We had recent news from some friends who arrived in French Polynesia and said that they were somewhat deflated rather than elated.  When we arrived there it was a time of high excitement. We got to wondering what would make the difference. They were two and so were we. We stopped at Galapagos but they did not - their crossing from Panama was only about 6 days longer than ours from Galapagos. So what else? Well, they did not have SSB but had satellite comms - we had both. We believe that daily conversations with other folks on an SSB net does wonders for morale and the sheer enjoyment of long ocean passages.
Our watch system had Norma on until midnight and me 0000 to 0600, so Norma was on the crossing net and was net controller 1 or 2 days a week.  She really looked forward to the morning net and would then update me on boat positions and what was happening when I awoke.
It was the same on passages to and from NZ, from Vanuatu to PNG where Norma called in to two nets, and then again in the Indian, South and North Atlantic oceans.  Some say SSB is "old technology " and it has been around for donkeys' years but you cannot run voice nets using satellite technology except possibly at a cost far in excess of the cost of running an SSB.

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Dick - 6/29/2019

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Dick - 6/29/2019

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Philip Heaton - 6/29/2019

We had recent news from some friends who arrived in French Polynesia and said that they were somewhat deflated rather than elated.  When we arrived there it was a time of high excitement. We got to wondering what would make the difference. They were two and so were we. We stopped at Galapagos but they did not - their crossing from Panama was only about 6 days longer than ours from Galapagos. So what else? Well, they did not have SSB but had satellite comms - we had both. We believe that daily conversations with other folks on an SSB net does wonders for morale and the sheer enjoyment of long ocean passages.
Our watch system had Norma on until midnight and me 0000 to 0600, so Norma was on the crossing net and was net controller 1 or 2 days a week.  She really looked forward to the morning net and would then update me on boat positions and what was happening when I awoke.
It was the same on passages to and from NZ, from Vanuatu to PNG where Norma called in to two nets, and then again in the Indian, South and North Atlantic oceans.  Some say SSB is "old technology " and it has been around for donkeys' years but you cannot run voice nets using satellite technology except possibly at a cost far in excess of the cost of running an SSB.

Hi Phillip,
For those who wander widely and cruise remote areas of the world, 10 years ago I would have said: no question: get a SSB rig, well set up. And then I would have encouraged a ham ticket to greatly expand the capabilities of their rig.
These days I would start by asking what they want to achieve. If they only are interested in emergency comm, emails and collecting wx data including grib, I would say to go sat-phone with a data hook-up. Then I would educate them that they would be missing out big-time on being part of the cruising community in a myriad of wonderful ways including the comm interactions you so nicely described. And that most of what is easily accomplished on a sat-phone (wx, gribs and email) can also be accomplished through the SSB with a little more effort and sometimes some frustration. Some people just do not care and, for them, I think a sat-phone is best and finesse the learning curve that SSB, ham or marine, entails.
My best, Dick Stevenson, WCZ 7717 and KC2HKW, s/v Alchemy

Hi Dick
Yes, we set up Minnie B some eleven years ago and at first we used the SSB with pactor modem for everything boatie: GRIBs, e-mail and voice nets.  Our satphone was for speaking to immediate family in the UK and UK MRCC if needed.  After a few years we started to get a bit fed up with the download/upload time and began using the satphone for emails, blog, weather etc so that the SSB became voice only.
We both believe that being able to talk to other cruisers when on passage makes a huge difference in the enjoyment of the passage ... especially if you are catching up someone or pulling away ... and ultimately in the sense of satisfaction at the end of the passage, having had the company of others albeit you might be hundreds or even thousands of miles apart.
Very best wishes
Phil