Life aboard with Starlink

I’ve worked on boats for years, and one of the absolute worst things about it is feeling cut off from the outside world. Sometimes you have a cellphone signal. Sometimes you don’t. On the boats and routes I’ve worked, going without a signal has been a familiar part of the job.

You can be out there getting on with your work, but something as ordinary as contacting somebody ashore becomes a question of whether you can get a connection. That gets old pretty quickly.

The first boat that changed it for me

When I came out to work in Tofino, I joined the first boat I’d ever worked on that had Starlink. That was my introduction to having this kind of internet aboard.

Starlink is satellite internet. On that boat, the terminal sat up on top, and we had Wi-Fi aboard. After years of unreliable cellphone reception, having a working connection made a real difference to how boat life felt.

For me, the exciting part wasn’t the equipment. It was being able to connect to the outside world from the boat.

Staying connected aboard Aqua Service

Since then, I’ve used Starlink on other boats, including Aqua Service, and I’ve been really happy with it. I’m working on this website while aboard. Being able to keep a project like this moving while I’m away is a good example of what that connection makes possible.

I can speak for my experience: it’s given me great Wi-Fi on the boats where I’ve used it. After spending years dealing with little or no cellphone signal, that feels like a huge change.

One question to ask before you join a boat

If you’re looking at getting onto a boat for work, ask about the internet before you go. My question would be simple: “Does the boat have Starlink?”

It’s something I’d want to know before taking the job. Being away for work is one thing. Feeling completely cut off from the rest of your life is another. Starlink has made that part of working aboard a whole lot better for me.

The featured image is an illustration of an imagined installation scene aboard Aqua Service.