Communications between seafarers has always been a challenge. There is a barrel-post box in Post Office Bay on the island of Floreana in the Galapagos Islands that was used by 19th Century whalers who left mail for homeward bound ships to collect and then post when they got home.
Then, there were the ham and SSB nets that cruisers used to stay in touch with their friends, to share news and weather. When VHF came along, local radio nets popped up everywhere so the local cruising communities could congregate by radio in morning coffee klatches.
More recently, in the age of social media, groups have been formed on Facebook, WhatsApp and elsewhere that allow cruising folk to form specialized and localized social network communities. While these are useful and popular, the functionality can be limited. Another solution seemed to be needed.
Now there is a new dedicated app just for that. It’s called Sea People and it is the brainchild of some dedicated young cruisers, including the popular YouTube vloggers Elayna and Riley on La Vagabond. The app is free and available on both the Apple store and PLaystore.
Sea People offers a one-stop, online forum where you can post photos and notes about your adventures, and it allows you to follow your friends and make new friends in the cruising community. As long as you have an internet connection or cell signal, you and your phone can stay wired into the cruising life.
Is Sea People a community or a business? The developers are offering the Sea People app for free right now, they call it a freemium plan. But, as the app rolls out more features, subscription fees will be introduced. So, Sea People is both a community and a business. But, we think this might really appeal to a lot of cruisers who seek the camaraderie of the cruising life. Check it out here.
Last week we rolled out the news about the new app that the Salty Dawg Sailing Association introduced this year for its members. If you join the SDSA, the app can be used for free and it has many useful features and is a much more complete package than Sea People. For example, right now the app allows you to track the 104 boats that are sailing to Antigua and the Bahamas in the Salty Dawg Fall Rallies. How cool is that? Check out the SDSA here.
So, if you want to stay connected, in addition to Facebook and WhatsApp groups, there are now two new apps to make that possible, one that’s open to all and one that requires membership. Your choice.
Watch the La Vagabond vlog on the development of Sea People here
