Hello and Welcome to the new permanent home of Sailing For SOS!  After a lot of hard work and effort my many people this site has gone live.  I am very proud of both the primary designer, Steven Malm, and the coder and sponsor who brought it all together at the end, David Wilson of Summerworks.  Let me point out a few of the latest and greatest features that make this site perfect for a travelling sailor.

First and foremost is the blog.  From the home screen you can click on the blue blog entry or the left hand picture and it will take you to the most recent blog update.  If it’s been awhile since you’ve logged in you can easily back track to where you left off by using the drop down menu by date or by clicking the small navigation arrow just above the blog entry.  Additionally, the small blue latitude and longitude just above and to the right of the blog are linked to a Google maps page that I can update from anywhere in the world.  And of course, pictures posted in the blog can be clicked independently to see the full size, full resolution photo. 

One of the things that makes this blog so powerful is that I can update it remotely from anywhere.  David built in a log processor that takes a basic email I can send via my satellite phone and strips it out parsing the blog title, lat & long coordinates, and pictures if I’ve included them.  Nice work David.

When bandwidth doesn’t allow for longer updates I’ll be able to send text messages from the satellite phone to Twitter.  That way I can always let people know what is going on while I am out in the middle of nowhere.

Moving from left to right on the upper navigation links you’ll see the Current Position link.  This is the same as clicking on the picture of the boat on the right from the home page.  This has been integrated with the SPOT Messenger service so that I can turn on automatic tracking while under way.  This will automatically update my position on another Google map every 10 minutes while on passage.  It also gives me the ability to send a single waypoint to the map showing where the boat currently sits while at anchor or in a marina.  I am pretty excited about this little tool.

The Mission and About Us pages gives most of the background information on what I am trying to accomplish.  As I visit SOS Children’s Village sites around the world the individual stories from each site will be posted here.  Hampolol, Mexico will be the first stop and a link has already been activated giving the background information on that particular Village.  This will continue to come to life as I visit more sites.

The photo gallery takes you to a site called Flickr.  It a great site for photographers and allows unlimited storage of high resolution images and an extremely low cost.  This is where I’ll be storing photos for public consumption.  The images are broken down in various folders where each folder highlights a segment of the trip.  There are a few placeholder pictures in there now, but those will soon be removed with updated photos.

Next comes the Sponsor’s Page.  I’ve always believed that I am independent to a fault.  What I’ve learned already is that an undertaking like this humbles a person into realizing that we all need help.  I’ve received more support than I’ve ever imagined both physically and morally.  This is a place where I can recognize those who’ve helped me get as far as I have.  There are innumerable individuals who have helped whom I can only say thank you to.  I don’t have a page yet to recognize your efforts, but I can’t tell you how much I appreciate how much so many have done for me already.  If you or your company would like to help me perpetuate Sailing For SOS please let me know.  There are a thousand ways people can help.

The Contact Us page has all my most recent contact information.  Skype will be my primary communications vehicle while I travel.  The only downside is that it does require an internet connection so I’ll only be available while in port where wifi is available.  Alternatively, I do have an Iridium Satellite phone and can receive text messages that are free both for you to send as well as for me to receive.  This is a great way to drop me an instant message.  Alternatively, incoming calls on the Sat Phone are free for me, but please watch out for your own bill as I do not yet know what the rates are for call to this phone.

And last, but certainly not least, in the top right corner of every page is the donate now button.  By clicking on that link you will be taken to the secure donations form for SOS Children’s Villages.  So much of this trip is focused on getting myself out of the grind and getting back on a track that I’ve chosen for myself.  However, I needed a way to make it about more than myself as well.  SOS Children’s Villages is an unbelievably effective non-profit and I am privileged that they’ve opened their doors to me on this trip.  I only hope that I can repay the generosity they already shown.  Please take a moment and check out their organization.  They are knows throughout the world for their work, but sadly have almost never been heard of here in the US. 

Thanks to each and everyone one of you who have tolerated the boring boat project blog.  We are a few weeks away from my first real crossing.  I can’t believe how many things come up at the last minute in terms of preparation.  I’ll fill you in a little more on that front next post.  Again, welcome, and please keep your comments coming by clicking on the email link at the bottom of each post.

Here’s to chasing your dreams…..whatever they may be.

Lee Winters
Skype: (281) 336-0855
Satellite Phone: 8816-316-59853
Email: Lee.Winters@SailingForSOS.com