For Saildocs users going messenger-only

Saildocs can’t email
your messenger. We text it.

Saildocs sends real GRIB forecasts by email, free, and offshore sailors have relied on it for decades. But its GRIB arrives as an email attachment, and a ZOLEO or Garmin inReach can only receive plain text. Beamback closes that gap: the same GFS and ECMWF data, delivered as satellite text messages your messenger already receives.

Request beta access See how it works

ZOLEO weather page → inReach weather page →

GRIB weather + waves + AI · GFS · ECMWF · satellite text · airtime billed by your provider

GFS · WIND · +24H
How it works

Why Saildocs stops at a text-only messenger.

01

The Saildocs pattern

Email a request, get a GRIB back. It works brilliantly over a satphone or Iridium GO mail client, and it costs nothing.

02

Where it stops

A ZOLEO or inReach cannot open email attachments. The Saildocs reply simply never reaches a text-only messenger.

03

The same idea, by text

Text Beamback an area and time range. The forecast beams back as ordinary satellite messages, and the free viewer turns them into a real GRIB chart.

What you get

The same data, in the format your device speaks.

SAME MODELSGFS · ECMWF
The forecasts come from the same GFS and ECMWF model runs Saildocs serves, fetched fresh from the model source at request time.
REAL GRIB OUTFILE ◆
The viewer reassembles the messages into an actual GRIB file you can inspect on the map or open in your usual weather-routing software.
WAVES TOOGFS-WAVE
Significant wave height rides along with wind, pressure and rain, so passage planning gets the sea state, not just the wind field.
AI ASSISTANT◆ ONLINE
Alongside weather you can text a plain-English question (a repair, first aid, a safe harbour) and get an answer over the same satellite link.
TEXT-ONLY BY DESIGNNO ATTACHMENTS
Everything arrives as plain satellite text your device already receives natively. No mail client, no attachments, no extra hardware.
BOTH DEVICESPAIRED
Works with the ZOLEO or Garmin inReach you already own. Pair once with a short code and text requests any time.
Saildocs or Beamback?

An honest answer: it depends on your boat.

HAVE A MAIL CLIENT?USE SAILDOCS
If your boat runs a satphone, Iridium GO or SSB modem with a mail client that handles attachments, Saildocs works and is free. Beamback is not trying to replace that setup.
MESSENGER-ONLY BOAT?USE BEAMBACK
If your only satellite link is a ZOLEO or inReach, attachments are a dead end. Beamback delivers the forecast in the one format your device speaks: text.
HONEST ABOUT COSTFROM €6/MO
Saildocs is free. Beamback is €6/month, cancel anytime, and your satellite airtime is billed by your device provider as with any message you send.
REQUESTS THE SAME WAYAREA + HOURS
If you already think in Saildocs terms (an area, a resolution, forecast hours), Beamback requests read the same way. The free app writes the request for you.
FAQ

Saildocs and satellite messengers, answered.

Does Saildocs work with a ZOLEO or Garmin inReach?

Not directly. Saildocs replies with the GRIB as an email attachment, and ZOLEO and inReach devices receive plain text messages only, so the attachment never reaches the device. To get GRIB weather on a text-only satellite messenger you need a service that delivers the forecast as text, which is what Beamback does.

Is Beamback a replacement for Saildocs?

Only for text-only satellite messengers. If your boat has a satphone, Iridium GO or SSB mail setup that can receive attachments, Saildocs works well and is free. Beamback exists for boats whose only satellite link is a ZOLEO or Garmin inReach: it delivers the same GFS and ECMWF model data as satellite text messages, plus an AI assistant, from €6/month.

How do I get GRIB files without email attachments?

Pair your ZOLEO or inReach with Beamback once, then text a forecast request: an area and a time range. The GRIB is compressed and delivered as ordinary satellite text messages, and the free Beamback viewer reassembles them into a real GRIB file you can view on a map or open in weather-routing software.

Can I still use Saildocs request syntax?

Beamback uses its own compact request format, but it is built from the same ingredients: a bounding box, a grid resolution, forecast hours and the fields you want. The free Beamback app writes the request for you from a box drawn on a map, and shows the expected message count before you send.

Going messenger-only? Keep the GRIBs.

Beamback is invite-gated and free during beta. Request access and we’ll email you an invite as slots open.

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