Zac Sunderland: On to Mauritius

Sunday, October 26, 2008
Indian Ocean & LA Gathering Update
Latest Position: 10/27/08 0526Z 14 54.775S 87 43.639E

We spoke with Zac this morning and he was cruising along at 6-7 knots in 20-25 knots of wind. Everything was shifting more aft (behind him) and his ride was becoming much more comfortable. Tonight, the swell is more sloppy and he is holding on for a wild ride!

......

No blog from Zac today. He has had a busy morning and has not had time to type but will get one out soon.
Cheers,
Marianne
posted by Zac at 10:42 PM 29 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, October 25, 2008
Cocos Log Part II
Latest Position: 10/26/08 0200Z 14 03.481S 90 32.807E

Day 3 at Cocos:

The next morning 2 new boats pulled in and I went to Home Island to find a bank so I would have some cash to pay the carpenter. Then I caught the ferry to West Island again, got some more provisions and used the Internet cafe. I caught the 2:30 bus back to the ferry which was the bus that all the school kids take. I managed to wedge myself and my big box of food in somehow. All the kids on the bus were wearing traditional Muslim clothing so I felt a little out of place in that bus. But I am 10,000 miles from home so I guess that is normal. By the time I got back to Intrepid it was already early afternoon so I started finishing up the cleanup from my days at sea; washing all the salt off the windows and coiling up all of the lines. Jed and Sean from one of the new boats (Ingrid) came by and asked if I wanted to go snorkeling with them. I grabbed my snorkel, mask and flippers and hopped in their dinghy. We anchored the dinghy at the edge of a reef and jumped in. We swam all around the reef but there weren't many fish just tons of sea slugs and a few reef sharks none of which were over 6 feet. After we were done snorkeling in the 80 degree water we headed over to Prison Island which is a small, sandy island with a few palm trees about 1/2 mile from Direction Island (the yacht anchorage). Jed and I headed out to explore the island. It took us all of 10 minutes to explore the whole island. Then it was back in the water. Interesting things happen when you swim in such warm water. You don't get tired as fast and I could hold my breath for a good 30 seconds longer that normal. After Prison Island we went to Direction Island where our boats were anchored. Jed and I set off on some trail into the middle of the jungle-like island. After walking through trails that were more like tunnels for half and hour we came out on the other side of the island. This is the side of the island that gets battered by the trade winds. There were literally 100s and 1000s of flip flops washed up on the beach. These had been swept from all over the world. After we walked the beach for awhile unsuccessfully trying to find a matching pair we headed off down some trail hoping it would take us back to the beach we came in on. It took us awhile to make our way back through the maze of trails. We finally made it back to the beach just on dark. Sean and the dinghy were back at Ingrid so we swam most of the way back. Jed's dad Richard came and picked up us and informed us that sharks eat in the evening. Richard invited me back over to Ingrid for dinner. They had caught a Wahoo a couple of days ago and Sean, who used to be chef, had just made dinner. After dinner we sat in the cockpit and watched the sharks swimming around the boat and enjoyed our piece of paradise.

End of Cocos Log Part II

Right now I am sailing between 6-7 knots with 20 knots of wind off my aft port quarter and with an 8-10 foot swell on the beam. The forecast shows that the swell should be shifting around to my aft quarter in a couple of days. Not much going on out here but I'm making good progress towards Mauritius. I will be talking to you all at the LA Gathering tomorrow afternoon which is early morning for me. Hopefully, I won't over sleep and miss Dad's call!

