Livewire provide satellite solution for Clipper Round the World Yacht Race

Livewire Connections has provided hardware and airtime solutions for the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race 2013-14 through marine technology specialist Marine Camera Solutions. The fleet of 12 brand new identical 70 foot racing yachts crewed by amateurs set off from St Katherine Dock on Sunday 1st September on their first leg of their epic 40,000 miles round the world race.

Livewire Connections has supplied each vessel with an Inmarsat FleetBroadband SAILOR 250 terminal providing voice and data communications for the crews whilst at sea. The racing yachts will rely on the Inmarsat FleetBroadband for operational and crew email communications and weather information. Further to this they have the ability to send stored video footage as well as stream live video to the shore media team to allow the sponsors and fans to follow every moment of each leg of the race. Livewire Connections Access Controller FB-10 has formed a critical component of the network avoiding excessive airtime bills from accidental data sessions and controlling prohibited sites.

The FB-10 is configured with a dynamic firewall to ensure background applications cannot generate traffic when connected to the internet; it also enables blocking access to sources of information not allowed within the racing rules. Email is increasingly becoming part of everyday life and in general one expects to be able to access email regardless of location. Managing crew email communications for over 400 crew members participating in the Clipper Race has been particularly challenging. The Astrium SkyFile Mail system has provided the perfect solution to enable the crew to have good reliable access to email from on board, while carefully managing the monthly spend for each crew member.

In addition to the hardware, airtime and email system, Livewire Connections has provided a secondary backup data connection over Iridium should a problem arise with the Inmarsat FleetBroadband. In order to track the boats, the race organisers are using the latest Inmarsat 6150 Mini-C antenna and Transas FleetViewOnline web portal allowing the race team to manually poll the fleet positions during emergency situations. Tony Reid, Managing Director at Marine Camera Solutions commented: “Throughout the entirety of the project we have worked closely with the team at Livewire Connections to develop, deliver and manage the system. The system is proving to be robust yet manageable between Marine Camera Solutions and Livewire Connections.”

Livewire Connections wish the 12 Skippers and their crew a successful adventure.