Some specific questions...

[egallant]

We''re getting closer to the day that we finally set sail but I wanted to ask a few specific questions first.

Is there a company in the Florida area that will act as a mail drop? I''m looking for a company that I can use as a real address to have letters and packages sent to that I can call to have them forward to various locations in the Caribbean.

Can anyone suggest a company for health insurance? My girlfriend and I are looking for affordable but complete insurance. We''re in our early thirties and in good health.

Can anyone make a recomendation for a liveaboard marina in Florida between Miami and the keys that can handle a catamaran with a 15 foot beam? or, are there any I should stay away from?

Has anyone used the Iridium phone system with the Motorola 9505 phone? Was the quality OK? Any problems that we should know about before signing up? Did you try making data connections for email?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Emil "You can call me Pete" Gallant

[gershel]

Hi Pete, concerning a marina in Miami. If you can live without too many ammenities,You may like Pelican Harbor Marina.A county marina,very low cost,very secure,very friendly.I kept my 36x18.5 catamaran there 2 years ago for 2 months. Located on a causeway island between Miami& Miami Beach With city bus service at the front entrance. There is also a bird rescue facility there,very interesting.
Marc

[windquest001]

We also wanted to have a real address as we started cruising. The mail forwarding service has been a great alternative for us. The first mail service we had was in Florida and it was very effective. You can contact Voyagers in Islamorada, Florida and they will take care of any of your mail forwarding needs. We only dropped Voyagers because we don''t stay in Florida and our boat was not bought in Florida and we had trouble with the Department of Finance tracking us down with our boat documentation address being in Florida. After the hastle we had with them trying to collect money we decided to get a permanent address in Texas, which is our home state anyway.

On insurance, we have been told that Blue Water Insurance is a place to check for health insurance. As SSCA members we read that they are a good source for boat and health insurance.

[sailor2169]

I have the Iridium 9500 phone and download weather charts, etc., to my laptop. Works great but it is expensive at 1.50 per minute so I don''t use it that often.

[gaurre3]

is the iridium 9500 still avialable to buy? is the phone itself expensive? is it a a handheld or one of the larger fixed models? i''m going to be crusing the carib w/o SSB and im trying to find another way to communicate offshore. Thanks.