Cheers,
Zac
posted by Zac at 9:53 PM 24 Comments Links to this post

Friday, October 24, 2008
Cocos Log - Zac
Latest Position: 10/25/08 0555Z 13 24.912 S 92 32.561E

Cocos Log - Part I
I approached the entrance to Cocos around 10am. As I turned into the bay I had a 12' swell on the beam which made it a real event getting the anchor out. I managed to sail into the entrance but once I was in, the wind shifted around to the nose. I started up the engine which I had spent most of the previous day working on and motored into the bay. It was pretty hard even with the motor battling the 4 knot current that was pulling towards a big reef. Once I got out of the main path of the current I was able to follow the nav markers to the anchorage at Direction Island. I dropped anchor in 17 feet of water. I put up the quarantine flag and waited for customs. They came by and I got cleared in with no problems.
The people on the boat next to me lent me some 2 stroke engine oil that I had forgotten to get in Darwin for my outboard motor. I got the dinghy all set up and I finished taking the lines off of the broken boom. That evening I had dinner over at the the Swiss cruisers boat (forgot their name). It was great to have a home cooked meal (cooked by someone else). The next morning I took my broken tiller arm over to Home Island in my dinghy. Home Island is about 1.5 miles south of Direction Island and is where most people who live at CK live. They are all traditional Muslims and wear the traditional Muslim clothing of head coverings and robes. Home Island is also where you can catch a ferry across the atoll to the main commercial area of CK at West Island. I hopped on the ferry over to West Island hoping to find a bank and a carpenter for the tiller arm. When I got there I found neither. I went to the store next to the bank which was closed and asked when it would be open. The guy said Wednesday which was a pain because it was only Thursday. I got some provisions and headed back to the boat. On the ferry ride back to Home Island I met a nurse who had just transferred to Home Island from Australia and said she would help me find a carpenter. When we got to Home Island she took me to the house of the local carpenter, Parson. He said that he could make me a new tiller and repair the old one and have them ready in a couple of days. When I got back to the anchorage the other 2 boats had left and Intrepid was all alone in the anchorage.
End of Cocos Log - Part I

Right now I am 300 miles from Cocos with 25 knots on the aft quarter and a 10 foot swell on the beam which is making it really hard to type. I've been getting slammed by squalls since I left and the swell on the beam makes the ride comparable to the inside of a washing machine. But anyway, just getting back into the groove of being at sea. I'll get the rest of the Cocos blog out tomorrow.

Cheers,
Zac
posted by Zac at 9:37 PM 19 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, October 23, 2008
News from the Sea
Latest Position: 10/24/08 0325Z 12 31.122S 95 10.387E

Just a note to let you all know that Zac is back at sea and doing well. He left Cocos Keeling yesterday afternoon. He has a steady 15 knots off the aft port quarter and is making good time (between 6-7 knots) under genoa alone. Tomorrow is his younger brother Toby's 11th birthday but since Zac has crossed the International Date Line it is already Toby's birthday on Intrepid. Once that was discovered, it was decided that the present Zac had bought in Darwin and shipped home (a new skateboard) could be opened tonight! It was great to hear the boys laughing and so happy.

Everybody has been missing Zac. I do believe he will be a very different person when he returns but we still have the same laughs and jokes and fun as always.

Zac needed a day to get back into the groove of being at sea 24 hours a day and will work on a blog of his own for tomorrow's post.

Until Then,
Marianne
posted by Zac at 10:19 PM 37 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Good Evening All
We can all start breathing again. Zac picked up the half of his boom that Parson, the woodworker on Home Island, had faithfully fitted with a wooden beam. (forgive my terminology here). He brought it back to the boat and and after an hour of jumping up and down wiggling, twisting and whacking the thing has a proper makeshift boom. He fastened screws all along the break to secure everything.

He has spent the past few days picking up extra provisions, water, mail and fuel. He has been in touch with Customs and will wrap up the last few jobs and head out early in his afternoon. He has really enjoyed his stay at CK. With no family, photographers or media he was happy to just relax and enjoy his simple life there.

Laurence was a bit choked up as he reminded him of the potential weather on this leg and reminded him of all the precautions he should be taking. We told him we loved him and are so incredibly proud of him.

He is looking forward to hooking up with new found friends in Africa as soon as possible. He already has a warm welcome from the Point Yacht Club in Durban, SA. They apparently have an order of their world famous pie and chips waiting for him! They have offered to hold his mail there if you want to get a birthday card out to him by the end of November or early December when he arrives.

