Internet on a Boat

Living on a boat a couple of days a week has some advantages. Take last night. There was a lot of wind and so I was gently rocked to sleep. It also has some disadvantages. Take last night. There was a lot of wind and the halyards (ropes used to raise and lower the sails) kept slapping against the mast all night making a lot of noise.

When people find out I stay on a boat, they ask about my living conditions. I actually have most of the comforts of home. There is a bathroom on board as well as a kitchen and two bedrooms. I also have running water and electricity. I even have high definition television (HDTV) that gets great reception with the help of a powered antenna. The boat is situated so I get about 75 different stations and don't pay any monthly fees for it.

The only thing missing is an Internet connection. When I first started staying on the boat down in Marina Del Rey, near Los Angeles, there was no free public Wi-Fi Internet connection. I didn't mind because I was working for a slave-driver and spent all of my time at the office. My new marina up near the San Francisco airport is much more rustic. I have a golf course in my back yard and the front yard is literally on the San Francisco Bay. I expected that there would be no Internet connection and was correct when I first started staying on the boat up here.

Since I didn't have any Internet connection, I decided to go get one of those mobile broadband cards for my computer. Rather than just get a card that works with a single computer, I decided to get one that works with five wireless devices. That way I could connect multiple computers on the boat to the Internet without having to resort to fancy networking. It took a while to get working but is a magnificent device.

Yesterday I came home from the office and started working on my computer. I noticed that there was a strong Internet Wi-Fi signal from the yacht club nearby. I gave it a shot and it works pretty good. Now I don't need the mobile broadband device. It is a good thing I have 30 days to return it. More importantly I can save myself $60/month. Now if I had my family with me and didn't have to eat my own cooking, life on the boat would be nearly perfect.