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
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
38 Comments:
I'm glad Zac has wind.
Happy Birthday, Toby. Bet you can't wait to see your brother again. Hang in there, it won't be too long...
Zac, I hope the next leg is great.
Thanks for the up date Marianne..
Hey Toby HAPPY BIRTHDAY,will we get to meet you Sunday too? What a cool gift from your brother..hope you have a great day.
Zac, good to hear your back in the grove and hoping all your electronics are rested and ready to work for you. Looking forward to meeting your awesome family & friends Sunday. Stay dry and sail safe
Laura
It's always a wonderful surprise to see a new update from the Sunderlands,whether it be directly from Zac or from Marianne or Laurence. It is good to hear that Zac is making good progress. What is Zac's ETA to Mauritius?
And....Happy birthday Toby!! Have a super day tomorrow!!
T-Minus 3 days 'til the big day!!
Always thinking about you Zac.
Debbie
North Hills, CA
Zac,
Glad to hear you are under way again. Hopefully the boom repair holds until Mauritius.
You will enjoy Mauritius much bigger than CK obviously, but also a tropical paradise.
Looking forward to your arrival here in SA.
The poster formerly known as Dan in Johannesburg SA
Wonderful news......and Happy Happy Birthday to you Toby....what an extra special present you got from your big brother...enjoy.
Looking forward to hearing from Zac when he is more settled.
MDR folks....Have a great party this weekend...will be thinking of you all. Looking forward to some great pictures of the 'do'!
Hope the link with Zac works, that will be a real highlight.
UK friend.
Zac, your a very impressive man. Its wonderfull to see such an open minded american family who support there children to the level the Sunderland's have. I just learned about your over the horrizion adventure and plan to visit the site every day. Zac, i'm jealous, hahah, sailing is a passion of mine also. Cheers mate and gods speed.
Happy birthday! What's the "aft prt quarter"? I've lived in the middle of a city for my whole life, so I don't know mutch of these words.
@ Hannah
prt quarter
It means:
Facing the front of the boat the wind comes from behind you. In This case, looking at ugrib, probably ~ 45 degree from the left.
@ Zac.
You are doing great with the speed just under the Genoa. It's almost hull speed
I know - I know LOL on a boat it's not front, left or behind, I just tried to explain.
A pic from the Zac Pac-Southwest coast divison would be great.
Axel
heye@madisoncounty.net
Hello Zac,Zac Pac, & Team Sunderland,
Thanks Marianne for the latest update on Zac. It's great to hear he's moving along quickly.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBY. I named my Timneh African Grey parrot Toby also. He is only 16 months old so I guess you're the bigger Toby. That's Toby on my shoulder. So cool Zac gave you a skateboard for your birthday. You must be the only kid in your neighborhood who has a skateboard from Darwin Australia. Enjoy the ride.
Just wanted to say a quick thank you to the people below.
@ Troy, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. What an incredible man even though he is going to die soon he has an amazing spirit about him!!!
@ Kat, I'm glad you enjoyed the words from the birthday card. I'm hoping to read your birthday card here soon!!!
@ Jennifer and Ben, It really was a great description on the birthday card. I'm hoping to read your birthday card here very soon also!!!
@ Marilyn, Thanks for the "keeping it positive" acknowledgment. I'm glad you enjoyed the birthday card also. I'm hoping to read your birthday card here very soon as well!!! I'll be waiting for your call or email regarding what time you would like me to show up to help set up for this Sunday's LA Gathering. Thanks for all your hard work. Your doing an amazing job.
@ Tomi, I'm glad you enjoyed the video. It great to hear it brought back some positive thoughts in your mind. We should all keep this video on our computers and listen to it from time to time.
I'm glad you enjoy the way I convey my thoughts into words. I'm not a writing man but when something inspires me Watch Out, I'll Write!!! Thanks for the compliment.
@ Debbie, I looked for a birthday card under "Z" or Zac at Hallmark but did not find one. Maybe next time I'll look under Zac and hopefully have better luck. I'm hoping to read your birthday card here very soon too!!!
@ Mona, I'm glad you enjoyed that birthday card. I'm hoping to read your birthday card here very soon also!!!
@ Hannah, Thanks for promising to place the words of you card here on Zac's blog also. I'm hoping to read your birthday card very soon!!!
