Thread: Workaboards
View Single Post
Old 03-18-2014, 09:11 AM   #17
Jeffrey S
Scraping Paint
 
City: Full-time onboard
Vessel Model: Trawler
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 929
Quote:
Originally Posted by FlyWright View Post
Who's not just a little jealous of that lifestyle! Sounds like a piece of heaven. But I gotta ask, Jeff...Are you moving of your own volition or are you getting kicked out of all these locales?
We haven't been asked to leave yet...but give that some time!

Needless to say, internet access is pretty critical for us. I'm in the middle of installing a major new capability in eBoatCards; we send out about 100,000 newsletters a week; and we need low level access to our 4 servers - they're all in Dallas, TX on an internet backbone site; and all software development happens while onboard. We cruise between Maine and the Keys and have just completed the entire Great Loop. Over the last 2 years, we haven't gone a single night without adequate internet access, even anchored for a week in Bay Springs Lake, MS, where you have to travel 10 miles to get to "nowhere" - it's that remote. While on the Great Loop itself, we developed and released the eBoatCards website and finished/released the Companion app on Windows, OSX, Android, and iOS.

Through about 85% of actual on-the-water travel time, we also have connectivity. In general, one of us is piloting and one of us is doing website work while underway. Even on the major rivers like the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee, we had no problem getting cellular access while underway (4G mostly).

Offshore, we typically get connectivity as far as 3-10 miles out. That depends on a lot of factors. We often do a couple of offshore, overnight jumps each season and rarely have connectivity through most of the night then. As an example, in January we jumped from Port St Joe on the Florida panhandle to Clearwater on the west coast of Florida. Through much of the night we were 60 nm offshore with no hope of reasonable internet access - we don't use satellite because the price is unreasonable IMO. But in those cases, there's too much attention needed by both of us so we're not working anyway (thankfully).

We haven't been to the Bahamas since our pre-ActiveCaptain days. We're planning on changing even that next winter. Although we have to pick our places carefully, I think we'll have good-enough connectivity for a couple of months in the islands for free/low-cost. At least that's the current plan.

Bottom line - anyone can run a business from their boat today while cruising along the east coast, the major rivers, and, I think, the Bahamas.
Jeffrey S is offline   Reply With Quote