Zac Sunderland
c/o Point Yacht Club
PO Box 2224
Durban
South Africa 4000

We'll all be celebrating when he finally arrives in Durban safely out of the range of any Southern Indian Ocean cyclones.

Laurence will be ordering a new boom tomorrow with the measurements that Zac provided today and will send it out to Mauritius where there are many more boat-type facilities available. He is due to arrive in Mauritius around November 12th but we are hoping for a faster passage. He'd like to be in Africa and not at sea on his 17th birthday at the end of November!

Many thanks are due to everyone in CK, cruisers and locals alike, who helped Zac get around, offered showers, meals and friendship while he was there.

On to Mauritius!
posted by Zac at 9:41 PM 48 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, October 19, 2008
Update - Cocos Keeling
A brief update tonight on the long-haired adventurer:


We spoke with Zac briefly this evening (his morning). He was in good spirits after having been exploring the various islands that are Cocos Keeling. You can Google Cocos Keeling Island and find decent maps but there was nothing decent that I could take and post here. He has hooked up with the crew from the boat Ingrid over the past few days. Their crew is Captain/Owner Richard, 15 year old son Jed, and crew member Sean. Richard, from Cape Town, South Africa, is finishing up a 9 year circumnavigation. They have spent the past few days taking care of business and then exploring the place. Yes, they did snorkel. Not too many fish but a lot of colorful coral. Zac says the water is incredibly warm and that the sand is so fine it is like baby powder.


He picked up his tillers yesterday. The woodworker has Zac's boom and will attempt to fit it with some wood by the end of today which would have Zac back at sea tomorrow. Everything on the Island(s) is closed on Sunday so he had a great day of rest. He was having fuel delivered to the boat today and then he was headed back to West Island to visit the grocery store, Internet cafe, post office (thanks for mentioning it Rory!) and then back to Home Island on the ferry to check on his boom.

He actually met up with photographer Karen Willshaw whose web address I posted yesterday and she gave him her book of photos! I had been tempted to buy it myself when checking out her site which is http://www.karenwillshaw.com/ in case you missed it! Incredible stuff!

Thankfully, Zac managed to find some time for fun and still get his jobs done. He is rested and weel fed and raring to get out there and over to Africa where he should have more time to play and adventure that ever before on this trip.

We have had a great response to the LA Gathering coming up in a week. Thanks to all who are helping with the details of putting this together: Bill Mann, Marilyn Simcox, and Darrell Steffey. It promises to be a great evening.

LA Gathering/Fundraiser

A celebration presentation of Zac's trip and a fund raiser for his adventures will be held on Sunday Oct. 26 from 3 to 6 pm at The Organic Panificio Waterfront Restaurant located at 4211 Admiralty Way (at the corner of Palawan Way) in Marina del Rey. Laurence & Marianne Sunderland, Zac's parents, will provide an update on his trip, including never before seen footage of his adventures at sea and a computer video presentation of his planned route. A question and answer session and a silent auction of donated products/services will follow. The highlight of the evening will be an attempt to contact Zac directly at sea via a satellite phone connection for an additional on the spot update. Light appetizers will be served and a "cash bar" will be available. As space is limited, reservations are required. Cost for the event is $20 pre-paid, $27 at the door and $10 for children 12 and under.

To pre-pay reservations go to Zac's website at http://www.zacsunderland.com/, click on "Store" and follow the prompts.

For additional reservations, information or other payment methods: e-mail Marilyn at mgsimcox@yahoo.com or phone (818) 703-1154.

Become another proud member of the "Zac Pac". Hope to see you there.

Please RSVP by 10/23.

Anyone wishing to donate an item, product or service for the silent auction, please contact Bill Mann by e-mail at bill@barstools4u.com or by phone at (323) 205-0417.