Hopefully I'm sounding repetitive here because it was my intent. It would be great for everyone to place the actual words of the Happy Birthday cards you purchase here on the blog. I think this would be a great way to keep things a little more positive. If you purchase a blank card and write something in yourself that might merit more attention than my store purchased birthday card. Just something to think about!!!
@ Bill, Your the Mann. Thanks for everything you're doing for the auction. It sounds like it's going to be a huge success.
@ Zac, Keep those 6-7 knots going. Nice work under genoa alone. Africa will come alone real quick if you can keep that speed up. Please let us know if the Yanmar is still acting up or if it was taken care of in C/K? Have a great time and enjoy the 6-7 knot sailing.
Sail On,
Douglas Pistone
MDR, California
Marianne, thank you for giving us the update on Zac. I know you have a very close family and miss him a lot. You will soon be all back together and be able to hear all about Zac's amazing adventures!
Hi There Zac and Team Sunderland...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOBY!!!!!
Good to hear that you got to open early Toby... you already know it, but hey, you got a special brother that wanted you to have a special birthday.
Great news on the good progress, and not using the boom saves some stress when not needed...
Have a great leg Zac!
Bob in OKC
:-) Happy birthday to Toby.
Zac, we hope you get wind, but not too much wind, and we're praying God keeps you safe. Good to hear you got all the necessary stuff fixed on Intrepid!
Wish we weren't on the other side of the continent - the LA meeting sounds grand.
~Jessica and Rosemary from Canada
Family is SO VERY important, and I am sure that is a big part of Zac's strength as he circumnavigates. As mentioned so many times way back in June and July, the isolation is one of the serious personal considerations that need to be weighed by anyone attempting such a feat.
So Sunderland family, enjoy, celebrate, and strengthen yourselves and your commitment to Zac. You'll all remember these days and moments for all your lives.
There's a cool link to track ships with AIS transponders at:
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100 Can't find Zac's but maybe his doesn't send but only receive? Dave in Tacoma
Team Sunderland,
Happy Birthday to Toby! Amazing to me that Zac was able to shop and ship such a cool once in a lifetime gift. I hope the gathering is a huge success and that everyone has a great time.
Zac,
Here is hoping that the 6-7 knots continues and this leg is smooth. Good seas for fishing maybe?
Steve
Birmingham, AL
ahhhhh...that special bond between brothers! when i was 'down under' i brought boomerangs home to my brothers --they were not quite as lucky as Toby.
anyway, i purchased two tickets for sunday (still keeping my fingers X'd that i will be able to attend)
john baker/w hollywood/ca/USofA
jbaker1226@aol.com
Well Zac Packers.
I have bad news so I may as well get it over with.
There has been some behind the scenes bickering about the auction this Sunday.
I must admit that I am not happy about it but Marianne made me delete the auction for Zac.
I was prepared to place the winning bid but Marianne said that if we sold Zac, especially to me, he would need a haircut before transferring title and Zac would not put up with that.
So you can all come down and bid on some great stuff. You just cannot bid on Zac.
Godspeed Zac. Keep that wind at your back.
Happy Birthday Toby. Enjoy the skateboard because although Mom said she would think about it, Marilyn and Darrell would not let me auction you off either. Boy are they all party poopers!!
Hoping to see a bunch of you on Sunday.
Bill Mann
Hi Zac,
great that you are under way again. I wish you a smooth ride to Mauritius.
All the best
RK
And
Happy birthday Toby.
LOL @ Bill Mann!
Happy Birthday Toby! Enjoy your new skateboard. Don't forget the protective gear okay!
Great to hear that Zac is making excellent time thus far.
Once Zac returns it will be interesting to hear his revelations about integrating back into a house full of Sunderlands and being on terra firma after so much time away! However, I'm sure it will be nice to sleep in his own bed again! I can only imagine how much you all miss him...
be safe Zac - You've been doing great!!! very brave indeed.
@ Douglas: sorry, but this isn't YOUR blog - Steve Sven and many others have valid comments too and this is a "comment" spot on Zac's blog. I really appreciated Davejb851 who perfectly described on the last blogs' comments the concern is real. I am however growing a little tired of 3 to 4 comments from the same person.
