NAVTEX - Merging New and Old Technologies - Receiving Weather and Navigational Information 

Historically, in the USA from the 1970’s, weather information could be collected in one of three ways based on your distance from shore. 

Since the early 2000’s satellite systems for small boats have come online. Satellite communication systems, originally reserved for mega yachts, are now accessible for recreational boaters. Cellphones and internet only work close to shore.

Let’s explore the traditional methods to access weather information on small boats. They are tested systems that do not rely on satellites.

Inshore 

For inshore and near shore (up to about 15 miles off shore), weather information is broadcast on designated VHF Weather Channels by national weather organizations (National Weather Service in the USA). 

Coastal

For coastal sailing (up to about 150-200 miles off shore) NAVTEX, has provided weather and critical navigation information from stations along the coast all around the world. In the USA, on the Atlantic Coast coverage has been historically provided by broadcasting stations in Boston (MA), Portsmouth (VA), Savannah (GA) and Miami (FL). Additional stations provide coverage for the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Coast, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. NAVTEX is broadcast over High Frequency (HF) with each station broadcasting at specific, non-overlapping, times. To access NAVTEX messages, ships originally used dedicated receivers that printed the messages on paper. Early systems were very pricey and typically reserved for commercial shipping. 

Offshore

For ocean passages, national weather services (NOAA in the USA) broadcast weather charts (Weatherfax) on HF reaching sailors and merchant mariners well over 1000 nautical miles from shore. Historically, Weatherfax could be received by a dedicated receiver or by connecting a short wave receiver radio to a computer.  Over time, technology matured and additional and less expensive options became available. Since about 2010, a short wave receiver can be connected to a tablet and with a dedicated app and can be used to read and store the weather information. Additionally, synthesized voice weather forecast is also broadcast specified times over HF from several US stations.

A Closer Look at NAVTEX

What makes NAVTEX particularly useful as it provides up to date weather information, navigational information, tsunami warnings, and also broadcast any Search and Rescue (SAR) activities in an easy to access format. It’s therefore an important tool for both coastal and offshore sailing. In the 1990’s and 2000’s self contained receivers became available. They had their own (typically) small screens and were still a little costly. 

Recently a new option has become available to receive NAVTEX. The new system offers several new advances. It consists of an antenna and a small receiver box. The receiver not only stores messages but also uses Bluetooth to communicate to a tablet, so you do not have to find space for another display. One of the main advantages of the new system is that can listen, receive, and store messages from different stations without a person having to listen at the different predetermined times. Once the messages are received and stored, you can then download them to your tablet and view them at any time that is convenient. This last feature is particularly important for short handed sailing as with one person on watch (and the other resting) you never know if at the particular broadcast time you may need to reef the sail, change course, or do some other task that cannot wait. 

We recently purchased one of these NAVTEX systems. We chose a UK built system built by NASA, the UK firm not the US space agency. Because the system uses a fraction of an amp (very little power) it can be left on 24/7. Additionally, beyond providing great flexibility on what messages you want to receive and store, the most recent messages are displayed first so it’s easy to sort through them.

We successfully tested it onboard and we are ready to permanently install it. Here are some pictures of the temporary setup that we used for testing. 

NAVTEX receiver, connected to 12V power, antenna, and a tablet via Bluetooth

NAVTEX antenna, near its final location in mizzen rigging

NAVTEX messages from Bermuda:  weather synopsis and navigation warning

We tested the system on Rosalind and were surprised in several ways. First the interface only took a few minutes to learn (very intuitive and easy to use), so all good news there. Second, we did not receive any US weather information. It appears that none was broadcast! We will double check this once the system is permanently installed. Lastly we received weather and navigation information from Bermuda and Nova Scotia, Canada, well beyond the expected broadcasting range of both stations! We have been very impressed with the merger of the old and new technologies to deliver a very functional, relatively inexpensive, and very useful/powerful tool!

