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Atlantic rowers past halfway point in fundraising challenge

14 March 2016: Record-making Atlantic rowers Team Essence have passed the midway point in their 3,308 nautical mile challenge.

Their achievement in the face of potential disasters including capsizing three times was celebrated in a tweet from British astronaut Tim Peake as the International Space Station passed over their position on 12 March – making him closer to the five-strong team than anyone on land.

The men’s 27.8 ft x 1.2 3.9 ft Ellida is the most connected rowing boat ever to attempt the crossing. With safety and the need to attract and update sponsors for their chosen charity, the NSPCC, at the forefront of their minds, Team Essence turned to Satellite Communications.

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Consider taking this satellite phone with you on your next high adventure, whether you are summitting Everest or hiking the John Muir Trail, you’ll be amazed at the phone’s ability to match your endurance in the great outdoors. Wherever your next adventure takes you, this phone is a great companion and may just save your life.

Satellite communications could save your life.

Steve McClure wants to change the way wilderness wanderers think about navigation tools.

McClure, 57, has been hiking, climbing and scrambling since he took his first trip to Mount Rainier’s Klapatche Park as a child in the 1960s. Navigation piqued his interest from the start.

“To be out in the wild and find your way there and back is very empowering,” McClure said.

While map and compass skills are important, McClure says backcountry travelers should also embrace modern tools such as GPS and electronic maps.

McClure is a partner at a Seattle management consulting company and is treasurer for The Mountaineers. He is helping write the 10th edition of the organization’s famous “The Freedom of the Hills.” The book is due out in 2017, and McClure says to expect new recommendations for navigation.

McClure has given several presentations on the subject in recent years and says feedback has been positive.

Read full story here…..

Look to the Skies for Disaster Recovery

If you were born between July 23 and August 22, you fall under the fifth astrological sign of the zodiac, Leo. As a Leo, your traits include being dominant, creative, and extroverted. You are strong willed, independent, and ambitious.

However being a “LEO” in telecommunications has an entirely different meaning.

In telecom, LEO stands for “low Earth orbiting,” and refers to satellite systems. This is not to be confused with geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) systems, which you may be familiar with if you have satellite TV service from a company like Dish or DirecTV.

With satellite TV service, you receive signal from GEO satellites that sit 22,236 miles above Earth’s equator, and appear to be stationary in the sky. To receive service, your satellite dish (antenna) points toward the Dish or DirecTV GEO satellite.

Satellite phones, on the other hand, use LEO satellites. (Correction to this article.  The iSatPhone Pro 2 is an excellent portable handheld satellite phone that works via the I4 Inmarsat GEO Satelllite Constellation). LEO satellites are only 485 miles above Earth, and move at 17,000 miles an hour. While this may create some coverage challenges, LEO systems offer advantages over GEO satellites.

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Living with Wolves and Remote Communication

They’re back. The wolves. During breakfast one morning this past week, we heard a chorus of howling. Racing down to the shoreline, we saw 3 wolves in the center of the lake about a mile away.

Through the years we’ve seen wolf tracks on numerous occasions and have even seen the occasional lone wolf, but last fall, we became aware of their presence when a pack of seven emerged from the shelter of the woods into our clearing to the north of the house.

They seemed just as curious about us as we were of them. They hung around all through the evening and at one point assembled below the hill behind the house and serenaded us with howling, yipping and barking. We didn’t see them all winter but their return this week told us at least 3 survived.

Read the rest of Ron Melchiore’s story here……

Polar Explorer gives an update via satellite phone during the last 50 kilometres to the North Pole.

The North Pole is 10,000km away from the equator. Literally. The hardest part of that trip? The last 50. It is from those last 50 gruelling kilometres that the following satellite phone call comes, as explorers Eric Larsen and Ryan Waters trudge through snow, ice and water in hopes of being maybe the last humans to ever walk to the North Pole. At this point, they had been on the ice for 53 days, travelling some 775 kilometres from their start in Cape Discovery.

Larsen’s update is as honest and genuine as it gets. We sat down with him to learn a little more about what its like to fall through ice when the air temperature is hovering around -25 degrees Celsius.

Continue reading and listen this emotional call here…..

Stein Hoff thinks you waste too much time watching ‘Game of Thrones’

Norwegian doctor Stein Hoff is no stranger to challenges. The avid rower crossed the Atlantic with a partner in 1997, and in 2002 he rowed solo and unsupported from Lisbon, Portugal, to the coast of the South American country of Guyana. But now the 70-year-old who says people “spend too much time at their desk and wasting their lives watching Game of Thrones” is hoping to become the oldest person to row across the Atlantic, reports the Telegraph. Hoff will be unsupported and unfollowed (a satellite phone can summon help if needed).

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This Hiker was more hungry than hurt

Cody Michael, 23, and his German Shepherd, Bauer, were spotted about 10 a.m. on May 19th in Tahoe National Forest by a Black Hawk helicopter pilot and its crew.

“Words don’t describe it, emotions do,” Michael’s father, Howard, told KCRA. “(I) spent a good amount of time with him. It was an incredible father-son moment.”

In an unbelievable coincidence, Cody was found 72 hours to the minute after sending his last text to his family

I bet Cody wished he had brought his satellite phone.

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Earthquake didn’t stop Bart Williams from pursuing his dream

The first time Bart Williams made his attempt at the summit of the world’s highest peak, he and his group were forced to turn back after an earthquake rocked Nepal.

A year later, he returned to the base of Mt. Everest with his sights set on the top.

“There was that feeling in the air, let’s get it done, let’s make this year be a successful year,” Williams said.

On his return trip to Nepal, he could not forget the images of the aftermath of the earthquake in 2015.

“It was always in the back of my mind, and anytime somebody would rattle the tent just to get snow off of it or whatever it made me jump a bit,” Williams said.

The second attempt was a success. After a grueling and at times dangerous hike, his group reached the summit just before dawn on May 22.

The shadow of Everest loomed onto a surrounding peak as Williams and his group gazed around at the view they had come short of last year.

“The summit was everything I dreamed it would be,” Williams said. “I had a satellite phone and I called the family, said “I’m on the top of the world, I love you!”

It was a drastically different phone call than the one he made last year when he informed his family that there had been an earthquake and they were being evacuated off the mountain in helicopters.

Check out the rest of the story here……