T&T: Spot

[Milt Baker]

I used Spot for about six months of cruising through the Mediterranean in 2008 and it lived up to my expectations and its advertising promises.  I found it easy to use and 100% reliable.  Spot provides an easy and inexpensive way to keep friends and family posted on where Bluewater is, and having the "911" (emergency) feature was comforting, though thankfully we never needed it.  By no means do I consider Spot as a replacement for an EPIRB, but it's nice backup to an EPIRB and has many collateral benefits. 

I found it easy to use the online Spot interface to set up e-mail addresses of friends and family I wanted notified when we press the OK button on the Spot communicator to send a position report.  I especially liked the Google Earth interface which shows our exact location on a map or satellite photo, a feature I can use as often as I want at no additional cost. 

If you want to see an example of a Spot position (sent this morning), check http://www.bluewaternav.com/Locate.htm and click on Click Here

One downside is that the position display technology is (I believe) still in beta testing and shows Bluewater's location for only seven days, so you cannot get a position if we haven't sent one in the past week.  And there's an annual subscription fee to be paid.  

For my needs, Spot was a good investment. I give it an "A"!  Your mileage may vary!

I have no business or other relationship with Spot other than as a satisfied customer.  

--Milt Baker, Nordhavn 47 Bluewater, Key Biscayne, FL

Hands wrote: 

> Does anybody have any, good or bad, experience with the "Spot"
> satellite
> system?