For those Zac supporters who are unable to attend this event due to prior commitments or geographical location and who would still like to support Zac in his adventure, you may do so by making a pre-paid reservation and inserting in the comments section, along with your name: "teenager donation". We will then see that a teen from one of the local youth groups gets the ticket to attend the event in your place, along with your name as the benefactor.

Thank you for your continued support, it is much appreciated.

Cheers,
Marianne
posted by Zac at 9:20 PM 31 Comments Links to this post

Friday, October 17, 2008
Repairs in Paradise
Hello All,
Laurence and I enjoyed the warm hospitality of the Westlake Yacht Club tonight. We stopped by to drop off a poster for the LA Gathering on October 26th and were quickly sat down to a beautiful dinner! We spoke briefly and had a lot of laughs which were much needed.
In case you still haven't heard about the gathering, here is the info. Please seriously consider coming. Bill Mann is running what is turning out to be a splendid silent auction. There will be a lot of food and fun for sure!


LA Gathering/Fund raiser
A celebration presentation of Zac's trip and a fund raiser for his adventures will be held on Sunday Oct. 26 from 3 to 6 pm at The Organic Panificio Restaurant located at 4211 Admiralty Way (at the corner of Palawan Way) in Marina del Rey. Laurence & Marianne Sunderland, Zac's parents, will provide an update on his trip, including never before seen footage of his adventures at sea and a computer video presentation of his planned route. A question and answer session and a silent auction of donated products/services will follow. The highlight of the evening will be an attempt to contact Zac directly at sea via a satellite phone connection for an additional on the spot update. Light appetizers will be served and a "cash bar" will be available.

As space is limited, reservations are required. Cost for the event is $20 pre-paid, $27 at the door and $10 for children 12 and under. To pre-pay reservations go to Zac's website at http://www.zacsunderland.com/, click on "Store" and follow the prompts. For additional reservations, information or other payment methods: e-mail Marilyn at mmailto:mgsimcox@yahoo.com or phone (818) 703-1154. Become another proud member of the "Zac Pac". Hope to see you there. Please RSVP by 10/23.

Anyone wishing to donate an item, product or service for the silent auction, please contact Bill Mann by e-mail at bmailto:bill@barstools4u.com or by phone at (323) 205-0417.

For those Zac supporters who are unable to attend this event due to prior commitments or geographical location and who would still like to support Zac in his adventure, you may do so by making a pre-paid reservation and inserting in the comments section, along with your name: "teenager donation". We will then see that a teenager from one of the local youth groups gets the ticket to attend the event in your place, along with your name as the benefactor. Thank you for your continued support, it is much appreciated.


