WHO ARE WE AND WHAT DO WE DO?
The Pacific Seafarer's Net is a network of volunteer Amateur Radio Operators that handles radio and internet email communication traffic between sailing and motoring vessels operating on all oceans and land-based parties. The land station Net Control Amateur Stations are located in various locations throughout the Continental United States, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand. Communications traffic consists of daily position reporting and automatic posting of positions on several websites, message handling via email relays, Health and Welfare traffic, phone patch services, search and rescue coordination, and vessel equipment inventories for search and rescue operations. Life threatening emergencies are taken from any vessel whether or not they have ham radio licenses. Net control stations keep computer databases on participating vessels and their movements throughout the oceans.
By taking daily position reports on vessels in-transit, we are able to serve the public by providing health and welfare updates and vessel position chartings that are accessible through several websites (pangolin.co.nz/yotreps and bitwrangler.com). The information taken from the vessels also assists other vessels in weather and state of the seas. Additionally, the information is used by forecasters in New Zealand, Fiji, French Polynesia and the US National Weather Service as part of the MAROB program.
Many relatives of the people on these vessels at sea express their joy at the availability of this tracking and charting service since it gives them a way to keep up on their progress and status which removes uncertainty.
We also inventory those boats so that we have emergency information to pass on to Search and Rescue operations such as the USCG in the event the vessel has an emergency. This type of information is good for any net controller for any maritime net to have in the event of a missing or disabled vessel at sea that needs to be reported Use the inventory site link below to sign up and enter, change or delete your boat's record.
Some useful links: