Press Coverage

Lifelines magazine, Spring 2006

Sea Smart™ — Who Knew Your VHF Was So Powerful?
by David S. Yetman

A new service is being launched that’s going to make boater’s take a second look at the power of their VHF radio. It’s called Sea Smart™ and it’s being launched by Sea Smart, LLC, a subsidiary of Sea Tow®.

Sea Smart includes an Automatic Vessel Location (AVL) capability that allows land-locked loved ones to track the location of your vessel from the home computer, while also providing marine assistance personnel with your boat’s exact location, if necessary. Sea Smart is a marine voice and data network that also provides boaters with direct telephone service via their VHF, as well as radio access to an operator on shore who acts as your virtual marine resource center. Sea Smart represents an opportunity to offer a completely new benefit to boaters and take immediate advantage of existing DSC technology.

Mariners who navigate offshore are well aware of the communication difficulties that can result from the distances involved. Satellite telephony works, but at a cost that is out of reach for many boat owners. Cell phones are unreliable offshore because of their low power, limited range and spotty coverage. And, VHF communication is mainly line-of-sight and greatly affected by factors like antenna type and height.

VHF marine radios made after 1999 are now equipped with Digital Selective Calling (DSC), a feature that allows the radio to transmit the host vessel’s identity and location (when connected to a GPS) whether as part of an automated distress call (the “red button”) or for normal communications. The ability to monitor DSC distress calls will be provided by the U.S. Coast Guard’s new Rescue 21 system www.rescue21.com). DSC also provides your boat’s location to Sea Smart and other DSC-equipped radios via data-only channel 70.

To get more information about Sea Smart, I talked with Charlie Zaloom, who has been in charge of developing this innovative new service:

What types of boaters need Sea Smart?
Anyone who, even occasionally, ventures outside of cell phone range. We also want to support those who cruise to new destinations, ports and fishing spots. For example, fishing could get good as you drift the current in an inlet or pass and you might keep at it, into the night. Your family back home can go to the Sea Smart Web site, look up your exact location, and know that you’re fine. Parents can check on the teenagers when they borrow the ski boat. Intercoastal cruisers can call Sea Smart for information about the nearest fuel dock or restaurant or to contact Sea Tow for the delivery of an engine part. Offshore fishermen can call home from the Stream to make a change in their return schedule.

Other than the clearly important AVL feature, what advantage does Sea Smart provide to a boater who already has a VHF radio and a cell phone on board?
Range. With Sea Smart, you won’t get that “no service available” message you typically see on your cell phone screen when a few miles from the dock or offshore. But the best feature is the ability to direct connect to an operator who will place your call to anyone within the continental U.S. So, if you do decide to extend your stay on the water, not only can the folks back home track your location on the computer, but you can also call them, directly, just by using your VHF. Sea Smart is not going to completely replace cell phones on the water. But, on the water cell phone range is short, spotty and, in many of the best, secluded spots it’s non-existent. Even the Coast Guard warns against using it as a primary means of communication on the water. Until now, satellite phone service was the only alternative, but it costs a lot more. Besides, our radio system will have the range to cover most of the same coastal recreational boating areas.

What does it take to place a phone call using Sea Smart?
It’s very simple. Switch your VHF radio to channel 27 or 28 and key the mike for four seconds. You are directly connected to Sea Smart’s Operations Center and can request to make a phone call, ask for local boating information or request assistance from the local Sea Tow operator.

What comprises the Sea Smart network?
It’s a network of antennas on large coastal “high sites” – 300 - 400 ft. high towers – and a national operations center manned by trained operators, dispatchers and licensed captains. The towers and operators are tied together by a truly state-ofthe-art radio-over-Internet (RoIP) network. The Automated Vessel Location system receives your location from the DSC radios at the towers and plots your position with Web-based charting software.

Will it have as great a range as the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 system?
Since the basic tower and radio configuration is similar to the Coast Guard’s Rescue 21 specifications, range is about the same. The Coast Guard’s mission is different from our and the system has several important additional features, such as a unique and highly sophisticated radio direction finding (RDF) capabilities. Our system complements the Coast Guard’s by providing a civilian, non-emergency application for DSC.

How is time billed? And how secure will it be?
Billing is a simple, flat monthly fee. There are no minutes or “plans.” As for security, marine VHF channels 27 and 28, which this service uses, are split frequencies. Eavesdroppers will be able to hear the landside of transmissions, but not the sea-side.

Do you have to be a member of Sea Tow to become a subscriber of Sea Smart?
No. We want better on-water safety and communications to be available to all boaters (Sea Tow members do get a discount).

Sea Smart has been compared to GM’s OnStar® service. What similar assistance will Sea Smart offer? How are those services accessed?
On paper, it may sound similar, but the marine environment is different than the roadside environment. If our engine conks in Boca Grande Pass or Moriches Inlet, in an hour you’ll be somewhere else, two miles away in a sometimes unforgiving environment. With regard to access, keying the mike on channel 27 or 28 will connect you directly to our Operations Center. Because the subscriber’s VHF is DSC-enabled and tied to the GPS, we’ll instantly have their exact location on screen and can get them to the nearest facility or provide on-water parts or assistance. Our operators can also provide subscribers with marina, services and restaurant information, or check for the USCG Notice to Mariners in real-time for transient boaters.

What’s the cost of Sea Smart?
Sea Tow members can subscribe for a monthly fee of $11.95. Non-member subscriptions are $16.95 a month, plus a nominal activation fee. Again, these are flat rates with no limits on calls per month and no roaming or overage charges.

What is the schedule for completion of the network? Which areas first?
The first region to go live was the West Coast of Florida, from the southern edge of the “Hammock” up by Cedar Key and down to the Everglades. We chose this as the first region to roll out because of its year round boating activity and the number of boaters that don’t have good on-water cell service and go farther offshore than most other areas of the country. We also chose it because of the number of hurricanes and tropical storms that have hit that area in the last few years. We ran some test towers by generator in Katrina-affected areas last year and found the system to be very useful in areas with knocked-out communications. The next areas for deployment will be the East Coast of Florida and the waters of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.