Starlink on the boat, superfast internet anytime, anywhere

Starlink on a boat: with Elon Musk’s super satellite antenna, we can have broadband internet on board, anywhere. Here’s how it works in the experience of those who installed it, how much it costs, pros and cons. With previous satellite systems, we were barely getting a few emails or GRIB files for weather at a few kilobytes per second. With Starlink, the entire crew can use Wifi from their smartphones, receive real-time weather information, contact medical or maintenance services via video conference, work remotely listen to music and stream movies from the middle of the Pacific or polar caps, as if they were on the couch at home, close to the fiber optic router. Aldo Fumagalli, owner of the trimaran Rapido 53 XS, chose to integrate the Starlink version, in its “top” boat configuration. Luca Tausel, customer representative during the last five months of the boat’s construction, told us all the details and sea trial during the transfer from the shipyard in Vietnam to the Mediterranean.

STARLINK ON ALDO FUMAGALLI’S NEW 53XS FAST TRIMARAN

On the new Rapido 53 XS trimaran, we chose the non-commercial Starlink Maritime version, with the Flat High Performance antenna, designed for marine environments to withstand extreme weather conditions at sea, including cold, heat, sleet, heavy rain and high winds. The best solution was designed to integrate Starlink into the trimaran’s design right from the start. The installation was physically performed by a specialized company in Hong Kong. Aldo Fumagalli’s previous boat participated in offshore ocean racing circuits, Middle Sea Race, Aegean 600, Round Aelian Race, RORC 600 in the Caribbean, often participated in the ARC and ARC Europe with an annual round-trip Atlantic crossing cycle. On board for years she had Iridium GO as a satellite connection because Starlink was not yet available, today Iridium is only on board as a backup solution.

THE BENEFITS OF STARLINK

Thanks to Starlink, while we were at sea, we were able to have an intense and constant exchange of information with the shipyard and the firms that followed the outfitting, through video calls and conference calls, and troubleshooting the inevitable small problems of a new project. For example, we used to do direct smartphone video calls from the engine room to the construction site while we were in the ocean. This infinitely speeds up the sharing of problems with the experts ashore and problem solving.

THE SEA TRIAL FROM VIETNAM TO THE MEDITERRANEAN

The new trimaran Rapido 53 XS was built in Vietnam, and having the need to tackle with a newly launched boat an ocean crossing in an area of navigation new to us, passing through many more complicated regions, with the pressure to seize the end of the window by the end of May to cross the North Indian Ocean, it was extremely useful to have this kind of satellite connection. We tested Starlink from the construction site in Vietnam, south of Saigon, to Greece. We descended true Singapore and sailed up the Straits of Malacca, stopping at Langkawi in Malaysia: then we crossed the first half of the northern Indian Ocean to the Maldives, followed by sailing the Arabian Sea to the island of Socotra, crossed the Gulf of Aden under Yemen, and then the Red Sea, and from Suez we arrived in Greece. Maritime Starlink has always worked. We noticed one detail, for example, in Vietnam, land-based Starlink is not available. During the installation phase therefore, we could not activate our subscription until we left international waters. The antenna was accidentally stepped on and suffered no damage, it is actually super strong structurally. We did not notice any damage caused by the brackishness. The connection remains perfectly stable even in the waves.

EASY TO INSTALL

Installing Starlink aboard your boat is really simple. In the kit comes the antenna, power supply, router, and proprietary cable to connect the antenna to the 25-meter router, which was sufficient for our installation. It is powered by 220V, consumes about 100W, and there is an app that provides step-by-step instructions for initial activation and optimal antenna placement. Thanks to the dedicated app, which provides a reception score based on the tilt and position of the phone, we saw that we could place the antenna horizontally, flat on the deckhouse, close to the mast. We laminated a structure around the antenna to protect the base and connections from passing through the sheets. Once turned on it does everything by itself, providing Wifi like a home router. For antenna installation on board, outside firms such as Star Mount, sell boxes and brackets or 12V conversion kits, but we chose not to use them because many of these boxes require cutting the original Starlink cable, which creates warranty issues.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST

On the trimaran Rapido 53 XS sWe chose the 1 Terabyte (1000 Giga data traffic) subscription plan, which costs about 1100Euros per month, so we have no qualms about intensive data usage. The STARLINK MARITIME kit for Boats, Antenna, cable and modem, which provides global coverage at sea costs 2873 Euro, plus the subscription, the 50GB one costs 293Euro per month, the 1000GB one costs 1147 Euro.

The STARLINK TERRESTRE Kit. which provides global coverage only in the countries where it is active, costs 399Euro, 50GB subscription plans cost 40Euro per month, and 72Euro per month the unlimited plan.

WHAT IF I USE TERRESTRIAL STARLINK?

There are sailors who have managed to make ocean crossings and stay connected, using the significantly cheaper land-based mobile version on board, which seems to tolerate operation on the move at speeds up to 10 knots. However, we have no direct experience, and there is no guarantee that these re-adapted land-based subscriptions will work at sea.

UPCOMING CHALLENGES

The new trimaran has already participated in the AEGEAN 600 2024, been to Sardinia, participated in the Round Aeolian Race and the Middle Sea Race. Now it will make the Atlantic crossing, perpetually connected in broadband to the Internet thanks to Starlink.

Luca Tausel with Luigi Gallerani