2022: And in Conclusion

New Liferaft  

Our four man liferaft purchased in 2008 in St Marten was overdue for a checkup and, when trying to locate a liferaft servicing agent on the east coast of the US, found that it would be a costly exercise to ship it somewhere (Florida for example).  It would also cost at least one thousand USD to service (a quote over the phone) as the liferaft was well overdue for a service because of covid having delayed things.  

On balance we opted to purchase a new US-made one, three year inspections, offshore, cost effective solution.  We purchased a six man … liferaft and had it delivered to the boatyard at Deltaville and it was there waiting for us when we arrived back at the boat.  We went from a four man liferaft to a six man as the new rafts are considerably lighter than older ones, we will have guests on occasion and with four people possibly in the liferaft plus at least one jerry can of water this seemed a more appropriate size.  Cost difference of a six man vs four man was very small.

We also keep the liferaft in a valise in the main cockpit locker so it is weather protected, easily deployed and a valise is much lighter than a fiberglass-contained raft.  So, it's just a better option if only the GS is available to deploy it (I may be injured or worse).  Being in the cockpit will also make it easier to launch via our sugar-scoop stern.

Iridium Go from Predict Wind

This was purchased and carried in personal baggage from Oz to the US.  Fairly simple to set up the satphone and other hardware by following the instructions.  We have used it this season, almost exclusively for weather reports while at sea and out of range of the internet.  It works well and Predict Wind is a good charting program.  Unfortunately, most of their instructions are on the internet only, some are slightly out of date as equipment and programs have changed a bit over the years,  I also had to contact them several times for assistance (they respond helpfully within a day or so) but their whole setup could be improved with a comprehensive owners manual, which can be downloaded up front, much like other chart programs provide.  The other apps – Iridium Go and Iridium Mail – I hardly used and, even after registering for a new telephone number on line I still had to go and request what the actual number is.  

I would also suggest that Predict Wind offers some comparative information re Iridium Go vs Starlink, which appears to be a more popular internet setup here in the Caribbean among cruisers, as they also market this gear too.