is Starlink good for yachts

Starlink phonecalls, internet and predictwind sailing weather

Starlink - What's all the fuss about?

Gone are the days of celestial navigation, an art in itself. The reduction in HF (High Frequency) radio use, is sadly fast in decline too. Plotting courses on paper charts (charting) is also on the way out. While some may argue (including various state authorities and those who teach it) about the ‘safety’ associations of some or all of these navigation techniques, technology is changing and is here to stay, whether we like it or not.

Similar arguments existed with the introduction of calculators, mobile phones, microwave cooking appliances, and even autopilots on yachts and linking these to electronic chart applications. Some are still stuck in the fifties and good luck to them. As for the rest of us, cruising has benefited as a result and improved out-of-sight from a safety perspective.

The aviation market embraced this technology and it has proven to save businesses bottom-line while improving safety and reliability. Many airlines stopped using paper charts in 2005-2010. Now (with specific regulatory approval) the iPad or similar devices are used for all their navigation documentation. Think about it the next time you board an international flight. The HF radio is nearly obsolete as well, even some aviation VHF communication devices are in decline in that industry.

Of note, the UK Hydrographic Office will be withdrawing all paper charting by the end of 2030. A bit of a shakeup considering they are going completely electronic. You can read more here.

Private companies such as Starlink have joined the internet satellite constellation race forcing technology to keep up and compete or go under. The early projects by Iridium and Globalstar with phone communications were abandoned some years back. I remember someone commenting that NASA would never use SpaceX to deliver their astronauts into space. Now SpaceX (owner of Starlink) is using its own spacecraft to deliver later-model Iridium satellites into space, as well as NASA astronaut recovery.

Satellite communications - we either embrace it or get left behind.

...Satellite communications - we either embrace it or get left behind..
Starlink affordability upside on yachts

1. Starlink is a cheaper satellite communications provider when compared to other satellite communications providers offering a similar product. Satellite communication affordability will get better as satellite technology advances and more people connect, bringing more competition to the market. When comparing Iridium and Starlink affordability communication options today (October 2024), Iridium has been left well behind on costs, speeds and reliability.

2. There is no other similar-priced satellite network that permits the upload and download speeds than that of Starlink while offshore (including ALL Satphones). Even at home, we have moved to Starlink, with the NBN network speeds in Australia being insanely slow when compared to other first-world countries.

3. From a cost perspective, while cruising, Starlink is far safer than using the Iridium package we had previously, which we discuss shortly.

4. Included in the Starlink cost is the ability to use the normal standard internet browsing options, identical to that on land, but at sea. Better still is the ability to make phone calls anywhere in the world.

5. Predictwind comes into its own offshore and is used by 99% of the cruisers we have met. Having a large download with Starlink permits maximum use of all the downloadable components of the Predictwind website (whilst offshore) and Predictwind Offshore App. This is a must-have and a real winner in our books. 

Starlink affordability downside on yachts

1. If you are looking to get and use Starlink communications on the cheap, don’t waste your time and stick with the old horse-and-cart. Starlink is not a cheap alternative. It is an alternative that costs money and uses AC power, so may not be for you.

2. Most State Authorities are out of step with this technology. The only way they can get a cut of this financial pie is to impose a fee for use in their country. Read our example here (30-seconds).

3. When Starlink checks and then does updates (all automatic), as well as downloading the update and connecting to Starlink satellites each time you switch on, are drawn down from the account holder's credit. We have our Starlink on permanently, as we have the power to do that, reducing some of these challenges. It is all in their fine print.

‘Starlink being safer?’ We have first-hand proof in our case.

The biggest leap forward for us as a low-end user of Starlink is safety at sea. We do this using three key free Apps:
1. Predictwind - weather, route data logging,
2. WhatsApp - emergency medical first aid and communications (phone, video and text), and
3. Skype - emergency phone and video backup.

Predictwind - Weather forcasting

We use the offshore weather routing and wind forecasting of Predictwind. This program provides reasonably good objective forecasts and is certainly a big step forward in offshore sail-planning safety.

Offshore, Predictwind needs a satellite communications medium to deliver this information and an option they offer is Iridium. The Predictwind IridiumGo package utilises Iridium cards as part of a purchase package. In our opinion, the IridiumGo component and features available, do not justify the cost when compared to Starlink and there features they offer.

We have used both the Predictwind IridiumGo and Predictwind DataHub Packages. We found the Predictwind IridiumGo slow, limited with download and on some occasions unreliable with connection. The Predictwind DataHub, together with Starlink has proved very reliable with insanely fast.

WhatsApp - Primary internet safety communications

WhatsApp is a free download. Once installed on your device and connected to the internet via Starlink, an option exists to make phone and video calls to other WhatsApp devices anywhere in the world with no delay in communication.

Our primary ‘safety purpose’ of WhatsApp is an agreement we have with our Medical Practitioner. Should we call him on WhatsApp 24/7 and mention the word ‘EMERGENCY’, he knows that the situation requires immediate medical attention. This practitioner actually works in Emergency, and so carries the knowledge base required when times get tough. We use the ‘video’ feature of WhatsApp for this delivery.

As a medical ‘safety backup’ to this emergency feature, we have Skype video calling available as well.

Our media devices are an iPad and /or iPhone that can be placed hands-free somewhere while you work on a patient and can be seen ‘live’ by our practitioner, who can assist via video and speaker, monitoring and guiding your actions.

Before our offshore passages, we WhatsApp video call our medical practitioner as a crew. This allows the crew to see how it all works and put a name to the face. As a side note, our medical practitioner also has our medical kit contents on file, so can guide and assist via live video link, rendering on-the-spot assistance with our First Aid Kit contents.

We can attest to first-hand experience using this system when a third-degree burn was sustained offshore, midway on a six-day passage. This article and the big lessons learned can be viewed here (5-minute read).

The secondary purpose of WhatsApp is to communicate with family. It is a game-changer in this area. Until you have tried it, you don't know what you have been missing.

Skype - Backup internet communications

Skype on the other hand is used for the odd time a call needs to be made to a non-WhatsApp number, such as businesses or government departments. You need to establish an account and while Skype provides video (which is free), the phone component is billed per minute.

Lastly, you can watch the rugby live whilst on passage and stay up to date with all the chat going on on the various Pacific Rallies WhatsApp pages. Believe it or not, there is good cruising-related contributions from the various members.

if you are trying to do Starlink on the cheap, you will have problems.
Starlink Monthly Plans
(October 2024)

The bottom line here is if you are trying to do Starlink on the cheap, you will have problems.

At the time of writing, we are traversing various countries back to Australia. We purchased and registered our Starlink product in Australia, so as far as Starlink is concerned, our home base is Australia.

We are spending less than two months in each country we visit. This is very important to note as Starlink T’s & C’s state that over two months in a different country (outside your own), is not permitted unless you change your address to that country. Many cruisers change their address, then when they get home, change address again.

One can opt-in or opt-out of Starlink plans as we do when coming into or going out of a country. Opting-in takes effect immediately, and opting-out takes effect at the end of your billing period (the billing period date is the date you sign up to Starlink).

Only two Starlink options are suitable for cruising/sailing. These were recently changed to:
1. Roam - Unlimited - coastal coverage (<12 nautical miles off the coast) in territorial waters where Starlink provides active coverage, can be used on offshore passage with limitations. Read the Roam - Unlimited T’s & C’s here, and

2. Global Roam - higher priced alternative that we don't use.

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