Some of us who have actually been on the water when it's been very rough water still have not come close to what Zac has encountered so far or in the future - and that IS of concern. Nowhere did I read in Zac's home page blog did I read this blog comment spot is for uplifting religious comments only. Real sailor's, & boaters concerned about how things are fixed is of great interest and celebration too. Someone asked about the engine and how that is... also the electronics, is everything working properly?? These are of great concern and not from someone just wishing Zac happy sails.
Zac is, as we've all heard through his writings, a mature responsible person and not one of us needs reminding of that.
there's my rant and will probably just avoid reading comments from certain repeat commentators.
Jen
Marianne,
Thanks for the update and a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TOBY. Bet he'll be really excited with his birthday present from Zac.
Zac,
Glad you are sailing right along. We're praying the weather will be good to you and you are blessed with steady winds to get you to Mauritius, safely. Take care and keep that harness on.
Stay safe and Godspeed!
Dick & Gin
Upland
Marianne:
Thanks for the happy news of Zac's progress.
@Zac:
Impressed that Intrepid is making such outstanding progress under genoa alone. Long may the good winds and speed continue. What is your ETA for Maruitius?
@Toby:
Happy Birthday, dude! Doesn't it feel great to know that your big bro', despite the adventure he's having, is still thinking of you and shows his love? How neat is that?
Fair winds and happy faces,
The Croakerstsmp
@ Jen
Thanks for that. I had been thinking the same, and couldn't agree with you more.
Zac,
So glad you are underway and with decent wind. What a very cool gift to give to your brother!
Looking forward to hearing from you when time permits.
Our prayers for you continue.
@Bill Mann - very funny stuff!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO TOBY!!
Looking forward to meeting everyone on Sunday!
Blessings,
Jennifer and Ben
Sherman Oaks, CA
Is it just me, or does it seem like Zac is just flying across the globe?!? It's been a bit over 4 months and he's already roughly halfway through the trip. I know the press to get through to Africa due to uncertain weather and that the time pressure will ease up after that. Does Zac get to have more extended stays and siteseeing trips once in Mauritus and Durban (pardon spelling if I messed it up)? I think I remember estimations of the trip taking 1 to 1 1/2 years... at this rate he's home by March! It makes the world seem smaller to me... but I'm sure I'd feel differently if I'd just spent 4 months sailing it!
Geography doesn't permit me attending the fundraiser, but here's hoping it's an overwhelmingly successful event. Happy Birthday Toby!
Brooke
Raleigh NC USA
Zac- Now yer cruisin!!
Kodiak Mike
P>S> Happy Birthday Toby! Now you can wear ALL of Zac's clothes...heh..heh Enjoy the new skateboard.
@jen
I also agree with you
Sir Captain Zac, you are the MAN
so great that you're settling in again...on this next Great leg.
lots to reflect on and give thanks for...and so to for the
Zac Pac, what a great crew...
so nice to be able to see again the coordinates, and sense the presence of being "one" with Zac...
thanks Laurence and Marianne,
for being wise in the balance of safety and information...
This is gonna be an incredible Sunday, 48 hours or so on the count down...hope there's gonna be lotsa video and photo ops for all of us who can only be there in spirit... the "family" is growing, be great to put pic's to names...LOL
happy "double ones" Toby...
i'm sure there's gonna be plenty of cake at "the gathering"...maybe you can blow out candles a second time and make another "wish"...
Team Sunderland, what an "incredible family"...gonna have lotsa fun sunday and tears too...
tears of joy and thankfulness...
yes Marianne, it is for certain and true, that Zac isn't the same son, who left..
the reality is that bacause of Zac and you all;
you have really touched all of us, to the point where none of is the same...
and we're not even at the half way mark yet...(smiling)
it's interesting that as we get Zac "educated", we're all learning so so much...of ourselves, of even how to handling the circumstances of our lives...what a great teacher you are to us Zac, by example, and Laurence and Marianne
"best lessons are caught
not taught"..
"so then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another"
Romans 14:19
and the "kitten" is waiting...
Zac, the "kitten" is waiting...
you're always in our
thoughts and prayers
thank you;
to all the hard workers, and volunteers, helping to coordinate and make,
"the gathering" a success...
"be praying" for corporate sponsorships, in fact several
of them...
mark and adino
vicksburg, mississippi
wishing we were there...
You know what I always say, it takes 3 days to get your groove after being in port...
Looks like sum blustery stuff more abeam for a few days, then it should turn into a nice downwing sleighride...
