Stan Honey's advice for long-distance cruising communications:For those who wish to be connected beyond a cell phone/ WiFi connection (10 miles) anywhere on the planet- try SailMail.com- a remarkable SSB communications network good for up to 5,000 Nautical MILES of connectivity! How cool is that! Founded by renowned superstar navigator Stan Honey and friends, here's good info for long-distance datacomm fanatics. Stan says, "SailMail has worldwide coverage, but as with any HF propagation, you have to be knowledgeable about selection of which station to use, what time of day, and what frequency. The only holes in coverage worldwide would be a very noisy marina where battery chargers on nearby boats prevent SailMail use. In those situations most folks use WiFi or GSM anyway, and use SailMail when they are at sea, or in most remote anchorages. There is lots of information on the website at www.sailmail.com about SSB choice and modem choice. The Icom M802 radio and AT140 tuner are currently the best choice."