When we first started cruising in the 70s a key factor in our desire to keep going was the ability to communicate with friends and family. In 1976 state-of-the-art communication was via an Atlas ham radio. One had to watch band conditions, and the voice connection was often difficult to hear. You’d connect to a shore-based ham station who’d “patch” you into his local phone system.

The issue which generated the biggest problem was schedule – one had to find the correct time of day for good radio propagation, and this varied with location, time of year, and the sun spot cycle. And then there was the problem of hearing what the other folks were saying (and visa versa) with radio static and the interference of other stations.

As the years went by we found ourselves less willing to put up with this hassle and so we communicated less – which of course created other issues.

When we put BEOWULF in the water we obtained a Trimble Sat C terminal from which we could send and receive e-mails. This was a giant step up – no time schedules or band conditions – compose the document and then send it at will. The one negative was cost – about three quarters of a cent per character. This worked out to about five cents a word, and a short message would run a couple of dollars – not a big price, but enough to where we only used the Sat C for business and for very short messages to family.

Then we ran into computer guru and software engineer Jim Corenman in the San Blas Islands, and Jim turned us onto the greatest communication boon ever for cruisers – SSB-based e-mail.

E-mailing with the SSB

Over the last couple of years we’ve seen a big increase in the amount of information which has come to us from cruisers using e-mail. Up until a year ago, this was almost exclusively via shore based connections. But in the last year we’ve gotten a lot of e-mail originating with either ham radio links or via the SailMail association.

Both use a similar approach – a sophisticated modem is connected between a computer and SSB or ham radio, you compose your message on the computer, connect to a shore based station, send the message via the radio, and then in the last step the shore station puts the e-mail into the land based system for final delivery to the addressee.

SailMail

SailMail was started by Stan Honey and Jim Corenman, two experienced sailors who were looking to establish an easier way for cruisers and racers to communicate.

The SailMail system is based on the Airmail software program which Jim wrote, and which is extremely user friendly.

There are presently automated shore based stations in Palo Alto, California and Rock Hill, South Carolina (there are plans in the works for other stations in Hawaii, and the South Pacific).Frequencies range from two to eighteen megs, so it is possible to communicate with the stations over long distances, assuming you get your band conditions right.

SailMail is a nonprofit association of members at present. It costs $200.00 per year to join, which goes to support the private coast stations which handle the e-mail traffic.

Before we left California on this cruise we considered adding SailMail, but with everything else going on decided to wait. When we met up with the Corenmans in the San Blas Islands, it only took a short demonstration of the capabilities of the system to realize that this was the system for us.

Fortunately, Jim had the necessary bits aboard to get us connected, and we can now tell you from first hand experience that this is indeed a wonderful way to stay in touch.

Using SailMail

SailMail runs under Jim’s AirMail program which is Windows 95/98 based, so the command structure will be familiar to you. Once AirMail is open, there is an easy to use method of composing messages, and a built in address book.

Completed messages are saved to an outbox and put in line for when a radio link is established.

A click of the mouse gets you into the AirMail Terminal which controls the modem and radio. With our system, we use an SCS PTC-II modem. This modem actually controls the frequency of the radio as well as interpreting the signals. From the AirMail Terminal you select the best station and frequency, the radio responds, you listen for other people using the station, and if the channel is clear, hit the send button.

The modem then calls the shore station, the shore station responds, they establish a protocol between themselves, and your messages are sent off. If there is any shore based traffic waiting for you it is then sent back.

While the usual caveats of SSB radio usage apply – time of day and band conditions are important – the modem is smart enough to send and receive data under conditions where voice traffic would be impossible.

From a practical standpoint, we’ve used our system from midday through the evening, to early morning hours, with equal success.

Shore Station Cycle

The shore stations up and down load e-mails to/from the Internet once an hour. This means if you send an e-mail to someone who is expecting it, and then wait for a reply, there could be as much as a two hour delay between your message going out, and getting a reply. In a cruising context this is more than acceptable.

SailMail Limitations

SailMail is not intended as a commercial, heavy user service. Because it is a shared system, and only one user can be connected at a time per station, there are built in limitations so that one member does not hog the time available (so far we’ve found it quite easy to get connected).

Messages are limited to 5000 characters – about 1000 words (roughly 3 typed pages).When the shore station gets to 5000 characters the message is automatically cut off – so if you have a long message,like this one, you send it in several parts.

In addition, you are not supposed to use the system more than an average of ten minutes per day, for both sending and receiving. For us, this turns out to be about 15 to 20 messages – more than enough.

Alternate Stations

With the same hardware used for SailMail there are also commercial stations with whom you can communicate as well as ham gateways to the Internet. The commercial stations charge, of course, but if you need to transmit large documents from time to time, or attachments such as spread sheets, they make sense. One of these is Marine Net at www.marinenet.net

Weather Fax

Between the modem and the radio you have the ability to receive radio weather faxes. Jim has written an easy to use fax program called “GetFax” and a companion “ViewFax” program for reviewing the data.

While we have always preferred a dedicated fax receiver, Jim’s programs get around the major drawback of previous computer based systems. Between his software and the radio controlling capability of the modem, you can write up a schedule of times and frequencies for the fax charts in which you have an interest, and the computer-modem-radio combo does the rest automatically – just like our dedicated Furuno 207 (as this is being written, the computer is programmed to pick up faxes from Point Reyes, CA, New Orleans, and Boston.

At present Jim’s “GetFax” and “ViewFax” are included free when you sign up for SailMail and get his “AirMail” program.

Hardware Issues

If you are starting from scratch, Jim Suggests an Icom 710 radio, together with the SCS PTCII or PCT-IIe modem (the latter is the same as the more costly PTC-11, but does not automatically control the radio frequencies).

If you have an existing radio, and it is digitally compatible, such as an SEA 235 Icom M710, or SGC 2000, it can be used with this system

The best bet is to contact one of the vendors who specializes in marine electronics, and who has done these systems before,and then have them put together a package for you – make sure it is tested before you take off!

Security

The SailMail system is not encrypted, and so it is not totally secure. However, it takes a great deal of effort for someone to read the traffic between a shore station and another boat, and unless there are big sums of money involved, it would hardly be worth the effort.

More Information

If you are intrigued here’s how to get more info: For SailMail go to http://www.sailmail.com

Here you will find all of the technical details about the system along with a list of vendor contact numbers and/or web site/e-mail addresses.

You can down load a free copy of Jim Corenman’s AirMail program at http://www.airmail2000.com

Our Conclusion

We’ve been using SailMail for a week now and we love it. The fact that the individual messages are essentially free (aside from the annual $200.00 membership) means we are sending and receiving a lot more e- mails than before. That contact with home makes us feel less isolated, and much more in touch-which means we’ll probably spend more time afloat…

In closing I should mention that I do not have any tolerance for sophisticated gear which is fiddly to use ashore-or afloat. I am very happy to tell you that this system is user friendly, even if you are not technically inclined. The interface is intuitive, and once you learn four or five basic commands, you are in business. We’ve found it simple to come to terms with, and by the end of the first couple of sessions felt reasonably comfortable with the computer-modem-radio operation.

If staying in touch is important to you, this is the answer!