HowTo

Back in July of 2011 I wrote a pretty geeky post about adding grib files to iNavx by first jailbreaking your iPad and then doing a series of complicated steps to get the gribs from Airmail (or wherever you download them from) to the iPad. I’m here to say that with newer versions of iOS (5+) there is an easier way. First I should explain why this is a concern. If you are bluewater cruising, chances are you will not be able to use iNavX’s built in GRIB downloader. This means that you will have to download them through Airmail, zygrib, Ocens, mailasail, or what have you. These programs all have decent grib viewers but it is sometimes nice to overlay these on your charts. Enter the solution. ...

iNavX is (as I’ve previously mentioned) a terrific product. It’s one greatest shortcoming is it’s inability to import grib files when the iPad is not directly connected to the internet. Since this is going to be our primary electronic navigation device, I needed to remedy that before we left. Luckily, the solution is neither painful, nor overly technical (one in the same?). It does require jailbreaking your iPad though, so if you have trouble breaking the rules, you had better stop reading here. ...

I had a heck of a time purchasing and subsequently using my Indian Airtel SIM card. I learned a lot in the process that might be useful to other travelers visiting India. The following are some of my experiences as well as a few suggestions. Obtaining a SIM card from abroad: This is perhaps the most confusing step in an entirely confusing process. I started by trying to purchase a card online. This is a complete non-starter. All of the links that I found point to sites that seem to have been set up prior to 26/11 (Mumbai’s Terrorist attacks). Subsequent to the attacks, India’s government set up a serious bureaucracy that seems to do little more than inconvenience legitimate customers. ...