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Note: The Marine Traffic mapping above is new AIS volunteer organization that you can join.
To see more boats displayed on the Great Lakes try visiting
ais.boatnerd.com that have
far more dedicated receivers.
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The Algoma Sailing Club is located just north of Topsail Island within
Bellevue Park and the Club's members sail and race on the St. Mary's River.
These same waters are also busy with many Ships and Freighters
as
they journey up to Lake Superior or down to Lake Huron. Due to the
difference of water heights between the two lakes, all ships will require
docking and travelling through the International Soo Locks, shown on the far
left. A.S.C. Members can also show their
sailboat positions on the map now by using a Cellphone
or iphone with an Android apps.
You can Zoom In or Out on the map using your mouse, and or grab and
drag (or use the tool bar on the left) to see more ships and their tracks in
various areas. You can even take a look what's travelling down under the Mackinaw Bridge
on Lake Michigan.
Hold your mouse on the
ships to see their speed and headings. |
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A.I.S.
- The Automated Identification System (AIS) system was created in
2004 is used for large ships to continually broadcast their position (up to
50 miles) to other ships as a warning system to help avoid collisions. The
AIS system uses a special transponder that transmits digital information
with each ship's configurations and movements on a VHF Marine Radios
channel. It is a requirement for all larger ships, boats, and passenger
vessels to fitted with AIS. Shore based transponders can also broadcast
warnings to ships. It has been suggested that in future this newer
technology may soon replace ships' high power radar system and shore based
lighthouses. A network of many AIS shore based receivers can forward the AIS information to a collection service and hence this new technology is
ideal for Marine Search and Rescue teams. Now with the internet, many
Volunteer organizations provide free AIS mapping of ship movements. In the
last 6 yeas, newly designed space AIS satellites have been launched and
have started monitoring data.
D.S.C.
- For
the Recreational Boaters, a spawned technology in a slightly different form
is known as Digital Selective Calling (DSC) that uses GPS positioning on
Marine VHF Radios. This allows public boaters to privately call other
boaters and to broadcast emergencies with GPS positions to all boaters
nearby and
is ideal for Search and Rescue Teams. DSC also helps reduce unneeded VHF radio chatter
for required commercial ships usage. Currently there are some volunteer DSC
mapping organizations that are trying to form a DSC mapping service but DSC
broadcasts are manual and non-continuous. DSC Broadcasts can be also
Fleet configured to broadcast one message to an entire fleet of ships
within range. Hence making it also ideal for local sailing and boater
clubs to have their own DSC Fleet number.
E.P.I.R.B.
- Time proven commercial, Emergency Position Indicating
Radio Beacons (EPIRB) use a combination of satellite and
shore based receivers for reporting emergencies to Search and Rescue
Organizations. They also have the unique ability of also transmitting
a local homing signal that can be received by passing ships, when
EPIRBs are activated or immersed in water.
Personal GPS Locators.
- New low cost personal GPS
transponders/locators are available and as an example, is
SPOT that use combinations
of satellite based network and Google Maps.
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