|
Northern Light.
In contrary to most of the cruising community, who like to go sailing where the sun shines and the water is warm, Deborah Shapiro and Rolf Bjelke from “Northern Light” prefer the colder regions of the world. More than 20 years they sail mostly in Antarctica and have some really exciting stories to tell. Like most boats sailing in these lattitudes the 40-foot steel ketch “Northern Light” is painted in bright red. “Looks better on the pictures”, says Deborah with a big grin. I met the interesting couple 2003 in New Zealand, where they were getting their boat ready for a new voyage to Antarctica. One of their improvements on Northern Light was a PTCII-ex. Now, almost 3 years later, I was curious what kind of experiences they made with mail on board and asked Deborah to give me an interview, which she happily did. Via PACTOR, of course!
When did you have your first experiences with binary radio communication? "1982. That was a simpler form however: Morse Code! It was the only method of communication from the boat during our first polar voyage, which we call "North Ice --- South Ice". In 1982 we sailed from Sweden, north to a summer visit to Svalbard, to the edge of the North Pole pack ice and Greenland. Continuing through 1983, we transported ourselves south, through the Panama Canal, to Tahiti, and then Chile. Sailing south in the Channels, we left Cape Horn for a summer visit to the Antarctic Peninsula, in early 1984. (This voyage is documented in the book NORTHERN LIGHT.) It's long ago... there hadn't been more that a dozen yachts to the Peninsula then. Now some 20 boats visit each season! In 1989, I used Amtor for the first time. That was when returned to the Peninsula and spent the winter, letting our 40-foot steel ketch "Northern Light" freeze into the ice at Hovgaard Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. (Our book TIME ON ICE describes that expedition.) During that winter we were able to communicate with the other people spending the winter at both British and American scientific stations, using Amtor."
Since when do you use winlink on board? We bought an SCS PTC-IIex with an upgrade to Pactor III, just three years ago, in 2003. It has worked flawlessly since then. If I knew then what I know now, I would definitely have bought the pro model. Computer-controlled freq selection is a real time saver when working a Winlink or Sailmail station. What kind of advantages did the new developments in radio communication like email bring for your unusual life on board "Northern Light"? Digital comms have come a long way since then, and the people at SCS have been on the leading edge of those developments. And the Internet has made a big difference, as it expands our usage, allowing us to use amateur radio to be in contact with non-amateurs. That is perhaps the nicest feature for us, as it allows contact to many family members and friends. We also like using email aboard, as it frees us from having to have skeds. Skeds, after all are very difficult for a short-handed crew to keep, or re-stated: very easy to miss, due to the fact that the weather never considers our pre-determined skeds! Another reason we like getting mail, is that we can savour a letter, saving it to re-read at will. That is a big difference from the "empty space" we often feel when we finish a voice contact on the radio. With voice, it's as if the person was there with us, then suddenly disappeared. It is not that way with email, which is both less intrusive, and more long-lasting. The most important feature of digital comms, as far as we are concerned however has to do with safety. Via Pactor III and the Internet, our access to raw weather information has increased exponentially. That allows us, while sailing, to better plan our route, and perhaps avoid the worst weather. "
|
|
Please give our readers an example to show them, how you can get weather information through PACTOR. "Our current expedition is a 4-year circumnavigation of Antarctica, during which we are making summer visits at many islands in the Southern Ocean. The first two summers were dedicated to the islands south of Australia (Macquarie Island) and New Zealand (Auckland and Campbell Islands). Certainly, nearly all who read this will already know about GRIB files. Our experience over the last few years mirrors what we hear from many other sailors: that GRIB files, though solely a computer-generated model, are surprisingly accurate. While at Auckland Islands this past austral summer (January 2006) we had truly awful weather, as gale after gale passed over us. We were giving up hope for any decent visit to Campbell Island (S54 degrees), as, statistically, it has a reputation for even worse weather. And we couldn't wait forever. Both the summer season and our one-month permit were running out. Assuming that GRIB forecasts are not too accurate beyond 3-4 days, that is usually the limit for us. But this time we took a 10-day forecast. We thought to get an idea about what the computer model foresaw for our short visit to Campbell and the start of the 4,800-nm run to Chile. In two days' time near-calm conditions were forecast for the Auckland to Campbell Island area. (They are 150 nautical miles from each other.) And as we clicked forward in time, the 5-10 knots wind forecast repeated and repeated. Certainly, something was wrong. There was no way such weather would last. But it came. And it did last! And we had the visit of a lifetime at Campbell Island, nesting area of many seabirds, including the magestic Wandering Albatross. To be fair, we must tell you that the GRIB forecast, as well as Australian and New Zealand human forecasters all missed predicting one of the worst storms we have ever experienced. It was in January 2005, while we were anchored at Auckland Island. The only warning we got was a slight "blip' on the cold front, drawn on the Kiwi analysis, which we took by weatherfax. Rolf said to me: "Looks like we better be prepared for a secondary low building on the front." He was right, and we hung on through the night, but just barely. A word to the wise... "
"Do you get all your weather information via PACTOR or you have a back-up system? "We are set up to use the SCS modem to receive weatherfax, should our other paper-based system fail. Why are we using the other system? Personal preference, really, because our laptop is set up to be used on the nav desk, where it can be at risk of water damage from the close-by main hatch. The weatherfax system we have links the radio directly to a printer...no computer necessary. Were I to build a new boat.... we'd have a totally protected comms station, with the laptop built in, and always available."
Tell us about your plans for the future! As I write, (June 2006) we are in Puerto Montt Chile. We are about to depart south in the Patagonian Channels. By the end of November we should be in Puerto Williams, re-provisioned and ready for departure for the next leg of the Antarctic circumnavigation -- to South Georgia and other islands in the southern South Atlantic. Michael Wnuk, DL1JD & Natahalie Müller KD7SVTSeptember 2006, Madagascar, Indic Ocean |
