Zac Sunderland - Posts from November 13 - 30, 2008

Sunday, November 30, 2008
Smooth Sailing & the Forstay Saga
Latest Position: 11/30/08 1547Z 26 39.814S 50 32.221E

A good day today with the winds shifting a bit but still enough to make decent headway. So far the good weather seems to be holding and the seas have been calm. I am feeling good and passing the time listening to my french language tapes, reading some and doing small jobs on the boat. I sat down to write out the end to the story of my time in the Indian Ocean when my forstay let loose.
For any who may have missed the first part of the story, I have reposted it here with the end of the story following...

Indian Ocean Trouble:

It was about 10pm and I was sailing along under genoa alone. (I have been saving the repaired boom only for necessity.) I was going between 6-7 knots in a nice 25 knot Indian Ocean trade on the aft quarter. I had just layed down in my bunk and was awake listening to the sounds of the boat working when I heard a flapping noise on deck. It sounded like a flying fish or maybe a bird so I didn't bother to check it. A minute later, the motion of the boat changed. I went up in the cockpit and saw that the gennie was way too far off the boat. At this point my night vision hadn't quite kicked in yet. I thought that maybe the furling line had snapped and it had come all the way unfurled. I switched on the spreader lights and found my gennie 15 feet from the boat held by the furling line and the sheet. It looked like a spinnaker. As I looked at it I knew that I was in for one of those adrenalin-filled sleepless nights. The first thing I did was to grab the spinnaker halyard and fasten it to the bow for mast support. So I put the furling line around the winch and fell off the wind a little to take the wind off the sail. This worked pretty well except now I had to go and wrestle a flogging genoa over the lifelines and lash it to the deck. Around 1am I finally got it lashed down on a 1/2" thick U-bolt right behind where the forstay is fastened to the deck. It was under control enough to call my dad to see if he had any advice. He called some of the riggers who had worked on Intrepid in Marina del Rey and they thought that I should loosen the aft stay to give the forstay some slack to try and reattach it. I went back up on deck to try to furl the sail and after 3 hours I got it furled to 1/4 of it's size. It was 4 am and I was getting a little too tired to be on deck so I pulled up the main with a reef in it and went to sleep....


Indian Ocean Troubles (Part II):
After the first night I had managed to partially furl the sail and secure the furler on the deck. The next morning I went to work and by sundown I had managed to completely furl the sail and got it reattached to the forward chainplate by using a couple of shackles to extend the forstay. By the end of the day it was almost as good as new and I was sailing along with full main and my patched boom. After this I had 24 hours with no problems and smooth sailing. I was able to keep up a good 6.5 knots average with about 25-30 knots behind me. This was not to last. At about 4 in the morning the following day the forstay let loose again. The nut had come loose from the bolt that was holding the furler to the shackle. With the heavy winds the sail was unfurled in no time. This time it was much crazier up on deck. I was often burying the bow of the boat in waves and it was all I could do to keep from getting thrown off. After a couple of hours I was able to get the furler lashed down to the deck but somehow during all this the forstay snapped inside the furler and had knotted itself inside. I couldn't pull down the furler or spin it. By the end of the day I had managed to get the bottom 2/3 of the sail furled but the top 1/3 was still flogging. Each time the sail filled with wind it would slam the rig. It was agonizing to watch this happening and not knowing how much more damage was being done. I had been studying the charts a couple of days prior and knew I was coming up on an Island called Rodrigues. After talking to friend and world sailor, Rob Jordan, who had been there, I decided to pull in so I could deal with pulling down my sail out of the wind. I was still 200 miles out from Rodrigues so it was back to work on deck. I was able to wrap a spinnaker halyard around the roller furler and that helped stop the top of the sail from flogging so much. That night the lines holding the furler to the deck snapped. The full weight of the top third of the sail went on the spinnaker halyard that was wrapped around it. I had had 2 lines wrapped around the sail and they both had chaffed completely through and broke. Now after I had wrapped the spinnaker halyard around the furler a couple of times I didn't have enough rope to make it back down to the deck. I clipped it on to the pulpit and now with the weight of the sail on it, the pulpit bent all out of shape in seconds. By the time I got it relashed to the deck, the pulpit was a mess and all the lifelines were slack. I was completely exhausted and though the stiuation was not good, I didn't have the strength to do anything else. I went down below for some sleep not knowing waht to expect next. In the middle of the night the wind dropped from 25-30 to 15 knots and in the morning I was able to wind shadow the genoa with my mainsail. The sail had completely stopped flogging. The seas had also calmed down a bit and it was a good quick sail into Rodrigues around 4 that afternoon. I have posted in previous blogs about my 30 hours in Rodrigues and the repairs done in Mauritius.
Now I am 1/3 of my way to Durban, South Africa out of Mauritius. I have nearly crossed my second ocean and I am officially on my way home!
Cheers,
Zac

