Last night (THU), I got a message from him asking about the wind:
Message: Hi David. Windy last two days. How do next days look. Had to move camp today. 4 kayak journeys. Good workout. LOL.
Sunday AM and Mon + Tue all day show wind & gusts all below 10 mph.
To see the satellite view of his location:
1) Highlight the GPS figure (above) and right click.
2) Choose "Search Google for [that GPS waypoint]."
3) Click on the small map that appears.
4) On the (now) large map, click on the small box in the lower-left corner ("Layers") to change to a large satellite image with a dart on the
location.
[Edited on 2-2-2022 by David K]David K - 1-29-2022 at 05:50 PM
[Edited on 1-30-2022 by David K]David K - 1-31-2022 at 09:05 AM
Three days ago, Graham asked about the wind forecast so he could move. In my email this morning, was a reply from Spot that the message was not
received:
Mon 1/31/2022 7:46 AM
The SPOT X is either powered off or its GPS signal is unavailable. Message delivery was attempted for 3 days and has now been discarded.
My last location ping was on Thursday:
Device Name: Spot X
Latitude: 29.02931
Longitude: -113.18761
Altitude: 5.0 m | 16 ft
GPS location Date/Time: 01/27/2022 11:47:04 PST
To see the satellite view of his location:
1) Highlight the GPS figure (above) and right click.
2) Choose "Search Google for [that GPS waypoint]."
3) Click on the small map that appears.
4) On the (now) large map, click on the small box in the lower-left corner ("Layers") to change to a large satellite image with a dart on the
location.
[Edited on 1-31-2022 by JZ]David K - 1-31-2022 at 05:05 PM
JZ, if you want to do that every time a Spot GPS is posted, have at it.
I like teaching people how to do it themselves.
Look how long it took to just get you to size photos under 800 pixels to fit here on Nomad... We all learn at different speeds, or not at all!
What is more of a concern right now is NO SPOT OK signals from Graham since Thursday and the Spot notice I got today that my weather message to him,
sent last Thursday, was NEVER received!!!
I emailed Mike Essary, who owns the home Graham stays at in L.A. Bay. Mike is contacting others there.JZ - 1-31-2022 at 05:21 PM
What is more of a concern right now is NO SPOT OK signals from Graham since Thursday and the Spot notice I got today that my weather message to him,
sent last Thursday, was NEVER received!!!
I emailed Mike Essary, who owns the home Graham stays at in L.A. Bay. Mike is contacting others there.
That's not good. Not at all.
AKgringo - 1-31-2022 at 07:56 PM
How water tight is a spot device? An electronic failure could be the problem, and I hope it is nothing worse than that!JZ - 1-31-2022 at 08:31 PM
How water tight is a spot device? An electronic failure could be the problem, and I hope it is nothing worse than that!
Here is one source. This is the GEN3 w/o the key board. There are several versions of Spot. I have also read some less glowing customer reviews on
water resistance.
He should have a handheld VHF radio with him. His last location is about 15 miles from the Baja coast. There is a good amount of boat traffic in the
area. Someone should be able to hear him.
SPOT GEN3 Support
Is SPOT water resistant?
SPOT has been designed and tested to survive the harshest environments. That includes water, which means that SPOT is water resistant. SPOT is tested
to IPX7, water resistant to a depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes. In addition, SPOT must remain watertight over the full operating temperature range. So
with your SPOT, you can feel confident around the water.
[Edited on 2-1-2022 by JZ]BornFisher - 1-31-2022 at 08:38 PM
Hopefully, someone will get out there to make sure Graham is OK.
Friday it blew hard. I started in San Felipe, went out to Santa Rosillita, then back to LA Bay. Wasn`t too bad there at LA Bay 4PM Friday. Saturday
AM it was calm in the bay but who knows what it was like where Graham was. Graham is a survivor so I`m betting on him!! David K - 1-31-2022 at 08:50 PM
Just heard from his L.A. Bay amigo.... A panga will go check on him tomorrow.JZ - 1-31-2022 at 08:55 PM
The first place I would call is Guillermo's. He could get a boat out there fast.
If funds are needed, don`t hesitate to let people here get involved.
+1
RFClark - 1-31-2022 at 09:03 PM
I has a Spot with the built in KB. It’s one weak spot was the plug that goes into the USB charging port is easy to dislodge and loose. It could stop
charging or even working if salt water got into that port because the plug fell out!David K - 2-1-2022 at 11:36 AM
Mike emailed today that because Bahia resident were concerned, the Mexican Marines took their boat to the island and photographed a man... it was
fuzzy so can't tell it is him, for sure... This was the past day or two. Hard to believe they went all the way there and didn't land to see if he
needed anything?!!
UPDATE 2/2/22: They talked with him using VHF radio.
If they don't hear from him before, next Saturday a boat will be sent out.
[Edited on 2-2-2022 by David K]David K - 2-1-2022 at 05:56 PM
Mike just heard from a neighbor that a panga has Graham, returning to Bahía de los Angeles... fingers crossed.David K - 2-1-2022 at 06:39 PM
OK, he's back... safe and sound!
BornFisher - 2-1-2022 at 07:26 PM
WOW!!! Great news and probably a great story!
The pic from the island looks a bit like him, but could have been an old island goat standing up!Don Pisto - 2-1-2022 at 07:35 PM
I knew those bears would eventually turn on him...StuckSucks - 2-2-2022 at 09:25 AM
A couple years ago I migrated from SPOT to InReach due to SPOT's sketchy reliability. When I sent an "I'm OK message," it was usually sent, but not
always. Ditto for tracking. I was not comfortable with a personal locater beacon which "usually works."JZ - 2-2-2022 at 09:34 AM
A couple years ago I migrated from SPOT to InReach due to SPOT's sketchy reliability. When I sent an "I'm OK message," it was usually sent, but not
always. Ditto for tracking. I was not comfortable with a personal locater beacon which "usually works."
If you look on Amazon the customer ratings for Spot are much lower than InReach.
I'll stick with InReach. RFClark - 2-2-2022 at 09:44 AM
I have a ZOLEO. It works off the Iridium System and all cell systems. More importantly it’s more water resistant! The plug in the charging port is
attached and real!David K - 2-2-2022 at 09:45 AM
I was so happy to have an inReach device (inReach Explorer) during my solo Baja Bound research trips in 2017 & 2018). Besides communicating with
my wife, I had great fun chatting with some of you Nomads, like StuckSucks, who could see where I was and at least once got me off a dead-end road!
LOL
inReach uses Iridium satellites and Spot does not, which explains why the less than 100% coverage. TMW's Spot failed to send (get a signal out) around
San Ignacio on one of his trips, I recall.David K - 2-2-2022 at 10:12 AM
I have a ZOLEO. It works off the Iridium System and all cell systems. More importantly it’s more water resistant! The plug in the charging port is
attached and real!PaulW - 2-3-2022 at 09:20 AM
Quite a while back when my Spot died, I cancelled my subscription and bought an inReach. I hate unreliable stuff.
For long duration travel I have a LION battery pack to recharge stuff.
