12:00.43N 70:27.52E
Bryan writes...
The last few night watches have had me thinking about the considerable kit that we carry on board. Some good, some bad, some ugly...
Best kit: The Raymarine electronics; combined chartplotter, radar and speed / depth / wind instruments. It’s been great having it all as one integrated unit in the cockpit. We’ll consider adding the AIS (Automatic Identification System- a VHF based shipping traffic identification system, which you can overlay over the chart and radar information) module in the future, although I’m not sure that the modest sized display might get a little cluttered with this much information. It took three temporary breakdowns before I found the gremlin (lose electrical connection) in the system, and it still made the list, which is really saying something.
Worst kit: a clear winner- the Iridium satellite phone. What a piece of junk. The brochure uses key phrases such as: ‘reliable’, ‘trusted’, ‘industrial grade’, ‘innovative’, ‘powerful’, and ‘enhanced features’. What it doesn’t mention (but should) is that the level of user friendliness will frustrate the cr {CHANGE TO AT} p out of you; refuse to talk to your lap top; occasionally turn itself off and wipe its memory; and even more occasionally, work as a mobile communications tool. And costs you a fortune for the honour.
Best back up kit: Our Garmin handheld GPS (60CSX). We had this on as a backup for all passages, and kept it bed-side as an anchor watch alarm when at anchor.
Best toy: Our new Avon Rover 315 RIB and Yamaha 15hp two stroke outboard. What a fantastic combination! She can touch twenty knots with just me on board, and about seventeen knots with four of us on board, and tow a knee boarder.
Questionable toys: We carried our bulky kayaks a long way and hardly used them. I’m not sure I’d bother bringing them next time...
Kit you could live without, but why would you? IPods (although it’s a nasty marketing move by Apple to give the first generation ITouchs only 16GB memory), marine BBQ on the pushpit, and portable DVD player.
Essential Kit: Raymarine VHFs. Not only useful for blagging diesel off the Indian Coastguard 250 miles off the coast of India, but essential for arranging social calendars around the Chagos anchorages. The handheld ones were great too- mainly used for communication between the front (look out) and back (driver) of the boat as we enter anchorages.
Kit you hope never to see / use: The Bombard life raft and McMurdo EPIRB. I’ve never spent so much money on things I hope never to have the need to use.
|
