SSB frequencies/net for Atlantic crossing in November?

[chrisclaydon]

Anyone know if someone is running an SSB net we can join this year? Planning to go via canaries and arrive in the Caribbean early December. It would be great to be in touch with other boats around us.

Also if anyone can PM me the "secret" frequencies used by the ARC fleet that would be useful so we can listen in for weather info (maybe we'll be even the nearest boat when an ARC boat calls for help!)

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

Anyone know if someone is running an SSB net we can join this year? Planning to go via canaries and arrive in the Caribbean early December. It would be great to be in touch with other boats around us.

Also if anyone can PM me the "secret" frequencies used by the ARC fleet that would be useful so we can listen in for weather info (maybe we'll be even the nearest boat when an ARC boat calls for help!)

It seems absurd if they have secret freqs, for the reason you give.

There must be dozens if not 100's of ARC boats receiving the wx info; surely it would be selfish and unseamanlike not to publicise all safety related transmissions? That is my personal opinion.

I'm planning to be a NARC next year :encouragement: so it's time to jump into this discussion.
Some ARCers may say : 'We collectively paid for that professional weather routeing, why should we share it?'
Others might say, 'I wouldn't like to imagine a non ARC boat being caught out by a storm, which they could have been prepared for, had they known what we knew.'
Are you sure the wx info is actually secret? How secret can SSB transmissions actually be in reality? Maybe they are coded, is that even legal?
Good questions you raise!

 

[john_morris_uk]

It seems absurd if they have secret freqs, for the reason you give.

There must be dozens if not 100's of ARC boats receiving the wx info; surely it would be selfish and unseamanlike not to publicise all safety related transmissions? That is my personal opinion.

I'm planning to be a NARC next year :encouragement: so it's time to jump into this discussion.
Some ARCers may say : 'We collectively paid for that professional weather routeing, why should we share it?'
Others might say, 'I wouldn't like to imagine a non ARC boat being caught out by a storm, which they could have been prepared for, had they known what we knew.'
Are you sure the wx info is actually secret? How secret can SSB transmissions actually be in reality? Maybe they are coded, is that even legal?
Good questions you raise!

There’s no easy way to make plain language SSB secret. So long as you know the frequencies they’re working on you will be able to hear them. Spread spectrum digital technologies and the like aren’t available to ARC boats...

 

[chrisclaydon]

Anyone can listen in if they know the time and frequency, ARC don't own the airwaves. ARC don't publish the frequencies though. ARC boats tend to have less experienced skippers and join ARC for reassurance, they do tend to be the ones in need of rescue occasionally so it's in their interest to have as many other boats listening as possible. Not publishing the frequencies beyond the paying boats is a short-sighted commercial decision, not in the interests of the ARC fleet.

 

[chrisclaydon]

I think I found the frequency hidden here : http://www.yachtcom.co.uk/seacom/ but we still don't know the time....

 

[Roberto]

http://www.yachtcom.co.uk/seacom/ but we still don't know the time....

"WCC ARC group MMSI number"

I wonder how do they get a legal Group MMSI number for boats being licensed in so many different countries hence having different MIDs

 

[dunedin]

I think there is perhaps some unjustified anti-ARC paranoia creeping in here.

All boats on the ARC must have satellite phones, and any (basic) weather information is circulated by that route. All boats also have Yellow Brick trackers, which have a basic messaging facility. So satellite is definitely the primary ARC comms channel.

A (decreasing) minority of boats doing the ARC may also have SSB fitted, and they are encouraged to get together to create SSB group, and tend to choose a coordinator or two. But this is largely informal, and a minority subset of the boats. No idea if they even mention weather on these chats, as very informal.

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

I think there is perhaps some unjustified anti-ARC paranoia creeping in here.

All boats on the ARC must have satellite phones, and any (basic) weather information is circulated by that route. All boats also have Yellow Brick trackers, which have a basic messaging facility. So satellite is definitely the primary ARC comms channel.

A (decreasing) minority of boats doing the ARC may also have SSB fitted, and they are encouraged to get together to create SSB group, and tend to choose a coordinator or two. But this is largely informal, and a minority subset of the boats. No idea if they even mention weather on these chats, as very informal.

Thanks for shining the light on it a bit.

 

[[3889]]

It seems absurd

That's the ARC for you. Pay lots for a misplaced sense of security, a few parties and the imposition of someone else's rules and regulations. Anti-ARC paranoia or rationality?

 

[[3889]]

That's the ARC for you. Pay lots for a misplaced sense of security, a few parties and the imposition of someone else's rules and regulations. Anti-ARC paranoia or rationality? Did Jimmy Cornell do his first Transat in convoy?

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

That's the ARC for you. Pay lots for a misplaced sense of security, a few parties and the imposition of someone else's rules and regulations. Anti-ARC paranoia or rationality?

Personally I agree exactly with your second sentence, but each to their own.

 

[Neil_Y]

I found that you would more than likely meet fellow cruisers who would leave in small packs when the weather was right, they would set up their own nets so we just listened in to theirs as we only had a receiver. Our kicking off point was Gomera and there were many cruisers leaving from there at the time.

 

[t21]

ARC or otherwise, I think you gotta be able to get your own forecast. Instead of SSB, consider listening closely to the sound of bacon frying. You'll probably be ok westbound without forecasts although the only time I foolishly agreed to transat without forecasts we had 5m waves following the tailend of Omar. Sadly this means blowing £1500 or so...