PS Check out Zac's Store for the new 2009 calendar!




posted by Zac at 7:21 AM 33 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, November 29, 2008
Birthday at Sea
Latest Position: 11/29/08 1637Z 25 01.1975S 51 50.530E


OK, so today being the 29th of November on this side of the world - it is my birthday. My 17th actually. The day had finally come for me to open my presents that have traveled halfway around the world! In the box from home I got some cds, a digital camera, this awesome cake that you just have to add water and micorwave and a bunch of candy from my little brothers and sisters. My grandmas sent me a bunch of snacks like Lara Bars, nuts and beef jerky. I got a bunch of cards from friends and family. Also I was given fair winds and not quite following seas but at least they are not on the nose anymore - I have been sailing along nicely at 6 knots most of the day. I spent most of the day playing with my new camera, napping and preparing the boat for heavy winds as I am about 300 miles from my waypoint off the coast of Madagascar where the heavy weather is. So it has been a good birthday - a far cry from all the craziness of my 16th back at home but my second at sea - I had my 10th birthday heading south from Neuva Vallarta in Mexico aboard my family's boat Amazing Grace. I'm about to make my birthday cake. I'll get some more blogging done tomorrow. I am working on the rest of the story of my forstay problem which should be ready for tomorrow all being well.

My ears are better - thank you for all of the advice and ideas. I never did take any antibiotics as it seems to be clearing up on its own. I still have some symptoms but am feeling better everyday.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes. It has been a good day.
Cheers,
Zac
posted by Zac at 8:01 AM 48 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving
Latest Position: 11/28/08 0622Z 23 01.545S 54 26.934E

Spoke with Zac briefly this morning and again this evening. We passed the phone around after our Thanksgiving celebration. He is really missing some real mashed potatoes instead of his instant Costco spuds but other than that was in great spirits and looking forward to that wind (now at 12 knots on the nose) to fill in from the east. Intrepid performs optimally in 12-15 knots of wind.
On behalf Zac and the entire Sunderland family we thank you all for supporting and encouraging all of us in this endeavour. Zac's quest began as a grass roots effort by a small but growing number of local sailors, writers and photographers. If it had been solely up to our family to fund Zac's trip he may well have had to stop by now. It is amazing to realize that Zac's trip has been supported in many different ways by hundreds of individuals and small companies for nearly 6 months now!
We are truely a blessed nation to live with such freedom and affluence and comfort.
Great to take a day to stop and thank the God who gives us all good things!
Cheers,
Marianne & Laurence
posted by Zac at 11:02 PM 47 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Hurry Up and Wait
Latest Position: 11/27/08 0405Z 22 15.473S 55 25.660E

