FleetMon is following German Motorcyclist Horst Ritter on his epic journey Germany to The Far East this summer. The retired driving school instructor is taking a “trip of a lifetime” crossing nearly a dozen countries. “Setting out on the trip was not a decision taken lightly” says Horst who closed his driving school in May 2016.
“When I was asked if I would like to join the delivery crew on Marathon I considered it to be a trip of a lifetime. It has certainly been that and also fun, exhilarating and hard work.
Being an active member and AIS contributor of FleetMon I saw the trip an opportunity to showcase the Fleetmon Satellite Tracking System.
The heart of the system is a small grey, highly waterproof box. On arrival in Barcelona it was simply a case of placing it anywhere on the vessel. I chose to place it on top of the instrument housing directly below a hatch and merely secured it with double sided tape.It was a dream to use the tracking system – once switched on and deposited on the vessel, it required no further intervention and even reported back the state of charge of its replaceable batteries.
A brief word about the Marathon: Although based on the hull mould for a44ft Feeling, Marathon was custom built in 1990 for the original owner to take part in a single handed round the world race and is of a double thickness fibreglass construction, in this guise it had no engine but was fitted with a generator where the engine now resides; all the sail handling gear on this cutter rigged yacht is set up for easy use with no less than 10 winches (5 either side) within the cockpit and a further 3 on the mast. With roller furling gear on the jib and foresail and up to four reefs possible in the mainsail it is easy to trim the yacht to suit the weather conditions without having to change sails – a system that came into its own in the severe storm we encountered outside La Coruña. Due to the unfavourable wind and weather conditions forecast we had to interrupt our delivery there and temporarily returned home.
My personal high point was climbing the mast to free off some trapped rigging on day 2, one of the trip’s high points were dolphins shadowing the boat off Portugal. A near miss with a large commercial that turned towards us was may be one of the most scary moments.
The trip has been made so much more pleasurable by my fellow crew members but I must highlight our skipper, Dick Smith, senior lecturer and vice principal of the Navigation School at the Royal Temple Yacht Club and highly experienced sailor without whose help and guidance the trip could have been quite daunting!
The Fleetmon Satellite Tracking service enabled family, friends and the registered owner to keep a track of our movements throughout the trip. Some crew members on phoning their family during a stopover to tell them where they were received the reply `I know, you have already been there a day, I am watching you on Fleetmon!´.
The trip has opened my eyes to the possibilities of a satellite tracking for not only large companies but also individuals, wishing to monitor their valuable but movable asset, fleet owners – both commercial and pleasure, offshore race organisers, delivery crews, etc.The detailed data including speed profiles and weather and sea state information and forecast, available both in real time and as an historical downloadable file may be used for live position monitoring, post trip analysis, route planning and performance analysis.”
Kenneth Maginnity, a private chef born in Australia, just started his personal adventure: Traveling across India on a vintage Royal Enfield motorcycle – And we are proud to be part of his ride!
“I have dreamt of making this trip across India for many years. I decided to look for a way to fulfill my dream and also make a difference in the lives of the people of India. I did some research, made a few phone calls, connected with endPoverty.org and started my journey to make a difference. The organization is impacting the lives of people living in poverty across the globe. I decided to help promote their organization and the great work they are doing in India as I ride across the country.”
5500 miles are still ahead of him and with the support of FleetMon Satellite Tracking his family and friends, contributors and enthusiasts will be able to follow him on the road.
During his trip from Bombay to Kolkata Kenneth is carrying one of our small FleetMon Satellite Tracking units, which will constantly report his position, course and speed. You can accompany him on his homepage or using your smartphone and our free app FleetMon Sat Mobile. See how Kenneth’s advances and be part of his trip no matter where you are!
Thanks to Kenneth and endPoverty.org this journey is not only an enjoyable adventure, but an ambition to help combat poverty in India. All funds Kenneth raises will go directly towards the work of endPoverty.org in Kolkata, helping thousands of poor entrepreneurs by providing small loans, business training and community development programs:
“I was born in Australia, received a great education and the opportunity to choose a career of my choice. A large majority of the people of India are not as fortunate. I learned that most people in rural India live on less than a dollar a day. Imagine trying and raise a family on such a small amount of money. This usually means that education is not a priority and many of the children are left to beg in the streets. As these children grow into adulthood, with no education…they have very limited job opportunities. It is a vicious cycle, one that is hard to break.”
If you want to support them, just visit Ken’s site and don’t forget to check out the cool T-shirts!
FleetMon will keep track of Kenneth and his Royal Enfield and we hope you come joining the ride!
Ken's trip log as of today (from Fleetmon Satellite Tracking), find more on his blog
The Fleetmon Team is thrilled to follow the racing yacht SPEEDSAILING SEB during the race “Round Skagen”. The SEB is a 60 footer, former Volvo Ocean Race participant now based in the Fleetmon hometown Rostock, and the “Round Skagen Race”, leading 510 nm from Helgoland Island around Denmark to Kiel, is said to be the longest and most challenging high seas race in Germany.
Coming right on the heels of the Marathon, this is another yacht choosing the FleetMon Satellite Tracking service to track their voyage and keep friends, families and partners up to date.
And, what’s more: They are currently leading, with some 15 nm lead on the runner-up! Go, SEB!
We’ll keep you posted with updates here and on our Twitter account. German-speaking users may also check out the Speedsailing Facebook page and their blog.
Update for your viewing pleasure:
You may have already noticed our new coverage of AIS Signals in the ports of Sai Gon, Vung Tau and Hai Phong, very busy ports in Vietnam. Thanks to Mr. Le Cong Hung, Director of Maritech we managed to exchange informations and…<
You may have already noticed our new coverage of AIS Signals in the ports of Sai Gon, Vung Tau and Hai Phong, very busy ports in Vietnam. Thanks to Mr. Le Cong Hung, Director of Maritech we managed to exchange informations and will create more services together.
We are very glad about having now an eye far over,
to the South China Sea, the Gulf of Tonkin and the seatraffic of the famous Ho Chi Minh City. –> ENJOY IT HERE
