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Jack Burgess

2/3/2025 2:54 PM

Hi Mark -

Jack and Terry Burgess here, anchored at Saint Pierre, Martinique. Leaving the Windwards tomorrow and heading to Dominica before continuing the trip north. I love the Selene map when cruising the islands, but understand the cost issue. I tried to log into the old site to access the map and see who is in the Caribbean, but my credentials don’t seem to work. Any suggestions?

Thanks - Jack

Jack Burgess, Shangri-La 5388

Mark Tilden

2/3/2025 12:46 PM

Hi Don:

Well.....things have changed a lot since I originally wrote the Selene Map. When I first built it, we didn't have an integration with AIS data at all. It was all based on owners reporting their positions using a tool like the InReach or SPOT Messenger or via email. I just used a free Google Map to implement it and wrote the code to display the positions and keep a history of the positions. We also created a way for guests (i.e. people without logins to the site) to see the current position and history of positions for an individual boat, if the owner enabled that capability.

A few years into it, I did a partnership deal with one of the second-tier AIS networks, called FleetMon, which has since been acquired by the same company that acquired MarineTraffic. At the time FleetMon needed AIS ground stations in the Northwest US, so I agreed to host an AIS station at my house for them (it's still running). In exchange, they gave me free access to their API to pull down positions for all the Selenes that opted in for AIS tracking. That position data feed became the primary means of people updating their positions, but we continued to offer the InReach, SPOT, and email methods because there are still significant gaps in the coverage for shoreside AIS stations. I don't know how the coverage is in the Bahamas, but it's pretty weak in Alaska.

Yes....integration was the key issue. There are obviously a dozen different ways that people can track other Selenes (and non-Selene friends), but my goal was to make it super easy (as close to automatic as possible) for Selene owners to see each other on a map. If people have to download MMSI's and load up another tool, some will do it. Most won't. I know we have often found that either friends, or other Selene owners we haven't met, are in the same or nearby anchorages and we've jumped in the dinghy and gone to meet people. That was always my goal--to help encourage building community among the owners.

Now, with Starlink, anybody can report their position from just about anyplace using Starlink as the communication medium. In the old system, it just meant sending a specially formatted email that the software I wrote could automatically "read" and update your position. A few of us even implemented an automatic email send from Maretron's N2KView system every time you transition from underway to moored or anchored modes.

I've also learned that Selene Americas is working on some interesting stuff to help them offer remote troubleshooting for owners and location data will be part of that, so there may be some synergies we can exploit there as well. I do think there's value in getting it cleanly integrated into the Selene Owner's site, so that people don't have to have yet another account/login to another system. That would almost certainly require at least some involvement with Club Express because they don't have any "open API" that would allow us to extend their product on our own.

I hope that helps...... Stay tuned after the board election and we'll see what happens.

Mark

John Shramek

2/3/2025 12:17 PM

Mark, thanks for explaining the costs and the workings of the map feature. After hearing the costs Vs rewards I would also vote no for that expenditure also.

John

Don McGarry

2/3/2025 12:14 PM

Hey Mark-

I worked a lot with GIS systems (e.g. maps) in the past - there are a lot of free / low cost platforms out there. If the issue is that the integration methods of those systems don't support what the prior Selene map supported perhaps we can just build the shim to add that support? I'd be happy to take a look at that.

Greg Groome

2/3/2025 12:09 PM

Hello Mark... my vote would be to table the Map Idea at least for now and see how we are looking financially after all the recent expenditures . I found the map a nice to have idea but not sure we want to pay 15K to get it back

I do know there are a couple 3rd party apps that the owners assn could promote... one being " No Foreign Land" and the other is " Sea People"

Then there's always Facebook

Steve Kent

2/3/2025 12:06 PM

I’ve found the NEBO app to be very useful and versatile and as a member of AGLCA, our icon is branded with the AGLCA burgee. I know other Brands and Clubs are represented uniquely as well.

It also allows communication within your community or to the broader audience, as you desire.

Thanks for looking into this.

Steve Kent
47-005
914-202-5506

JOHN ZIMMERMAN

2/3/2025 12:04 PM

If I had a vote on this spending commitment it would be "NO". As a former Nordhavn owner, I still get the owners group (NOG) posts. Often, I see posts on the NOG about an owner asking if any boats will be in such and such vicinity. The site is not overwhelmed with these posts, and they seem an effective way to reach out to other cruisers in a vicinity.

John Zimmerman

Felix 5359

Sent from AOL on Android

Mark Tilden

2/3/2025 11:33 AM

Hey Selene Friends:

There's a thread on this forum that started with a lively discussion about maintaining name boards. In the process, somebody mentioned that they were in the Bahamas and several more people chimed in and said that they were there too and asking about where other owners are going.

Just this morning John Shramek asked about the status of the Selene Map from the old site. That seemed like a good opportunity to just update everybody on the state of things....

As you know, we've largely completed the transition from the old site to the new Club Express site. Many thanks to those of you who donated to the GoFundMe last year that helped us raise the funds needed to get that transition done.

One of the things we said at the time was that the Selene Map would not be part of the initial implementation. Club Express had given us a quote for re-building the map functionality based on the code that I wrote 12+ years ago. It was going to cost a little over $20,000. We didn't have that much cash left after doing the initial implementation and the interim board has been pretty busy with lots of just normal "startup" issues for the association.

After we told them that we didn't think we could afford $20K, Club Express came back with a new proposal and reduced the price to $15K and said we could pay it in $3K chunks over 5 years. They also agreed to add some simple "alerting" functionality that would allow people to optionally receive email alerts if another Selene is within a configurable distance from them.

The interim association board has had considerable discussion about what to do with the map. We've had a variety of opinions expressed:

1. Some said they just don't use it.

2. Some said they use a variety of 3rd party tools, including MarineTraffic.

3. We had a presentation from another owner who is using a product called "SailLogger" that offers considerably more functionality than our map did, but also requires installation of some hardware/software on the boat.

4. A few have continued to express interest in getting the Selene Map re-implemented.

As of our last board meeting, the interim board voted to "punt" on the issue until the first official/elected board is installed. The new board will be elected this March and installed at our annual meeting in April.

So....your comments are welcome. We may end up running a formal "poll" to help us understand people's interest in the map functionality.

For now, the old site at: http://gator4001.temp.domains/~markdt98332 is still collecting position reports from boats that were registered when we transitioned. Unfortunately, no new accounts/changes can be made on the old site.

Mark Tilden

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