Update and Notes from Mom

Planet Zac from the Mariner Mag in Marina del Rey

Photo by Pat Reynolds

Latest Position: 09/14/08 0630Z 10 44.0S 134 02.0E

From Karen Earnshaw:

Had great, really great, copy on Zac this evening (6:30pm Majuro time). Here’s how it went:
“I’m doing about four knots right now… had about 12 knots of wind for a while.
“Right now I’m at:
10 degrees and 44 minutes South and
134 degrees and 02 minutes East.
“I have about 280 miles to go to Darwin .”
He has a couple of tacks to make before he’s headed straight for Darwin .
He says this will take “three or four days”.
When he gets in and hauled out “We need to work on the ‘faring’ on the rudder.” As well, presumably, other bits and pieces that’s normal for boats that have done lots of miles at sea.
Did you catch any fish, Zac? “I’ve seen a couple of fish real close, but didn’t manage to hook ’em.”
On another foodie front, you may remember that a couple of people in Majuro presented Zac with ‘makwon’, the preserved pandanus fruit traditionally used by Marshallese voyagers in centuries gone by. “I’ve just got a quarter of one left hanging over the galley,” he said. “Well, you’d better scarf it and anything else fresh you’ve got,” said Cary on the yacht Seal, “because Australian Customs will take most anything ‘fresh’ when they get on board. That includes eggs, vegetables, canned beef…”
“Oh no,” Zac cried. “I’m pretty much stocked up for the Cape (meaning the Cape of Good Hope ). Fortunately for him, Darwin is a bustling city with everything he needs to provision before he heads off into the Indian Ocean , which dad Laurence predicts will be about September 26.

I'm having to get pretty creative with the titles here. Light winds, calm seas, no wind, no swells, no fish, ??? I'm sure there is something going on of some interest but I don't know what it is...

Food: As far as Zac's food goes, I guess it can seem pretty boring but he does have a wide variety of food on board. He has/had tons of dried fruit, nuts, Lara Bars, Clif Bars etc. He has P,B & J, canned tuna, chicken and beef, canned fruit and veggies. He also had donated some pretty awesome powdered meal supplement. I'll get Dawn Zeigler to give me a quote on the stuff but it is complete nutrition in a powder that is mixed with water. He also has Barley Green and food-based vitamins. If the kid is malnourished I would be surprised. He doesn't have much of an appetite at sea sometimes. After Daveh's description of what Zac is experiencing motion-wise these days, I'm not even hungry!

Where will Zac keep his boat while in Darwin? Zac will be pulled out of the water at Spot On Marine but first he'll anchor in Cullen Bay to await customs. He won't be able to go into a marina because he doesn't have insurance. He probably won't need one since he'll likely be in the yard for his entire stay.

What does 'widening sched' mean? Not sure but using context clues I would say that it means more and more people are joining in during their scheduled radio time.

How do you use Facebook? Maybe there is someone out there who could comment on this? I am fumbling my way around it myself.

Windvane/point of sail question: I'll have to ask Zac when we reestablish phone/email contact.

Personal thoughts:

Great to hear from Bill Mann again.

Hi JP! You beat Zac to Oz!

Hi Dusty! What a surprise and blessing to hear from you. Be sure to keep in touch. I'm sure your vast boating experience will continue to be a help to Zac. I remember when we were about to go cruising on Amazing Grace and you were down on the dock giving Laurence much needed guidance! Seems like yesterday...

Mark n Adino: Your thoughts are such a blessing!

Joy on the Journey: I wish I had picked that name! Thankful seems like an understatement.

Everybody: Thank you for your amazing support. I think I'll have to start my own blog. I can just see Zac as he reads all this...

Cheers,

Marianne