As for Zac in Paradise...
He has definitely hit the ground running. There has been a steady trickle of boats arriving at Cocos Keeling. They are all on the fast track to head down to Mauritius and beyond as quickly as possible to avoid any early storm activity. Zac has figured out the ferry system that takes people around the 3 islands in the atoll and has hooked up with the right people. He will have to blog about all of the amazing connections he has made. He was introduced to the woodworker from Home Island 2 days ago. Zac marveled at the man's shop where he was building beautiful wooden sailing boats all with hand tools. He was happy to repair Zac's tiller and fashion a new one out of a nice chunk of teak he had in his shop. Thank you to whoever it was that suggested the Home Island woodworkers!
Thank you for all of your emails of concern and advice regarding the repair of Zac's boom. His mission today was to haul the 5 foot piece of broken boom around with all of Laurence's ideas for possible makeshift fixes in mind and attempt a timely repair. The issue of repairing the boom is being weighed against the cost of delaying his departure into the already brewing Indian Ocean this close to cyclone season. He does not have the option of waiting for a new boom nor of waiting 2 weeks while a repair is made. With the well established weather patterns and expert meteorologist David Morris watching for danger from the satellite imaging, he should be able to be routed safely across.
On a positive note, Zac has been eating lots. He finds the canned food in CK to be a bit odd with mostly canned mac and cheese and canned beans for sale. He'd better do some fishing on this next leg! Meanwhile, he is filling up on fresh food which is fabulous. He hooked up with the local missionary doctor on Home Island, who had heard of him, and was given a once over and a shower. He weighed in at having lost just about 10 pounds. Probably mostly muscle as he had been working out pretty consistently with Laurence before he left last June. He did attempt to swim, the water is beautiful, but noticed a few sharks swimming by and changed his plans. Not sure where people dive there but none of the cruisers at Direction Island were swimming after that! Most of the cruisers/boaters who are there right now are part of a round the world rally and are at the tail end and passing through fairly quickly. We are speaking only once a day now because of the time difference. Hopefully, he will get his blog out soon because our sat phone connection has not been very good (in fact, neither has my cell phone?) and I miss a lot of what he says.
Thanks for listening. Zac should be back in a day or two!
Cheers,
Marianne
PS: Here is a link to a wonderful photographer from Cocos Keeling. Her shots are absolutely breathtaking!
http://www.karenwillshaw.com/
posted by Zac at 11:31 PM 35 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Welcome to Paradise
Zac will attempt to type up a blog tonight (it is still his late morning) but I will update you all as to what the plan is. Zac was immediately greeted by the other cruising boats at Cocos Keeling - 3 in all. They shared stories and fed Zac a homecooked dinner of meat and salad that he said was wonderful. They are all heading to Mauritius next and have set up a radio schedule for the journey. After weighing the pros and cons, it was decided to have Zac stow the boom (a weld would not be strong enough) and sail downwind to Mauritius under genoa alone. Zac proved this to be successful as he sailed the last 30 miles to CK under genoa alone with very little decrease in speed. Many thanks to Rob Jordan and Dave Hickson for their knowledgable advice.
When we spoke with Zac this morning he was planning on heading out to Home Island about 1.5 miles away from the anchorage at Direction Island to seek out the woodworkers to see about having 2 new tillers made. He will also be able to buy some food there for his next leg to Mauritius. He sounded really good and was inspired by the other cruisers to be about his business and join them on the passage to Mauritius and his halfway mark!! .....

The following link is the most amaizng article on the history of Cocos Keeling Island:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/6730047.stm

Until tomorrow,
Marianne
posted by Zac at 10:08 PM 43 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Limping to Cocos Keeling
Good evening all!

It has been a wild couple of days here. Zac has been busily preparing for his arrival in Cocos Keeling. Sunday afternoon he had a long list of chores that he was hoping to handle including cleaning up and organizing, sorting out his anchor and chain, gathering his paperwork, entering his waypoints into the spare GPS etc. Sunday night at about midnight Intrepid came off of a wave and Zac awoke to a loud cracking sound. He ran up to see what the noise could have been and found his tiller cracked in two. The boat headed up into the wind and rode the swells while he tried to figure out how on earth to repair the thing in the dark and, did I mention that it was raining?
After a few hours of trying different fixes, he found that screwing four hose clamps around the tiller would hold it pretty well. He was able to strap it back into the Tiller Pilot and get back under way. We spoke several times during the day. He was checking off his list and was going to have another look at the engine before having a nap last we spoke.
This morning I got a call from Zac early. I thought that maybe he was excited about his arrival at Cocos Keeling and couldn't sleep. He had been sleeping when he was awakened by a loud crashing sound and the boat slamming around. He ran up to see what was going on and saw that the tiller had come off of the Tiller Pilot causing an accidental jibe. This is when the direction of the boat is changed so that the wind switches to the other side of the boat. This can be a violent motion and causes the boom to crash to the other side of the boat. I'm not clear why Zac didn't have his preventer hooked up but I suppose he didn't feel he was in any danger of jibing under his current pointof sail. I cannot imagine what he thought as he looked and saw that his boom had completely broken in two! The boom is the metal bar that extends from the mast to hold down the bottom part of the sail. He wasn't in that much wind at the time (about 15 knots). He figures that the boom was weak because of age and an accumulation of wear and tear from heavy use.
He was still moving along at about 6 knots with the mainsail sagging. He managed to pull everything in and secure the boom and at last conversation was moving along at between 5-6 knots under genoa alone. He had made contact with Cocos Keeling Customs who were alerted to his condition and would be on standby if he needed any help. The plan at this point is for him to sail into the bay and drop the anchor as soon as he is in the lee of Direction Island. Hopefully the tides, currents and wind will be in his favor and he will have no problems. It is a risky move due to the reefs on either side of the channel.
He is still in excellent spirits considering everything and hopeful of finding a welder on the island. Of all the stops that Laurence has gone to meet Zac, this one would have been the most needed but he did not plan to go out having been to Darwin so recently. In fact, no one is going out due to the expense!

