Let the fun begin...

By Dermot Tynan, about 11 years ago.

I'm not sure when I first started thinking about entering the Microtransat. I'd love to say it was after much consideration, and the thought that "yes, this can be done."

The truth is, the first time I heard about the race, my immediate reaction was; "that'll never work..." The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to enter a boat. I still don't think it'll work, but this site is for those people who want to follow along, and find out if I was right or not.

I'll be joined along the way by some of the other team members, some of whom have sworn off blogging for the foreseeable future...'

• February 19, 2013
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BB Phone Home.

By Dermot Tynan, about 11 years ago.

There is a race requirement which states that "Any boat which fails to transmit for more than 10 consecutive days will be disqualified."

While there are a number of ways of reporting position data back to Mission Control, from elaborate HF transmitters through to simple satellite position locators, we'll be using a Rock Block satellite modem. These devices can send byte sequences back to dry land via the Iridium satellite network. We will be sending four updates a day, of exactly 250 bytes each. Each message will include two or more payloads.

• February 21, 2013
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Bon Voyage, Snoopy!

By Dermot Tynan, about 11 years ago.

Today, March 23rd, 2013, Team Joker are planning to launch their ninth boat, Snoopy Sloop. This has been an educational (and obviously fun!) experience for Robin Lovelock and his fleet of robotic warrior boats. Here in Beoga Beag land, we wish them well.

• March 23, 2013
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