five more for the cost of one of those silly looking domes. Maybe I'll carry a spare down the line, or maybe I'll buy the larger doesn't-move marine antenna. This is all an experiment for me.

 

[Drunkonwatch]

Loving your posts max dog I appreciate them thanks

 

[TheDragon]

 

[SASSAFRASS]

The mount Max dog has looks fine, you are not hauling the boat out with it. SL does seem to be getting with the program on changes. They only offered a short ant to power supply originally, but now have eliminated and only offer longer vs. which makes way more sense in marine. The only weak link as above is the ant plug, which is no worse than any radar or other off the shelf yacht electronics. I would like to see a Roxtec,ish style IP 70 connection and would call the whole thing bullet proof, But most boats aren't worried about 80-100knot normal operation. And yes that has been a fair bit of this winter up north. It was blowing a steady 80 at the dock when we did the install on one of our boats.

 

[MaxDog]

Making progress, but damn this is a big ocean! Been out here more than a week now and still not halfway to Hiva Oa. SL is the same, pretty good. The stats show it's down about 10% of the time, most interuptions are 10-30 seconds, with occasional 90-120 second pauses. We are still making video calls to family in New Jersey. Certainly not as good as it was back in the marina in Rodney Bay, but better than I dared to hope and well worth the $ to me.

 

[accnick]

I notice that the RV unit/subscription is now called Starlink Roam. That probably makes a lot more sense given that more and more are probably going onto boats.

 

[TheDragon]

View attachment 579103
Making progress, but damn this is a big ocean! Been out here more than a week now and still not halfway to Hiva Oa. SL is the same, pretty good. The stats show it's down about 10% of the time, most interuptions are 10-30 seconds, with occasional 90-120 second pauses. We are still making video calls to family in New Jersey. Certainly not as good as it was back in the marina in Rodney Bay, but better than I dared to hope and well worth the $ to me.

That's impressive, as is 7.7 knots DDW, enjoy! Most folk only do this once in their lives, although I did meet a few who had crossed the Pacific on their second circumnavigation, so best make the best of the experience. I was quite sad when I got to Nuku Hiva, but of course excited at the novelty of the place. Would love some more reports. Good fishing? Are you eating your larger flying fish suicides? Sea sickness? Swims? Marine mammals? Enjoying the birds?

 

[low bum]

I expect prices on Iridium Go and maybe even sat phones will start to drop. Why get a sat phone when you can just use your phone?

 

[MaxDog]

Would love some more reports. Good fishing? Are you eating your larger flying fish suicides? Sea sickness? Swims? Marine mammals? Enjoying the birds?

The fishing hasn't been great. Only two keepers so far, one 10lb Yellowfin and one modest size Mahi. The Yellowfin is just a delicious memory now, I hope we get another soon. Flying fish?! I'd sooner starve. Nobody has been the slightest bit seasick. The Pacific has been a real pussy cat so far, seas very flat, 1-2M at most, and wind 0 to 20 kts. Champagne sailing once we got into the trades. We swam once before finding the wind, none since then, and I badly need a dip. We've seen zero mammals since leaving the Galapagos, which is strange. We had a pair of boobies join us for a few days, sitting on the pulpit whitewashing my anchor, but they left during a rain shower and we haven't seen them again.
I'm trying out a new sail plan today. It's not much faster, if any, than main + poled-out genoa but it tracks straighter and rolls less.

 

[TheDragon]

That really is flat sea, should get a bit more built up further you go, if my experience last year is anything to go by. Flying fish are actually quite tasty, good for breakfast with scrambled eggs, just need some big ones (I had tons of them). Furl the jib and sock the asym and you can easily have a swim, it's not a race. I swam every week, if nothing else you get to watch the gooseneck barnacles grow (and in case you don't know this, once you anchor somewhere for more than seven days, they all die and fall off, so don't waste effort trying to scrape them off). I also had no mammals after Galapagos. But tons of birds, even got besieged by boobies when passing the Galapagos, up to 13 all along the windward lifeline, made such a mess I had to rig a sheet along the lifeline to snap tight and shove them off. I caught more small mahimahis than I could eat, even had them swimming alongside me catching the tiny flying fish we disturbed. And also no seasickness for me. Damn, almost makes me want to do it again!

 

[MaxDog]

Here's a new way that Starlink is changing the game. We received a mayday call today via WhatsApp??! The story I have is another sailing yacht in the area hit a whale and sank! All four occupants now in a liferaft. They contacted a buddy boat using an iridiumGo and their buddy boat got in touch with the Wold ARC fleet (of which we are a member). Several (maybe as many as six) of our wARC fleet boats are close and have diverted to the last know position. A cargo ship is also diverting. I am 250nm away, so not in a position to help. A new WhatsApp group has been formed with the assisting boats, coast guard (not sure which one), and family of the disabled. The nearest boat is about 45nm away. Let's hope they are able to find them quickly! Four people in a liferaft has got to be miserable.

 

['Bacco]

Here's a new way that Starlink is changing the game. We received a mayday call today via WhatsApp??! The story I have is another sailing yacht in the area hit a whale and sank! All four occupants now in a liferaft. They contacted a buddy boat using an iridiumGo and their buddy boat got in touch with the Wold ARC fleet (of which we are a member). Several (maybe as many as six) of our wARC fleet boats are close and have diverted to the last know position. A cargo ship is also diverting. I am 250nm away, so not in a position to help. A new WhatsApp group has been formed with the assisting boats, coast guard (not sure which one), and family of the disabled. The nearest boat is about 45nm away. Let's hope they are able to find them quickly! Four people in a liferaft has got to be miserable.

Looks like great news and all due to Starlink.

BOLO Ended (0615z): Final Update: All four (crew + Captain) have been rescued. Their vessel sank just 15 minutes after striking a whale. Their EPIRB never functioned as intended. 10 vessels responded, all due to Starlink being active.

Update 4: Rolling Stone Spotted Liferaft

Update 3: SV Rolling Stone, SV Far, MV Dong A MAIA are closest and responding now (0459z 3/13)

Update 2: Eight or more vessels are responding. New position from SV RAINDANCER @ 0223 11 31.129 S / 117 31.247 W
Update 1:

SV Raindancer has sunk in the Pacific. All four crew are not injured and in LIFERAFT with Dinghy in tow with ample food water. Their iridium battery is low. Iridium appears to be their only comms device and will only turn it on every 2 or 3 hours. THEIR LAST COORDINATES ARE 11°30.7S. 117°26.9W.

 

[MaxDog]

From a WhatsApp chat:
"UPDATE- This was posted in the Salty Dawg group Whatsapp page: Well done cruisers. Calling out salty dawg SV Far for helping in the following rescue posted on WWS site: Early last night my friend on SV RAINDANCER @distantseasyachts hit a whale mid-Pacific while crossing from Galapagos to the Marqueses….to put that into perspective, they were 13 days into a 20-22 day, 3000nm ocean crossing. The Capt reports the whale strike damaged the skeg & prop strut, and the boat was completely underwater in <15mins, forcing all 4 crew to abandon into the life raft. They brought provisions and water, secured the dinghy to the raft, and carried emergency equipment for communications and survival. Their IridiumGo device was instrumental in broadcasting their position via the vessel’s PredictWind tracking page, in addition to their SPOT tracker. Unfortunately, it appears their activated EPIRB malfunctioned and did not transmit a GPS position to the Coast Guard. In an astonishing effort by the cruising community, Boat Watch, and World ARC participants, communications were quickly established with nearby vessels using Starlink devices and assistance coordinated immediately. Within 10hrs they were rescued by SV ROLLING STONES, with assistance from SV FAR and SV SOUTHERN CROSS in the vicinity as well. All crew are safe and even sent me a voice message thanking everyone involved. Watching this rescue-at-sea be conducted so efficiently is truly inspirational, let alone in real-time thanks to the updates from vessels equipped with Starlink devices. I was able to WhatsApp and Facebook message with the nearest yacht to pass along additional info.….something that may not be appreciated by land people for how remarkable it is. The Pacific Ocean is a vastness which can barely be fathomed. We’ve entered a new era for safety-at-sea and tonight’s events highlight the need for widespread utilization of all available resources to promote the type of competent and outstanding seam’nship displayed by these crews. The swiftness of action from SV RAINDANCER’s crew was incredible given the circumstances, and I’m grateful to all others involved for assisting our friends. I can only hope this becomes a case study for model emergency response in the future."

 

[socalrider]

Wow. Are these the guys who sank? If so, a 1976 KP44 - textbook bulletproof blue water cruiser, sunk by a whale in under 15 minutes. Very scary stuff. Not to derail the thread, but this does provide an affirmation of the argument for a multihull I think - might have been holed, but would not have sunk like that.

 

[us7070]

I expect prices on Iridium Go and maybe even sat phones will start to drop. Why get a sat phone when you can just use your phone?

I'm long a few of those devices...

was thinking of putting them on ebay for that reason.., and the fact that I don't use them very much.

i think i will keep one of them, probably a Go.

I think prudent people will want a backup to their starlink. For many though, an InReach might suffice.

 

[low bum]

Yeah I was hoping to see a long thin bulb keep and twin rudders, but no...
Maybe tore the skeg off?