Voyager IP delivered vital comms support to Dr Karen Weekes on her successful and history-making 2,614 nautical miles, 80-day solo row across the Atlantic. Beginning in the Canaries in Dec 2021 and ending on 24 February 2022 in Barbados, Karen is the first Irish woman to row the Atlantic solo and one of only 20 women who have rowed any ocean alone.
Throughout the epic voyage, using the Thales VesselLINK unit supplied by Voyager IP backed up by its senior support personnel, Karen was able to keep in touch with her team and the international media, carrying out interviews and uploading videos of her progress through fair and foul weather.
Karen said, “Knowing that my team were available 24/7 certainly gave me peace of mind throughout the journey, especially during stormy days out at sea. My thanks to Voyager IP, especially Stavros Gianakakis, for his commitment and support in making sure I always had somebody to talk to, no matter what was happening at sea.”
Somex Automation in Cork provided technical and financial support to Karen’s team and worked closely with Stavros Gianakakis, Voyager IP’s Platform and Infrastructure Director, throughout the project. Managing director Michael Wall said: “I would like to thank Stavros Gianakakis most especially for providing extraordinary support to us. At various times over the past few months, we had called on Stav to support and guide us with setting the equipment and with various issues that arose. Day of week or time of day did not matter to Stav; he was contactable on his mobile phone, patient and effective at any time of day, night and weekend and we greatly appreciate this. He devoted many hours of his time to providing support.”
Michael’s praise was echoed by Karen’s project manager, Dr Suzanne Kennedy of the Letterkenny Institute of Technology. Suzanne said “I fully agree with Michael. Stav gently and steadily lifted a lot of un-needed stress for Karen at a very important time during her preparation. Thank you so much for that!”
Easy to use, adaptable and robust, the Thales VesseLINK unit used by Karen was sourced by Voyager IP as its Irish agent. It uses the Iridium Certus® network to provide critical marine operations with a lifeline to shore whenever or wherever a vessel is at sea. It offers an affordable, enterprise-grade solution designed to meet the unique challenges of maritime environments. It can be installed as a stand-alone solution or used as a VSAT companion.
Mark Elliott, managing director, Voyager IP, said “Huge congratulations to Karen on her fantastic achievement. All our team were behind her, with Stav going above and beyond in providing support, so we are delighted with the recognition and feedback. If Karen decides to take on another ocean, it’d be our pleasure to support her!”
