Zac Sunderland Solo Around the World Cruise

[Vandyyke]

My wife and I spend a lot of time at Newport Harbor. We came across this guys story in one of the local restaurants.  What privilege!

http://www.zacsunderland.com/blog/

Here you can see his location on a map.

http://thelog.com/news/logNewsArticle.aspx?x=7523

[Vandyyke]

This is from Zac's blog July 18th

Others went out to the sea in ships; they were merchants on the mighty waters.
They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep.
For he spoke and stirred up a tempest that lifted high the waves.
They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths; in their peril their courage melted away.
They reeled and staggered like drunken men; they were at their wit's end.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.
They were glad when it grew calm, and he guided them to their desired haven.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men.
Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the council of the elders.
Psalm 107:23-32

[Oscar]

VanDave,

I have given some thought lately to buying a sailboat.  I heard there was a boat show at Marina Del Rey on June 14-15.  So, after Church on the 15th I drove down there to see what was going on.

It seems that this young man had set sail on Saturday the 14th.  Some of his family members were manning a booth where they were selling T-shirts and other things in order to raise money for his trip.  They had enlarged photos of him and his boat.

Seems he has quite a boat for the journey.  I think it was a 34 or 35 foot cruiser.  That's a lot of boat to sail alone, as well as a lot of boat to pay for.  I did not talk to the family aboaut him as I was checking out some other booths.

PS, I didn't buy any boats there.  They started at about 250K and went up to a couple of million.   My thoughts are more down the trailerable cruiser line.  I actually spent more time in the boat storage lot looking at the boats there.

I learned to sail in Newport harbor back in 1958 when I was 16 at that rental place right next to the pavillion.

Tom M.

[Vandyyke]

We ran into some more advertisements on him last Friday in Newport.  I wonder how much of this adventure is his own idea. Hope he doesn't get into any bad situations.

   Pam and I paddle around Balboa/Lido Island and covet the boats, some are in the millions! 


       contantly surrounded by overendulgence and extravigence give me plenty of opportunity to excercise humility,  "Oh Lord,  I would humbly settle for that moderate vessel and or beach house!"


Thanks!

[Vandyyke]

was the day that I finally felt back 'in the groove'. I am sleeping better and have been able to really power nap again. I rigged up a fishing line today. Mahana caught a 4-5 foot tuna today. Well they sort of caught one. When they got the fish close to the boat the line broke. Haven't been any more Booby birds so hopefully I won't end up catching one of those. The wind has been pretty consistant and I am making good time. It feels great to be getting to Majuro so quickly. I have been averaging between 5-6 knots most of the time. After checking email and working on my blog today, I noticed that my solar panels weren't charging as much as they should have been. I checked the fuses and the connections all round and they all seemed to be good. I checked the panels themselves and found that the Boobies must have been hanging out there. I climbed up the stainless steel mount and wiped them down with a rag which was fun in the wind and swells. They still weren't charging well so I called Mike Smith, one of the electricians that worked on Intrepid before I left. We went through the entire system with Mike calling the regulator manufacterer for help. We think that the RF from the SSB radio is causing the problem. This isn't a terrible problem because I can still charge my batteries from the wind generator (and there is a lot of wind) and in an emergencey I can charge with my engine. It does mean that I need to conserve power pretty seriously. I reset the radar to a more powersaving mode so hopefully that will help. The radar is one of my biggest power draws.
I slept in the cockpit last night becasue it is so warm. The moon is only about half full but is still really bright and the nights have been really clear.
There have been a lot of questions about pirates lately. I think you all are doing a good job answering all the questions. Basically, the areas of piracy are well documented. Even though my route looks like it is close to Indonesia, it isn't close enough to the problem areas. I have been reading about Papua New Guinea and there is a lot of crime there (on land) and malaria will be a problem until I clear the Panama Canal. I am hoping to have a host in PNG to help me with my travels and I will start taking my antimalarials once a week when I leave Majuro.
Sorry for the scare...will post again in the morning.
Cheers,
Zac

Piracy map:
http://www.icc-ccs.org/extra/display.php

[Vandyyke]

The wind settled down some last night so my average speed was only 5 knots. I remember when 5 knots would have seemed like racing along when I was becalmed on the way to Hawaii!
I spoke on the radio with Moana again last night. They had had a nap and were able to tell me more about their squall that blew out their sail. They had been sleeping. It was 9:00 at night. They don't have a radar so they have to keep their eyes out for squalls. A squall hit them suddenly with 30+ knots. They were 'knocked down' which is anytime when your spreaders hit the water. Spreaders are metal bars attached to the mast the 'spread' out the halyards (the metal lines that hold up the mast. They ran up on deck to release the main sheet (spilling wind out of the main sail). The boat righted itself and they were able to sail along under stay sail alone while they checked the boat for damage. The wind was still blowing at 30 knots. Before they had finished checking things over a gust of wind at over 40 knots hit them and blew out the stay sail, tearing apart at the seams. Made me nervous last night and I really didn't sleep well. I kept getting up to check the sky, radar etc.

