RoamFree Ninja is a ‘made in Croatia’ hotspot, which is currently sailing the Adriatic and offers better service and connectivity than standard WiFi routers.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about how I got a ‘distress’ call from my husband who is a Captain at sea (read about it here). Their WiFi router had decided to stop working and he needed a quick fix. He called and asked me to bring my ‘travelling WiFi thing’, so off I went to meet them. The guests were going for a walk around Omiš, so I had time to have a quick cup of coffee with my man and give him my beloved RoamFree Ninja before they sailed off again.
I must admit, I would do anything to help my husband, but handing over my Ninja was a little tough, especially as I have spent the last week travelling around Croatia with my Uncle, I didn’t realise just how much I relied on it. Of course, I have data on my phone, but it isn’t 100% reliable and when we were on the five-hour bus from Split to Dubrovnik, it would have been a perfect time to pull out the laptop and make the trip as productive as possible, but alas, no publishing for me (sorry Boss).
Anyway, back to the sea. So, my husband has had the Ninja for about two weeks and being a man of few words, he has only told me – yea, it’s fine. But last night he called, raving about it.
‘The Ninja worked on Lastovo and Sušac‘ he exclaimed with mild disbelief. These are definitely two areas where we have always had difficulty getting any reception, Lastovo was dicey with signal dropping in and out; but Sušac was always an absolute no-go. Which didn’t bother me too much in the past, because to me, the idea of being on Sušac is to be secluded, cut off from the real world…
Credit: Tash Pericic, Susac at Sunset
Sušac is a tiny, precious island about 13 nautical miles from the coast of Lastovo. Its landscape is mostly dry and rocky; steep harsh cliffs dominate the south-west coast, while the rich shades of red add character. To give an idea of just how remote Sušac is, on a clear day you can see across the Adriatic to Italy and the island itself only has two inhabitants – the two lighthouse keepers who maintain the 19th Century lighthouse (one of the few manned lighthouses in Croatia). The water surrounding Sušac has an incredible clarity of up to 30-metre depths.
Credit: Tash Pericic, view from the top of Susac, yacht Alba the only boat in sight.
The type of guests who venture as far as Sušac, are typically those who want a genuine experience; to be in nature and enjoy steering clear of the ‘common’ sailing routes and hordes of tourists. However, as I mentioned in my last article, unfortunately, crew and sometimes guests do have a need for WiFi. Whether it is for the Captain to check the weather, Chef to place his orders or for guests to answer emails; in this day and age we don’t all have the luxury of completely switching off – even on holiday.
My husband was thrilled that it worked all the way on Sušac, as they needed to confirm reservations for the next day and he needed to check the weather to set their sailing itinerary.
So, if you are working on a yacht in Croatia or even just coming sailing in Croatia for a week or two, it is worth checking out RoamFree Ninja.
You can visit their page here to see the full details on service and cost.
Do you have any experiences with RoamFree Ninja, or have you been in a dire situation in need of WiFi before? We would love to hear about it, email: [email protected].