The winds have been painfully light all day and night yesterday. I did have about 10-15 knots when I left Port Louis but as soon as I passed the tip of Mauritius it died and has been shifting around continually. Therefore, I have been doing a lot of hand steering. Even so, it feels great to be at sea again. Crazy how you hurry to get out of port only to be becalmed for 2 days. The forecast calls for more wind in the next day or so - should be just enough to shoot me on my way to Africa. I am still not completely well and my ears are beginning to hurt. I haven't had an ear infection since I was about 2 years old! I'm trying to rest and focus on prepping the boat for heavy weather. Michelle from Grand Baie drove down to Port Louis before I left to deliver 2 car tires for a sea anchor. They were considered to be the best sea anchors ever made by everyone at the yacht club so I am glad to have a few. Seems easier to set up and deploy than my fancy cloth sea anchor with all of its ties and strings. Not much time for typing lately I'm afraid. We'll see what to day will bring...
Cheers,
Zac
posted by Zac at 8:11 PM 39 Comments Links to this post

Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Back to Sea
Latest Position: 11/25/08 0351Z 20 35.235S 56 36.257E - 60 miles out of Port Louis, Mauritius

Greetings from the Indian Ocean!
After a hectic afternoon dealing with customs, last minute provisioning and yacht prep I pulled out of Port Louis around 4:00pm yesterday to a calm, flat sea and light wind. It was good to have a slow day to finish putting everything away and organizing things for a few weeks at sea. There were a few ships as I pulled south of Mauritius early in the evening but nothing since then. I have been warned that more and more shipping is being diverted south around the Cape of Good Hope because of the recent increase in piracy along the Red Sea/Suez Canal route. I have also heard that these vessels may be turning off their AIS systems in an effort to hide their identity from would-be pirates. The ships will still show up on my regular radar however. The first days and nights back at sea are always rough because I have to get back into power nap mode. So for now I have an easy passage even though it is slow. I'll take some time today to work on a detailed blog of my time in Mauritius and Part II of my Indian Ocean forstay situation. In case you didn't know, I am 13 hours ahead of you all on the west coast of America so as you are going to bed, I am just getting up (or at least staying up!).
Cheers,
Zac
posted by Zac at 5:24 PM 37 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, November 23, 2008
Mauritius - Last Days
It has been really busy here in Grand Baie. I have been invited to do so many things but I can only do so much with all of the preparations going on here. I have been seeing some of the sites around town here including a catamaran ride out to the northern islands a few days ago that was fantastic. I had dinner with the American ambassador here in Mauritius who is an avid sailor so this time I had much in common with my host! The guys here at the yacht club have been fantastic and we have hammered out most of the repairs and preparations for my next leg. I have heard many a tale of the wild seas on this next leg and so being properly prepared is paramount. David has submitted his departure forecast and all looks clear for me to take off from Port Louis (where I will check out with customs) Tuesday morning which will be your Monday night. There have been reports that I have cut short my trip or that I have postponed it for awhile but that is definitely not true. I am rested and ready to go - hoping to be in Durban, South Africa within 2 weeks. Thanks for all of the emails and comments on the blog. I wish I had more time to respond.

Cheers,

Zac

Note from Mom:

The 2009 calendars are finally in! They are really professionally done with some amazing photographs from Jen Edney, Lisa Gizara and Mike Smith. If you ordered one at the LA Gathering they will be shipped out this week. If you haven't ordered one yet - check them out at Zac's Store. The link is just to the right on the blog here.












posted by Zac at 11:22 AM 44 Comments Links to this post

Friday, November 21, 2008
Mauritius - Laurence



G'day to all,

It almost seems like a blur, yet during my time in Mauritius so much was accomplished and many new friends and sincere fellow sailors took a part of Zac's dream and excitment in his quest to be the youngest to solo cicumnavigate the world.


I set off with the boom tied to the top of the station wagon. It looked quite a spectical racing through LA traffic with this just over 13 ft of carefully wrapped boom strapped to the top with a little red onesie (complements of Ben) that acted as my flag for carrying cargo that sticks out over three feet behind. The ordeal of dropping the boom at British Airways cargo terminal took a little longer than anticipated but big thanks to Tim Blofeld from Midex who jumped on board and took care of all the complicated shipping details.