Daveh & Skipper
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR TOBY....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!! Have a great day, eat lots of cake and ice cream (but do remember to brush and floss)! And oh yea, be careful on that skateboard, you could poke your eye out, or something like that :)
Hello Zac, Sunderlands and Fellow Zac Pac!
WOW, what a wicked crazy week I've had...hardly any time to read OR post...having withdrawl,and actually feeling a bit guilty, LOL!!!
Zac, way "kewl" you've gotten back out to sea, 6-7 knots is a great ride. Nice gift you picked for Toby, I'm sure he'll enjoy it.
Your progress so far has been impressive. Would you consider yourself ahead of schedule? Hope you have that preventer hooked up :)
I WISH I WAS GOING TO BE WITH ALL OF YOU THIS WEEKEND!!!!! Have a great time and remember to take lots of photos to share with those of us who are too far away to attend.
@ Glen thanks for the email and video. Even though it was a bit sad to watch, it really brings home the important things in life....where your treasure is, so your heart will be.
I haven' t tiene mucho tiempo para practicar mi español, pero intentará y lo enviará de un email este fin de semana. Gracias por ayudarme.
@ Eric Miller: do you sail Lake Ontario??
@ Debbi: I know you are excited to attend the fund raiser this weekend...I can "feel" it in your posts...LOL Have a big time!!!
Captain Zac, be safe, be watchful, HAVE FUN!!! You are a remarkable young man, this adventure will forever change you. Remember we all live our story.
I send you many blessings and good thoughts.
Hugs
Anita
Waterloo, NY
Captain SV "Wombat"
Avid Zac fan
Sunderland family,
Greetings from Alaska! We are a homeschool family who just this week read about your family's great adventure in God's World news magazine. We've Googled to try and catch-up with the experience. Unfortunately, the Blog posts only go back to October 11. But we wanted to let Zac and your family know your story has absolutely captured our hearts, and we have been spending time each day in prayer for physical strength, moments of rest, safety, guidance, discernment, wisdom, etc., for Zac. As I tell my children, our society so wants ease but our growth generally comes through hardship. As many others have already said, thanks for offering this opportunity to your son. Thanks for allowing your son to follow through on his vision. Thanks for recognizing his obvious maturity and not coddling. Thanks for the updates -- we will be continuing to pray for him each day.
We in Alaska love this kind of hardy adventure!
Happy Birthday, Toby!
Gayle, Brian, Xan(17), Riley(14), Jesse(11)
Awesome, glad to hear all is well with Zac, looking forward to his report on Cocos..
Ray & Deanna
Clovis, CA
Welcome Artic Family
On the home page of the blogs, about 1/3 of the way down on the right hand side, you will find a link to Archives.
They are listed by month and you can find all of the posts there.
If you need a hand with anything, drop me an email at bill@barstools4u.com
Enjoy and you will find out why we all love Zac so much.
Bill Mann
Yes, welcome to folks in the only
state more northern than mine - MN!
Hope the fund raiser is very successful!
Happy birthday little bro!
Hope to hear from you soon Cap'n. Keep harnessed and good wind to ya.
I need to study up on Mauritius now...not even sure if it is part of Africa? One thing I know, I am glad a new boom will be waiting there for Zac, along with friends to help. :)
Hang in there, Marianne! *HUUUGS* to ya.
LA in MN
Wow Zac,
It seems like 6 to 7 knots in 15 knots of wind is moving right along! Did the other 'sailors' leave Cocos Keeling ahead of you? I hope you are having good luck communicating with them.
So, I'm sitting here for like, 5 minutes, and I don't know what to say. I'm just in awe.
Yet, this I know...♫ Happy Birthday ♫ Toby! ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪ ♫
I hope the fund raiser/gathering is an all around wonderful experience for all!
Instead of 'Happy Trails' to you Zac, I'll say 'Happy Sails' to you. :-)
Namaste~~Becky in Colorado
Zac,
Great job ensuring Toby would receive his gift on his special day! With all you have on your mind, we are so impressed you would take the time to make sure he received a special present from you. Your thoughtfulness surely made his day extra extra special! Way cool, dude.
God Bless and Godspeed!
Love,
Don, Sandy, Cassie, Roxanne
Happy Birthday Toby!
Boy, it's good to see Zac's position on Google Earth again. :-)
hey you are so HOT with a capital H-O-T
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