Perhaps the mysterious Indonesian fishing boat was successful in tossing their evil spirits onto Intrepid. But we don't fear because He who is in us is stronger than he who is in the world!
I expect a call from Zac sometime tonight to let us know how his arrival went. I will post again if it isn't too late.

On my knees,
Mom Sunderland

PS At 10:45 this evening Zac called to say that his motor miraculously started (and I do mean miraculously!) and he motored all the way to the anchorage! He is sitting in paradise as I type!
posted by Zac at 10:01 PM 64 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, October 12, 2008
Wind, Engines and Questions
The wind and seas have been intense and consistant over the past 24 hours. The wind is at about 25 knots and the seas at about 10 feet now. I still have this annoying cross-swell that slaps Intrepid off of her course every now and then. I had to adjust my radar because the swells are getting so big they set off the radar alarm from time to time.

I have been getting some good feedback on anchoring under sail in Cocos Keeling. Thanks to Billabong Blog and Rob Jordan and the other commenters who have ideas for me. My filters are clean so it has to be something with the lines or the fuel pick up again. I'm hoping to be able to rig something so that I at least have time to set the anchor properly. I'll have to get to the yard in Mauritius and have them cut a whole in the tanks so we can see what is going on in there.
Mom sent over a bunch of questions from Bill and Linda in Camarillo. Here they are:
What has been your favorite and least favorite part of your journey?
My favorite part of the journey this far has been my stop in Majuro. The locals are friendly and the lifestyle is layed back. I had a great rest and food at the Robert Reimers Hotel. It was the last part of my easy Pacific crossing - easy compared to what came next anyway!

My least favorite part of the trip so far was my stay in Papua New Guinea. Even though I had some great people there assisting me, I felt stuck there because of my engine problems and the limited parts and service available there. Every extra day I spent there was a day I could not spend exploring Australia.

What has been your biggest fear?

My biggest fear so far has been the fear of falling asleep and not waking up for an alarm. Second biggest fear was navigatin alone through reefs.

What have you learned about yourself that was a surprise?

I was pretty to realize that I am OK being alone for long periods of time. Although after about 2 weeks I start to get pretty bored and restless.

What do you wish you would have done before you left home that you didn't get to do?

Change out my fuel tanks!!

What do you miss most that you thought you wouldn't miss?

I am really missing football. Football is your whole lofe during the season. I have really missed it out here.

What are you surprised that you can live without?

I am really surprised at how I have adjusted to eating so little.

Cheers,

Zac
posted by Zac at 6:09 PM 52 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, October 11, 2008
More Wind!
OK so I am fully in the trades now. I have been making great time day and night. I have had a consistant 20-25 knots all day. There is an annoying swell that is hitting me on the port aft quarter and knocking me off course continually. I have altered course as much as possible but it hasn't helped much. I am reading through a book called Singelhanded Sailing by Richard Henderson. I have been reading up on how to anchor without an engine because all of a sudden I my engine is stalling out on me again. I start it up every now and then to make sure it is running. I think the rougher seas have stirred something up and has clogged it somewhere again. All of my usual tricks haven't worked this time and in 20+ knots and 8 foot seas I'm not really feeling like crawling in the engine room to troubleshoot. So, it seems, I will have to pay a price to enter paradise after all! Should be there in a few days.
Cheers,
Zac