The trip to the UK went well and Jen was priviledged to visit a unique part of England not normally on the tourist route of overseas visitors. Lymington in Hampshire is truly one of those rare gems, on the edge of the New Forest on the coast. This is where I had the privelidge of being raised. It was a two day vist that proved to be more necessary than originally planned. Zac grandmother's bithday was a few days before we arrived. That needed to be celabrated. It was also a year since Zac's grandfather passed away. It was appropriate to celebrate his life with my step mother for it was through dad that I and in turn, Zac, inherited the passion for the ocean .


A quick call to the US to check on the family revealed what Zac had discovered at Rodrigues Island. Zac needed a new forstay and roller furling system. Fortunately, southern England is the sailing mecca that it is. Even so, I had to move quickly in order to execute the request. Nick Cox from Ocean Rigging was able to furnish the forstay, stay lock fittings and turnbukle but the roller furler proved a little more challenging. IMP were listed as the importers for Schaefer furling systems. I called Fred Cook from Shaefer Marine who furnished the 2100 fuller system at no charge. A huge thanks for their support. It did involve a drive halfway across the country which I was accompanied by Mum, Tom (stepfather) and Becky(neice). I think they were a little concerned whether I would stay awake for the drive. Jenn spent time photographing the local area of Lymington with Laura (stepmum) checkout Jens blog to see some of the photos. http://jennedney.blogspot.com/


The trip to the UK was short and sweet but we were on a mission and it was all too soon time to say our goodbyes and head for Heathrow Airport to catch a flight to Dubai and on to Mauritius. However we were quite loaded up with additional luggage: a furlling system is hardly somthing you tuck under your arm and go skipping through the terminals with. Oh no, spectacle number 2. We tried to off load much of our additional luggage at one of the many cargo shipping companies. When I was quoted an astronomical price, I tried to explain that I didn't want to buy the air plane, I just wanted to transport excess luggage. I knew time was running out for our departure but thought we'd try our luck with the airline we were traveling with. This proved to be the better deal by far. As we struggled with our excess luggage to the check in counter we were greeted with the you've-got-to-be-joking look. When I assured the young lady I was being quite serious she was actually rather helpful. We did not see all thatexcess luggage again until we arrived in Mauritius.



We arrived 2 days before Zac which gave me time to scope out the situation and put us in the best vantage point to achieve the goal of fixing Zac's yacht. Zac arrived at 9:30am Wednesday tired from two nights with no sleep. He pulled in to the usual reception of TV and newspaper reporters which he handles well and of course the usual formalities with customs and immigration, etc., etc. It was good to see him. He had been through a lot since I had last seen him in Darwin. A quick survey of his yacht allowed me to evaluate the extent of what Zac had been through. He had done very well to save the rig and stabilize the forstay in the adverse conditions that he had faced only days before. After dealing with the media and formalities he moved Intrepid to the La Seffren Hotel Marina where we waited for the boom to be delivered. This kept on being delayed but Phil, the manager, very kindly took us to lunch. Later in the afternoon the boom showed up with a shipping agent just to make sure it was going on a boat in transit and thus avoid paying duty.
It was decided that we should have the boat moved to Grand Baie 15 miles up the coast. Port Louis seemed to be very hustle bustle and quite congested which would only hinder progress. Zac was in agrement and after a much needed night's rest it, was agreed to move Intrepid the following day. Zac dropped the hook right in front of the Grand Baie Yacht Club where we had made contact with one of the best connected sailors, Michele DuVille. They were excited to have Zac there and eager to help. We were made to feel like family. Mauritius is a very beautiful place which reminds very much of Hawaii but in the southern hemisphere. It has a mixed cultural background. English, French and Indian make up the majority of the population. It is still connected somehow to the commonwealth.
Unfortunatly Zac and Jen both had some sort of flu that was only contageous for the under 30's - I being somehow immune. It was unfortunate we had much work that needed doing and little time. Zac would work half days before needing to rest in the afternoon which I encouraged. We needed Zac to regain strength to prep for his next leg. Michele took the main sail in to have it repaired along with the pulpit which was badly damaged. Dr. DJ worked on the boom transferring everything from the old boom to the new. We worked long and hard days. I knew my time was limited. Dr. DJ, Michele, Nicholi and Patrick helped in a huge way and they assured me that they would look after Zac after I left. Michele had built several race yachts and was about to start building a new yacht. Zac and I had the priviledge of looking at the new plans that Michelle was so enthusiastic about. I will be quite excited to see the finished yacht. Zac spoke about his many experiences at the yacht club on Friday evening. There was to be a race half way around the island the following day which we were invited to join. It was so tempting. I'm not sure if Zac was as excited about the offer. Jen put together an impressive slide show to accompany Zac's talk. It was great evening enjoyed by all.
Mauritius is truly a beautiful place with the Grand Baie Yacht Club situated in paradise. The weather seemed to be good one day and perfect the next. I struggled with my French which is commonly spoken there but I think they appreciated my effort even if they couldn't understand me some of the time. Zac is going to do another talk at the yacht club for the Junior sailing members which he seemed excited about . Zac is getting a lot better now and is starting to get excited about his next leg to Durban. Yes it comes with it's own set of challenges and Zac is well versed at handeling them. He realizes more and more that his preparation is crutial for his safety.

The reason this trip seemed like blur is because we are so busy. I know Zac would have liked me to stay longer and I would have loved to. Knowing how qualified Michelle and Dr DJ are and how the Grand Bay Yacht Club are helping Zac, I feel confident that Zac will be able to set sail early next week. Additional thanks to Rob, the sailmaker in Mauritius, for mending the main sail for no charge, the metal fabricator who welded Intrepid's pulpit and the ladies in the office at the Grand Baie Yacht Club. I would like to thank all the prayer warriors that draw near when times get tough.

It's late and I'm just a little jetlagged. I think that 'under 30's flu' might be getting to me which makes no sense because I'm 45. Oh well .

Cheers,
Laurence
An early birthday celebration!

posted by Zac at 4:50 PM 37 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, November 20, 2008
Mauritius - Photos II
Laurence wanted to blog tonight and tell of his time with Zac in Mauritius but his jetlag has prevailed and alas there will be no blog or bedtime stories of any kind this evening.
posted by Zac at 7:14 PM 33 Comments Links to this post

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Mauritius - 4

So much going on here and on top of it all the flu is running through our family on both sides of the world! I gently nag Zac for some blogs but he gently reminds me that he has the flu and is working all day while recuperating from crossing the Indian Ocean all the while prepping for a difficult passage to Durban at the beginning of cyclone season. It is either me or nothing I'm afraid!
Zac is still recovering from the flu and is almost able to smell and taste again. He has been working hard on the boat - cleaning, organizing, troubleshooting a few systems that are not 100%. He has a great group of guys around him to assist and guide him in Laurence's absence. Today is a big work day with various rigging jobs, reattaching the stainless steel pulpit and lifelines. He will be having dinner this evening with the (American?) Ambassador of Mauritius.
Laurence is on his way home via Dubai, London, San Francisco and finally LAX where he will pick up his car and drive home. Unfortunately, his luggage is in Chicago but I'm sure it will arrive eventually.
There has been a lot of talk lately about pirates, the Volvo Ocean Race and Mike Perham. It really is an amazing time on the water these days. Our family has been following the piracy off of Somalia and now the insurgents trying to take the capital of Mogadishu and the poor, Kenyan fisherman a bit further south who are struggling to make a living in an increasingly global economy/marketplace. There are many sides to these stories, many that go far back in history and are not quickly understood.
The Volvo Ocean Race is on again with it's boats rounding the Cape of Good Hope in 30 knot winds and 30 foot swells. They have injuries and boat damage but are pressing on to their next scoring way point at 58 degrees east. There was some talk of one of the boats heading to Mauritius for repairs but that appears not to be the case, at least at this point.
Mike Perham is on his way. He is the 16 year old from the UK who is attempting a solo, non-stop and unassisted circumnavigation. We have been keeping track of him for some time now. He is undoubtedly very qualified and has prepared well for his voyage. His trip will take him around the Southern Ocean including not only the Cape of Good Hope (Africa) but also Cape Horn (South America). We did discuss this route when planning for Zac's trip but the idea was quickly discarded as being too dangerous. Many sailors survive such a trip but there are many who don't as well. Zac's idea was to be able to stop and see the world and experience a bit of it on his way. We have the highest regard for Mike and his family and wish him well. (I would love to talk to his mum!) The two trips are completely different with Perham going fully sponsored in a million dollar racing boat. I don't think it makes either trip better than the other. No matter what happens both young men have extraordinary strength and vision to take on this monumental task and are to be commended for it. If Mike and Zac both complete their journeys as planned Zac will still be the youngest American solo circumnavigator and a very accomplished sailor.
Zac is on track to leave Mauritius for Durban, South Africa at the end of the week depending on weather. The leg is just over 1500 miles and should take 10-14 days depending, again, on the weather. There is, reportedly, a storm that lives off of the southern tip of Madagascar. Zac's job will be to stay far enough south of Madagascar to avoid this storm without going too far and getting blown south of Durban and needing to beat to get into port. He will celebrating his 17th birthday (November 29th) and Thanksgiving at sea.
All the best!
Marianne
posted by Zac at 8:12 PM 44 Comments Links to this post

Sunday, November 16, 2008
Mauritius Update - Zac

OK so after two sleepless nights I finally got in to Port Louis in Mauritius around 9am. It was great to finally be in port. After clearing customs we went back to my boat to wait for the boom to be delivered. Because of customs and duty rules, the boom had to be delivered by a customs agent to the boat. It was supposed to come by noon but with the 'island time effect' it showed up around 6:30pm. Then it was over to the hotel for some dinner and sleep. Mauritius looks a lot like Hawaii. It has steep mountains and a lot of sugar cane fields. The next morning I brought the boat up the coast 15 miles to Grand Baie where the hotel and yacht club are. The trip went pretty fast motoring at 6kts with 10kts of wind on the bow - enough to use the wind vane. I dropped anchor in 15 feet of water and then got to work taking off the broken boom and pulpit. By the end of the day we got both off and on shore. The next morning I went up the mast, removed the broken forstay and measured for the new one. Then we went ashore and started transferring all the boom hardware from the old boom to the new one. As the day wore on I started to feel like I was coming down with a cold - not a big surprise because Jen was down with one. By that evening I was feeling pretty bad. Someone at the yacht club gave me a couple of bottles of cold pills. Seeing that the directions were in French I just took 2 of each and that helped me pull my runny nose together long enough to give a speech to the yacht club members. I have been taking the ones with the picture of the nose on it since then. Hopefully, I will have a time on this next leg to listen to the French CDs my mom sent over. I took 2 years of Spanish but haven't used it much so far. The yacht club has been great about offering any help thay can, including letting us borrow one of their dinghies to get back and forth to Intrepid, who is at anchor in the bay. The next day I got a some work done in the morning but by mid day was feeling really sick so I went back to the hotel and slept of a few hours. There is really so much to do in port especially with dad leaving on Tuesday that I haven't had time or energy to do much besides work and eat and sleep. Today we got some provisions and my dad installed a new bilge pump. After lunch I crashed at the hotel which has made it possible for me to type this blog.

Cheers
Zac
PS I have not forgotten that I need to finish the story of my days at sea in the Indian Ocean with a broken forstay. I will also take time to comment on Mike Perham and his solos circumnavigation out of the UK.
posted by Zac at 4:19 PM 59 Comments Links to this post

Saturday, November 15, 2008
Mauritius - Photos

posted by Zac at 7:22 AM 37 Comments Links to this post

Friday, November 14, 2008
Mauritius - 3
I know you are looking forward to hearing from Zac but as the Croaker so eloquently put it - he only has so much time in a day. Recovering from a tough leg, facing a large list of maintenace and repairs, trying to get them done beofre cylcone season starts etc... Work is coming along on Intrepid. Zac has a miserable cold and spent the morning trying to send Laurence's photos over while Laurence and the guys worked on the boat. Unfortunately, there are some problems with the photos so we'll have to try again tomorrow.
Both of the guys are happy with how the work is going. I'm sorry to have so little to report but wanted to keep you all resting comfortably and not worrying.

In place of a blog from Zac I will post here some of the new FAQs that will be hitting Zac's web site any day.

To read some of the earlier questions and answers, please click on the “Zac FAQs” link on the right side of the blog, or in the header on his home page (FAQs/Intrepid).

Q Please tell us about Zac’s traditional school work and home schooling, and whether parts of his journey count for credit in school.
A First of all, Zac is a year ahead of others his age in school. He has finished all of his math requirements by starting advanced math earlier than most. Parts of his trip definitely do count towards his subjects in school. Those subjects are Composition, Oceanography, Advanced Seamanship and World Cultures (including food, history, customs, religions and government). When he returns, he will complete the traditional required classes for his senior year with his peers, such as History, English, Government and Economics.

Q Zac, do you ever get sick reading on board?
A No, I never get sick when I read on board.

Q Do you read a lot?
A I read when I can. Often, it’s just too hectic to read and navigate at the same time, especially in high winds and rough seas. Sometimes reading makes me sleepy, especially when I am sleep deprived, anyway. I usually have several books that I’m reading at the same time. I may be in the mood to read a sailing-oriented book at one time, but an entirely different fictional book or biography at another time.

Q Have you read Kon-Tiki By Thor Heyerdahl?
A I have it on board, but I have not read it yet.

Q Will Dad be meeting Zac in most all of the ports where he stops?
A Laurence plans to meet Zac in Mauritius, Cape Town and possibly, Panama. A lot depends on finances and if Intrepid needs anything.

Q When his water gets moldy, does that mean he has to stop somewhere for water?
A No, he just adds some bleach to the water to kill the mold, but not enough to make him sick.

Q With wet electronics, does the radar still work?
A Marine electronics, such as the radar screen, are made to be waterproof. A problem can result if the wires become corroded from too much water, but Zac hasn’t had a problem with that on his journey.

Q I know the AIS is transponder based, but will it still alert him to smaller vessels that may not have transponders?
A No, but they will show up on the other radar. The benefit of AIS is that it gives more information about what he sees, such as the direction, speed and identity of the boat.

Q How vital is it to have a functioning engine going to your next ports?
A It is extremely vital, especially in unfamiliar ports and in Panama.

Q Did Laurence take Zac’s CDs to Darwin?
A Zac is a typical teenager, who doesn’t have a lot of CDs. He downloads most of his music. There were two iPods donated to him before Darwin. One was fully loaded with a wide variety of eclectic music, and the other was awaiting a waterproof case, so that it doesn’t get ruined by salt water again. He picked that ipod up in Mauritius. Zac’s favorite music is High Energy Rock.

Q What do your other children think of Zac’s adventure?
A Abby (15) wishes she were on the seas, instead of Zac, but she is very supportive of his adventure. Toby (11) thinks he’s crazy, because he gets seasick, and couldn’t imagine doing what Zac is doing. Jessie, Lydia and Kathryn are too young to really understand what he’s doing and why, but they miss his being around to play with them. Ben is just a baby, so he has not voiced his opinion yet.

Q Could he have dried some of the fish he caught?
A Yes, he probably could have, if the conditions were right. It would have to be warm, calm and not too humid. The family has made fish jerky on board previously when sailing in Mexico, after marinating it in teriyaki sauce. It’s pretty time consuming, though, and probably was too humid where he caught the fish.

Q How far is Laurence’s home town from Darwin?
A Laurence is British, not Australian. He is from Lymington in Hampshire, England. He did, however, live in Australia for a period of time (Canberra and Bowen).

Q What was the longest solo trip that Zac has ever taken prior to this venture?
A Zac had not sailed a solo trip before he set off from Marina del Rey in June. He had sole responsibility for 4-hour shifts sailing to San Francisco, however.

Q When does Marianne get to meet up with Zac again?
A Right now, there are no plans for Marianne to meet Zac at any of the future ports, until he arrives in Marina del Rey. She would love to meet him in South Africa, but that depends on financial resources.

Q Did Lady Marianne locate a decent solar oven for you?
A Yes, but I haven’t used it yet. There are so many things to do and cooking food isn’t one of my highest priorities. I’m mostly eating canned and dried food, but I’m getting very tired of it.

Q When and where will new video clips be available?
A Some new clips were seen at the LA event on Oct. 26. It’s extremely expensive to edit the amount of video we have available, so newer clips will depend on financial resources, like just about everything else.

Q What is your best speed thus far? What is the hull speed of Intrepid?
A My best speed thus far, with currents is a little over 9 knots. The hull speed of Intrepid is 7 knots.

Q Will we get a list of positions, once you get to Cocos-Keeling?
A Yes, they will be posted eventually. ‘So much to do and so little time in a day!

Q Do you, Zac, have some knowledge of the constellations so you can identify them?
A I have basic knowledge, but I’m certainly not an expert in that area. I would not want to be responsible for navigating Intrepid based on constellation knowledge alone! I have developed a new method of celestial navigation, however. I tied the tiller to my foot as I lay in the cockpit trying to get some sleep and stay on course, correcting my steering by the position of the stars.

Q What CD did you listen to 100 times when your iPod wasn’t working?
A It was a Jeremy Camp CD.
posted by Zac at 10:52 PM 27 Comments Links to this post

Thursday, November 13, 2008
Mauritius - 2
Nothing too exciting to report today. Who was it that said that sailing/cruising is 99% boredom punctuated by 1% sheer terror? This is probably the boring part though I'll have to ask Zac to confirm the percentages! After a day of rest and cleansing :) Zac brought the boat north to Grand Baie to complete the repairs. From what I can make out from our much interrupted Skype conversations, Port Louis is more of an industrial port where as Grand Baie is the rest stop for cruisers. Laurence hooked up with a bunch of ex-Vendee Globe racers there who will assist with the rigging repairs. The people of Mauritius have been extremely hospitable and friendly towards Laurence and Zac.
As far as Zac's schedule goes, he is planning on leaving Mauritius as soon as is reasonably possible - probably late next week. He has no choice as the Indian Ocean cyclone season is fast approaching. Once he arrives in South Africa he can slow down. How long he will stay in Durban will depend on when he arrives and where he will spend Christmas. He really does not want to be at sea on Christmas if he can avoid it. The passage from Durban to Cape Town is a bit under 800 miles and will be broken into legs in an effort to time his time at sea around the regular storm activity in that area. The possible legs are: Durban to East London, East London to Port Elizabet, Port Elizabeth to Mossel Bay and Mossel Bay to Cape Town. With David watching the weather, he should be able to sneak in and out of port without getting too thrashed.
That is as good as it gets as far as scheduling goes for now.
Marilyn has been an angel and has gently kept after me to have Zac answer the many questions fired at him via the blog. There should be an update to the FAQs coming out shortly and I will hopefully post the new ones here on the blog as well.
Cheers,
Marianne
PS Yes, Zac is officially half way!
posted by Zac at 5:58 PM 38 Comments Links to this post