Yotreps Puts You on the Map

by Cruising Editor on 28 Sep 2006 Keeping in touch with family and friends while cruising has become easier and easier, thanks to the existence of internet cafes, the wonders of Sailmail, and the expensive but excellent satellite services that exist.

However, there’s nothing like allowing your loved ones to SEE exactly where you are on a map, and thanks to the dedication of a great group of people led by Mike Harris of the well-known (to long-range cruisers) Pangolin website, you can easily allow your family this pleasure – and it’s FREE for all small boat cruisers.

All you have to do is send an update to Yotreps, and to see how it will be displayed, click http://www.pangolin.co.nz/yotreps/reporter_list.php and look for VHN8927 or Blackwattle (This is the current position of our yacht Blackwattle as we head towards the Maderias, the Portugese island group on the curising route to the Canaries and the start of the ARC rally.)

In addition to allowing friend to know your position daily, there are other benefits, as Mike Harris explains:

-YOTREPS position and weather reports are shared with international marine forecasters who use them as a check on predictions and so help to improve their accuracy.

-Reports are distributed to Search and Rescue co-ordinators so that in an emergency they not only have a better picture of speeds, courses and conditions experienced by boats in difficulties, but can also locate others in the area that may be able to offer assistance.

-Reports contribute to a growing data base of offshore weather observations. These are used to provide the most up to date monthly analysis of conditions experienced on the more popular cruising routes.

-Participating boats have their own custom web link to the YOTREPS vessel tracker showing a plot of their last 30 position reports.

-Access to the YOTREPS E-mail List Services. This is an e-mail delivery system specifically designed for marine users with slow, low bandwidth connections. Examples of postings available include Bob McDavitt's Weathergrams or Fiji Fleet codes. Users can request just a single posting of a particular item or place a regular order for bulletins to be sent at the time of issue.

-E-mail feeds of reports from other boats on passage. Sign up on the E-mail List server to receive postings of reports from other boats and with a free download copy of the Offshore Reporter you can plot courses, speeds and wind vectors of other boats on passage with you.

-YOTREPS can handle position reports from boats anywhere in the world. See the list of current participants

If you're organising a race, rally or special event contact Pangolin tech support and ask about custom web service plotting for specified sea areas or routes.

For more details of how YOTREPS works and how it can work for you, click http://www.pangolin.co.nz/index.php!Here! to go to the Pangolin Home Page and then click on ‘Yotreps Offshore Reports