We’re starting to see some terrific photos on Skipr boat pages. So we thought we’d encourage even more of you to put your best foot forward by having a small competition.

At the end of this month (31 May 2012), we’ll have a look at the photos of all boats on the Currently Cruising page. The best picture wins a prize ( a copy of Marilyn Graham’s “Coastal Cruising Companion“) and will be featured on our front page during June.

The rules are simple:

• The picture has to be uploaded to your page by 2000 hrs GMT on 31 May 2012.
• The picture needs to include your boat or part thereof ( not another boat of the same model)

And as they say, the decision of the jury is final!

In recent years, it has become pretty easy to enjoy full fledged Internet access on boats. Much of the coastline is covered by mobile broadband and most of us have learnt to take advantage of that in coastal waters. Dedicated wireless broadband “dongles” are economical to use or we can take advantage of the data-plans which are included with modern smart phones.

Further offshore or on a cruise to the islands, the options narrow. While various companies offer dedicated internet access via Satellite Transceivers, their cost is a barrier to most of us, particularly for casual cruisers.

Thankfully, there have long been economical options for email at sea. Here, we’ll look at a two such solutions, using HF radio and Satellite telephones. And with the introduction of Skipr Plus, it is now possible to  report a position on the Skipr system with just email access. [...]

Skipr.net is providing infrastructure and integration software for the 2011 Pittwater to Coffs Harbour race. The RPAYC is installing Yellow Brick Satellite tracking systems on all participating yachts.

The race starts on 2nd January 2011 and you can follow progress of the yachts on the Pittwater to Coffs website.

Marinetraffic.com falls in the category “why wasn’t I told about this before?”. It aims to plot all ships carrying AIS and uses volunteer ground stations. Stunningly simple concept (connect AIS receiver to a computer and upload AIS data to a central site)

Here is the state of shipping going to and from (and anchored at) Newcastle this morning:

Clicking on a vessel displays its details:

Wow…. Try it out.

Coverage is not complete (it needs a station in MacKay for example) and of course this is not a system on which yachties would want to rely on exclusively, but its yet another reason for having internet access on board. And a sensible resource for those as yet without our own AIS.

The shape of things to come.

We made more progress toward a more consistent feel for the entire site, while keeping the critical “entry” pages small in size and compatible with as many browsers, including those on mobile devices.

Also, the system will keep you logged in for an extended period so you’ll only rarely asked for a log in.

Much remains to be done, but the site is quite functional now. I hope to improve site documentation in the coming week.