Using Our Electronics -From Predictwind to our Raymarine Chartplotter to our Monitor Wind Vane to Sail the Wild Coast of South Africa!

We used PredictWind Offshore for planning the trip when we had internet, and then during the trip using our Iridium GO! to get updates to know when it was time to seek shelter. This was probably our biggest tool for weather Routing using the ocean current models , as well as four wind and wave forecasts from Predictwind to make sure we got it right.

 

We would not sail any ocean now without the Iridium GO and the Professional version of Predictwind Offshore. I would simply refuse to leave the dock without it!

Latest Video

Here is the latest video with us sailing from Richards Bay, underway through lots of wind and speedy currents on the way to Cape Town. It’s part one of a 2 part series, as we need to seek refuge from an upcoming storm, in East London for a few days.  
http://whereisbrickhouse.com/2019/04/05/sailing-the-african-coast-dodging-storms-zanzibar-and-southward/   http://whereisbrickhouse.com/2019/04/09/communication-evolution/              

Openplotter on a Raspberry pi – An Alternative to Expensive Marine Electronics?

Openplotter on a Raspberry pi

An Alternative or Backup chartplotter, AIS, autopilot etc…This is a detailed 40 minute video…so go in when you have time…Nick Bernstein, truly a warm but geeky sailor (meant in the kindest of ways!) presents a fantastic tutorial introducing how everything plays out with this open platform software/hardware solution for navigating oceans!

I just republished, from “Nick Sails” , a video that may be helpful to some of our more tech savvy viewers. I am simply helping to get this technology out there, for those who may want to explore it further. The world, and its technology is growing so quickly!

DISCLAIMER: I do not know that much about this system, but it appears that if you have some patience, some technical know how with computers, Linux, etc, that this could be an interesting alternative or at least a backup to some of the expensive solutions available for sailors worldwide. It’s inexpensive, but it may require a lot of time and learning. The hardware may or may not be reliable in the marine environment. Hopefully, someone will take this and run with it, and the prices of marine electronics will come down someday. They obviously have a long uphill climb to make it happen, but I thought you might enjoy this product in infancy…though it it very developed too, all at the same time. I’m not sure it’s ready for the big time yet!

I don’t know how reliable it would be in a marine environment, and I’m not sure where or how the support for it is, especially as you are sailing around the world with it. But it’s something that gave me pause, for sure. Someday, maybe I will give it a whirl…Comment on the video after you watch it to let me know if this is something you would like to see more about…

 

Also…he just released another one…here it is:

Part II on Nick Sails on Youtube!

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Valiant 40 Sailboat Tour (#3) Down Below Part 2. Water Tank Repair, Chain Locker, Marine Toilet, Electronics

Nick Sails on Youtube: Here is his next video in his series: