Zac is in stealth mode

[arbarnhart]

I have been following Zac Sunderland's progress (16 year old on his solo sail around the world) and I was actually glad to see that he has stopped reporting his exact position as he will be passing near some locales known to harbor a few unsavory characters. It's a shame that you have to think about such things, but I am glad he is taking the precaution. I am sure the people who need to know the specific location do know it. Just the likely next stop and a rough estimate of arrival are all most of us really want. His blog is good reading. He really seems rather down to Earth about the whole experience, gracious and grateful and an outstanding sailor.

Zac's Blog

[Jotun]

I've been following the blog too.

[arbarnhart]

Here are some excerpts from today's entry:

...
It was pretty eary to be watching out for this ship by the light of lightning. The seas have been confused, coming from different directions. Sometimes 2 waves will come towards each other and slam together. At night when they hit there is a spray of phosphoresence that goes everywhere including on the boat. It is really awesome.
...
I am getting very fast at reefing and can get all the sails reefed (shortened) and set in 2 minutes. It used to take me 15!
...

I had sustained winds of 25 knots for most of the day. I had a squall hit me with 35 knots gusting to 40 knots. I ran up on deck to secure some lines. I didn't have time to put on a shirt. The rain was coming sideways and felt like pins hitting my skin. Before I was able to reef for this squall I was nearly knocked down because I still had so much sail up when it hit.
...
You could say it has been a rough week. I am so tired and I have to be extra vigilent because there are islands and reefs all around me. I am considering going hove to so I can get some sleep. I have to wait until I am clear of some nav hazards first.
On a positive note, I ate some freeze dried food that my Grandma sent to me in Majuro. It was terriyaki chicken and rice and it was great. I have also been eating power bars and soup trying to keep up on eating because the weather is going to be pretty much the same for awhile as far as I can tell.
...

This is a 16 year old alone in the Pacific; he is really out there having this stuff happening to him right now while other teenagers are hanging out at the mall or playing Wii. Methinks he will have a different perspective than his peers...

[Ippa2]

Yeah I start my day off every morning reading his latest blog entry and then I sit at my desk and think... ok I have some paper to push around and Zac has to deal with squalls and 40kt winds... I'd take the squalls and 40kts!

Its great to think at any given moment during the day Zac is out there going for the record. I wish him fair winds and following seas... although his entries about the squalls make for more interesting reading!

[arbarnhart]

It's just amazing to me the way a teenage kid takes it in stride. In that entry, he talks about a ship with improper nav lights that don't make it obvious which way it is headed so he keeps checking which way it is oriented when lightning flashes, yet he still notices and mentions how cool the phosphoresence is (oh yeah, this is during a squall). Then he describes some sailing that would rattle most of us and remembers to mention how much he enjoyed some of the food his grandmother sent. He closed with some gracious remarks I didn't include in my snippets. Wow!

[arbarnhart]

Bumping it back up for a tiny snippet out of todays' entry:

The conditions died down around 5am to 25kts and the swell was about 10ft. I got to the entrance of the marina in Port Moresby around 1:00pm. The Search and Rescue boat had come out to meet me but because the wind was good and the passage wider than I thought, I sailed through the reef passages and into the yacht club mooring area.

Yeah, that's right - when the wind drops to 25 kts and the waves are only 10', it's plenty calm to sail through the reef into port. And he doesn't make a big deal of it; just another day in the life of your average teenager...