We’re full on again for the start of a belated summer Med season, with some cautious notes of optimism in the air. However, there’s some post lockdown madness on our doorstep here in Mallorca with tourists behaving badly, and our US office in Florida was forced to close last week when a family member of one of our team tested positive. I am pleased to report that she has made a full recovery, and our team is now back in action after negative tests all round. Extreme caution is the name of the game.
I am pleased to see every spike is receiving a very swift reaction. At least we all know what to expect and how to handle further waves when they happen.
From my own recent experience, the best way to survive and enjoy the pandemic is to be at anchor or out at sea on a yacht. A large number of our clients are active now, and Croatia seems to be the most popular destination. The Croatian authorities have taken a steal on the rest of the Med by announcing early on that they are open, and no quarantine period is required.
Arriving by private jet, with a car to the yacht and getting directly offshore into secluded anchorages is the best “safe corridor” arrival, and best holiday to have. I had the pleasure of 4 days at the end of June cruising round the beautiful, quiet coastline of Mallorca on a Beneteau 46.1. We had uncrowded bays to anchor in, and didn’t need to venture ashore at all – quite idyllic!
Some notable use of yachts by a couple of clients during lockdown.
A number of our clients have made interesting use of their yachts during lockdown which has been aided by our communication services on-board. One of them contacted our US office to say they were planning to head off on their yacht with their two kids, who had been sent home from school and were doing their schooling on-line. They decided to go for a bandwidth upgrade on their VSAT, so their kids could get on with their school work in any location, and they could all head off the beaten track and enjoy some peace and quiet in isolation. I think they are still out there!
Another of our clients, the owner of the 55m motor yacht, aptly named Gene Machine, is the American scientist and entrepreneur Dr. Jonathan Rothberg and he has been in the news a lot. He decided to spend lockdown on board his yacht and used the time to develop a rapid COVID-19 home-testing kit. Initially, he started the work on his own but has then enlisted the help of one of his scientists from Homodeus. The upper saloon has been turned into a research lab. Dr Rothberg now has working production units that use a nasal swab and transmit the results using a mobile app. His unit still needs FDA approval and I hope he gets it as it would be a great help to the world.
Proud as punch to have contributed to the fantastic Sea Eagle II project from Royal Huisman (Feature photo)
Royal Huisman’s latest creation, the very impressive three-mast schooner Sea Eagle II has just been
delivered, and is on passage to Gibraltar as I write. We couldn’t be prouder to have worked closely with Tijssen, our partner in the “The Consortium” to supply the yacht with the latest equipment and services for optimal and excellent communications, using our full HYBRID portfolio of VSAT, 4G, Iridium, Inmarsat and Hosting. This solution provides 100% connectivity from pole to pole.
The 81m schooner is now the largest sailing yacht at 1,150 GT and is capable of reaching speeds in excess of 21 knots for a thrilling yet sustainable experience.
New IT Health Check Report added to our Active Support Agreement
During lockdown we have expanded our Active Support Agreement services. We regularly monitor the health of every IP device on-board and pro-actively warn the yacht if we detect any issues. We have now added to this service a monthly report detailing the current status of all the IT on-board which culminates in a Comments and Recommendations summary detailing any issues found, recommendations for updates required and operational suggestions. These images show an example of the detail in the Report.
Watching Sport on Sky UK and Sky Italia in the Med
A large number of yachts are already enjoying watching the current concentrated programme of live sport on TV using the upgraded Sky TV services which we have introduced over lockdown. Take a look at the attached illustration to get a rough guide to the best service for your cruising ground this summer. This is based on a yacht with a 1m TVRO antenna. We reckon Sky Italia is the best service for the eastern Med with lots of live sport and most programmes available in original language.
A new opportunity to re-purpose your Inmarsat Fleet Broadband system
If you have a Fleet Broadband (FBB) system on-board which you hardly use and you are looking for VSAT, then please talk to us. We are offering some fantastic upgrades where you can use your existing FBB free of charge by upgrading to the Inmarsat Fleet Xpress (FX) VSAT solution. This provides seamless, fast, 100% connectivity globally, using both Ka band and your FBB as a backup. If you already have Sailor and Intellian Ku band antennas these can be simply converted to FX which means there are no new antennas to purchase.
Meet Gavin Dominguez – Senior Marine Engineer
Gavin, originally from Wales, joined e3 almost 8 years ago and he supports e3’s complete product portfolio. Even though an engineer at heart, Gavin also majored in International Business and spent over 11 years in Mercedes Benz as Chief Engineer in different locations from Wales and London to Sydney.
Gavin has a specialist knowledge in all our products covering communications equipment, navigation, IT and networks. He is involved with repairs and troubleshooting and the installation and commissioning of all new products.
Gavin’s day to day work is very diverse as his job involves traveling to different locations anywhere in the world to service, repair or commission different products such as VSAT, Inmarsat, Sailor, Intellian systems and Cisco Networks.
In order to keep up to speed with the latest technology and updates, Gavin is regularly updating his knowledge by taking exams from all of the main brands we deal with such as Sea Tel, Kymeta, Cisco or Peplink, to name a few. He also works closely with our Partners on their New Build Projects to make sure they have the correct information at all times to make sure they install the systems we supply perfectly. Apart from assisting our Partner, it is essential that shipyards and owners receive the highest quality of service with the latest technology.
Gavin takes pride in the e3 approach as he believes that our high standards are due to a highly dedicated and competent team throughout the company. From management to engineering to airtime and admin. “One position does not work without the other and that make us all very much a tailored team of people that deliver the very best to our clients and Partners alike.”
When not at work, Gavin enjoys exploring the very beautiful Island of Mallorca with his family. He relaxes by playing golf with family and friends with courses all over the island from North to South.
Roger Horner
For further info on e3 VSAT and SUPER DATA
e3 systems
+34 971 404 208
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