A Summer/Fall Cruise to Saint Michaels, Maryland

For our first cruise in eight years we chose to sail to Saint Michaels, one of our favorite destinations on the Chesapeake Bay. This cruise was almost ten years to the date from our shakedown cruise of October 2016! The 25 mile trip from our mooring on the West River took us six hours. Normally we would do it five but growth on the hull and propeller together with some head winds slowed us down a little.

It took four trips from home to load Rosalind with the inflatable dinghy, outboard, food, clothes, paddle boards, and bags of ancillary stuff. After dropping the mooring pendant, we brought Rosalind to the dock, added 50 gallons of fresh water to our main tank, and headed out.

Rosalind at the start of the cruise, with dinghy and outboard onboard

 

The weather forecast called for less than 7 knots from the NE gusting to 10 so we thought we would have light winds all the way. 

Motoring down the West River, the wind picked up and as soon as the wind angle allowed, we rolled out the full mainsail. By the time we got to the mouth of the river we had different conditions from what had been forecast. The direction was spot on but the intensity was not. With a fetch of over 10 miles, the wind had built up a short chop that was amplified by the shallows around the river entrance. Rounding the Green 1 day marker we had steep 3 foot waves and the Chesapeake Bay was covered with white caps. On a few occasions we heard a little whistling of the wind in the rigging. After turning SE, we partially unfurled the jib, shut off the motor and plowed through the chop, close hauled. With full main and partly furled jib, we sailed beautifully at 4.5 to 5 knots.

It took us a little over an hour to sail across the Chesapeake Bay and enter the Eastern Bay. We motor sailed for an hour with the mainsail before furling the main and, with the wind on the nose, slowly motored to the mouth of the Miles River. Another hour of motor sailing, with the jib, got us to Saint Michaels.

Sailing from the West River to Saint Michaels, Maryland

Saint Michaels can be reached by boat, from the Miles River or from San Domingo Creek

Being a holiday weekend and the end of summer, there were about 50 boats at anchor. We anchored in 18 feet of water, three-quarters of a mile from the harbor entrance. We had made it to one of our favorite destinations on the Chesapeake!

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and stayed in Saint Michaels until Tuesday morning. After arriving we launched the dinghy, put on the motor and got to shore, taking the last available spot at the public dinghy dock. Saint Michaels was packed and water taxis, center consoles, and tour boats were milling around the harbor. We did a very short walk, had a great dinner in town, and returned to Rosalind. We had been up since 4 am so we switched on the anchor light and turned in early. 

Over the next two days we went to shore a total of six times. We walked around town, walked the parks, and did a 4 mile walk to the nearest supermarket. Saint Michaels is a wonderful small town with lots to offer. The town has a fascinating history, is nicely set up for walking with shaded streets and attractive historic buildings, and has great restaurants and coffee shops. We feel it’s one of the best destinations on the Chesapeake Bay. 

At Honeymoon Bridge in Saint Michaels

Hollis Park and Honeymoon Bridge

On Sunday the town was buzzing with tourists that had arrived by car or by boat. Monday, the Labor Day holiday, was departure day for most boaters and there was a procession of boats clearing out of town. By Monday evening there were only three sailboats and one trawler at anchor and the marinas were empty. The town had transitioned in just a few hours. Monday evening several restaurants were closed and the town had been transformed. While the holiday bustle was fun to experience, we loved this other side of Saint Michaels and it really felt that we were now sharing the town with the locals. The pace was different, calmer, but the town did not feel  deserted. 

At the almost empty dinghy dock we met Alan and Michelle, two fellow cruising sailors, and chatted for a while. They were on one of the other two sailboats at anchor. We motored out of the harbor with our dinghies as dusk was settling in. The sun had set and the wind had gone to bed for the night. Some of the summer heat was gone and there was a small hint of coolness in the air. It had been a great evening. 

The next morning we brought the outboard and dinghy onboard and by 8 am we were on our way back to the West River. The return trip also took six hours and we motored or motorsailed as the winds were almost on the nose for most of the way back. It had been a memorable shakedown cruise and we enjoyed being part of the Saint Michaels summer to fall transformation. 

Historic buildings from the 1600s adjacent to Muskrat Park

San Domingo Creek, the other way to get to Saint Michaels