[Vandyyke]

Latest Position: 07/30/08 0252UTC and 07/29/08 7:52pmPDT: 9.05N, 178.01E


Notice my E-W coordinate? I have passed 180 degrees which is the international dateline.

I have just lost a day of my life. I have been thinking today about how or if I will ever get it back.

Interesting.

At this position, I am 420 nautical miles from Majuro. As it is already Wedneday here, I am hoping to arrive on Saturday in the early afternoon. Dad and Greg (from Itik Productions) are landing about 10am so hopefully they will be here to see me in. It will be good to get on land again. Some of the locals are organising to see me into the harbor which will be great. Moana is still nearby and we are hoping to be able to enter the harbor together as they don't have any charts of the area. I have a bunch of charts but not much in the way of a detailed cruising guide. They guys in Majuro should be able to guide us in via radio though. The pass seems pretty straight forward with no coral reefs to speak of and deep water all around. Also the channel is very well marked. As long as I make it there during daylight my entry should be relatively easy. If I arrive after dark, I will need to wait untl morning. I will have to pace myself as I get nearer so that I arrive at a good time.

Nothing too exciting today. I did have a squall this morning but it passed next to me. Dave Morris' forecast shows the following:

Satellite imagery shows a larger convective complex developing at 8N 175W,also tracking from east to west, a little faster than the surface flow.Thunderstorms associated with this system are likely to influence Intrepid’sweather over the next 12 hours.

I am a little north of my course anyway so I will beware but looks like Moana, who is further south, will have to be on their guard.

Have been reading Jesse Martin's book Lionheart. This is the book he wrote after his solo, non-stop, unassisted round the world sail. It is a great read. I am also reading several cruising guides and trying to finish Joshua Slocum. I have been eating oatmeal and fruit for breakfast and cooking up a 'linner' in the afternoon of something hot. I'll probably try more rice and either canned chicken or tuna tonight. I have a lot of dired fruit, nuts, beef jerky and power-type bars on board. I do remember that Trader Joe's pineapple though. Have to get mom to get me some!

The winds were light this morning and gradually increasing to about 20 knots. The swells are less steep and I have been able to do a little boat surfing today. The angle is very comfortable so I am able to keep the full genoa out and the main with one reef.

All is well here. Really enjoying covering so much ground. Thanks for all the tips and advice!

Cheers,

Zac

posted by Z

[Vandyyke]

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Majuro - Day 2


For some reason, Zac is having a hard time finding time to write! I did speak to him this morning via sat phone very briefly as the local weather conditions were causing his reception to be intermittent. Day 2 was spent resting, eating, bathing and cleaning the boat. This, by the way, was documented by cameraman Greg Lawson. Speaking as a mother this is some footage that I'd really like to see! Then again, maybe not... Zac also has been amazed and so blessed by the local people and cruisers for their kindness and generosity. People stop him for photographs and to by him a drink. He has so many great stories to tell. Things like the chef of the restaurant preparing his order first before the other diners and presenting it himself along with a mountainous ice cream shake! He is hoping to have time tonight to blog but the schedule sounded pretty tight with Greg flying out tomorrow. He'll have the rest of the week to relax and visit.

The e-commerce site for Zac's T-shirts was picked up as a sponsorship by a member of the Zac Pac, Qbaroo. Jasmine offered to host his site so that the T-shirts could get online quickly and efficiently which is the name of the game here! Here is the link to our new e-commerce site: www.qbaroo.com/zacsunderland
There will be a link on Zac's web site and a link on the blog soon.
Cheers,
Marianne

[Vandyyke]

http://www.zacsunderland.com/blog/

[Vandyyke]

http://pics.goboating.com/pics/THELOG/GoogleEarth_Image.jpg

Zac is making great time. I doubt he will have any problem making his goal!