Friday, March 13, 2009

Slinkies and Starter Motors


Zac with his new spinnaker with Produce for Kids logos
Hello All,
Don't feel too badly about not hearing from Zac much since his arrival in St Helena. We have not heard much ourselves. This blog update is a compilation of Facebook messages and very brief sat phone conversations.

If you have been to Zac's Facebook page, you will have read of Zac's attempt at another world record - 'walking' a Slinky down the most steps - namely down Jacob's Ladder (see photo last post). Unfortunately, his attempts were unsuccessful due to the very tall nature of the steps on Jacob's Ladder. Apparently they are around a foot high each. He considered attaching 2 Slinkies together but alas he only had one. BTW, Zac did walk up all of Jacob's Ladder. It took about 5-6 minutes!

I asked Zac if Dot's Cafe was still in town but he never did see it. There is an Anne's Cafe (run by a woman named Anne) so perhaps the cafe has changed hands? Also, with regards to another bit of St Helena trivia - the 'jetty' where sailors have been signing their names over the years does not exist either. Someone said something about moving 'everything' inside - inside where, I don't know. Very disappointing, for sure.


Zac has been around the island and seen Napoleon's tomb. He was only buried there for 20 years before his body was brought back to France.


He did not catch a fish on the way from Cape Town to St Helena. Anybody surprised?


His starter motor is in for repairs and should be returned and reinstalled this weekend. There were a few questions regarding this. Yes, the engine was replaced with a new Yanmar 30 hp diesel but the starter motor was not replaced. I believe it was serviced (?) in Durban.


Thank you to the blogger who reminded Jen to get some antimalarials. She did go to the same travel doctor that Zac saw before his departure. She will be stopping in Brazil (Fortaleza) before heading north to Trinidad and then Florida. She was going to ask the doctor on the RMS St Helena for a few antimalarials for her weeks before arriving in the malarial 'zone'.


He has been staying in a spare bedroom of the Saint FM radio station owners, Mike and Denise. He has been enjoying spending time helping out in the radio station including a 2 hour DJ stint yesterday afternoon.


We all appreciate your kind comments and encouragements as always.


Cheers,

Marianne



The following is a link to a great article on what may have been the tortoise that Zac and Jen met:

Also, we have a new item for sale in Zac's Store. Many of you know that one of Zac's formative experiences with boating was our family's 3-year cruise to Mexico. Laurence kept a log that ended up being quite a story. He has been encouraged to polish it up and publish it in a book. He reread it recently and added some great photos. For anyone interested in the sailing/cruising/adventure life or a glimpse into one of Zac's early boating experieces, this is a must read. The ebook is downloadable at Zac's Store for $5.00 which will go directly to funding Zac's trip.

15 Comments:

Blogger Tomi said...

Lady Marianne -
As always, thank you so much for keeping we ZacPac'ers "in the know". This isn't a chastisement @ my Hero, merely a thought - one would think Capt Zac! would email an update since he has internet access to his facebook page ;) However, as I have a few co-w*rkers & family who are more interested in their facebook page than their email, I can understand why he hasn't.

It was really great to listen to Capt Zac! dj'ing on Saint FM. I keep it up & running while at w*rk. Heard in their news reports today he'll hopefully be leaving Saturday (if the starter is repaired & installed the news dj stated). Based upon the various news reports & some of the chats I've heard about, Capt Zac! has made a very positive impression on the Saints there :)

If any UK Citizens are reading this, please contact your MP & PM encouraging them to pass the legislation/remove the pause so St Helena may get their airport.

I ordered my Lord Laurence's ebook. Hopefully, the download link will be in my email today.

@ Bill Mann -
have missed reading your words mate, hope all is okay w/y'all. Tried placing an online order, but the form wouldn't load so emailed you. You're keeping those scissors sharpened for Capt Zac!'s arrival back in his home port yes?!?

@ Glenn -
Esperamos que su rancho está haciendo bien. Ha perdido la lectura de su actualización. HUGS hombre!

@ Miss Marilyn -
You've done a wonderful job on keeping the FAQs page(s) updated - thank you! Good reading there.

@ Team Sunderland -
THANK YOU (as always) for all you do & for keeping we ZacPac'ers updated. While many of us may not say it, I'm sure I write for many of us in stating without YOU we'd be in the dark, searching for the latest online news article(s) for news of our Hero.

@ me fellow ZacPac'ers -
Zac!'s store has a 50% sale going on, if you haven't purchased shirts or calendars, now is the time to get that great discount! Some of the shirts are getting limited in size.

@ the Saints on St Helena -
Thank you all for providing safe harbor for our Hero. May you get the airport your striving so hard for. Bless you all!

Warm Fuzzy BEAR HUGS y'all!
Tomi/ATL

March 13, 2009 at 7:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Tomi,
Zac's computer could not access Yahoo while in St Helena! Weird, I know. It has been the case in several places so far. I think it may have to do with available bandwidth or internet speed (very slow by our standards).
Cheers,
Marianne Sunderland
Mom

March 13, 2009 at 9:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Today's Independent newspaper from St Helena (comes out every Friday). Picture of Zac DJ'ing :-)

Best to right-click and save as the .pdf file as sometimes does not open up on line:

http://www.independent.co.sh/20090313.pdf

March 13, 2009 at 10:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, it seems as though Tomi took the very words out of my mouth!
Thanks Tomi!

Zac, the pic on this blog post is great. You look so happy. It's also nice to keep track of your adventures on FB. I'm still flying high following your DJ gig on SaintFM. As a matter of fact, I have been listening to it quite a bit lately. I'm enjoying it's eclectic mix of music.

So sorry the slinky thing didn't work out, but am impressed that you conquered the steps twice now. How's that for exercise?

Looking forward to the next leg, although things are moving so quickly now that I'm feeling a bit forlorn at the thought that your (my) adventure will be coming to a close. *sigh*

In any event, I'm so happy that you've really taken the time to enjoy your journey by prolonging your time in port and taking in the local culture. In the end, that's what it's all about; the people, places, and memories, that will last a lifetime. God bless you!

March 13, 2009 at 10:54 PM  
Blogger Joe Howell Sr said...

For all those checking in this Saturday morning March 14-I just spoke with Zac on FB Chat - He will be doing the DJ thing on Saint FM again this morning starting about 9:15 a.m. ET. So give him a listen!

Joe

March 14, 2009 at 5:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My hat is off to Zac for climbing all of Jacob's Ladder and to do it in 5 - 6 minutes. Also, thanks for the update on Dot's Cafe. It was sad to hear that it no longer exists. On the other hand we were there almost 35 years ago.

March 14, 2009 at 7:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the update -- sounds like Zac has made quick friends again in another corner of the world! What an amazing ride this has been -- thanks so much to Zac & family for letting us cyber-tag-along! Looking forward to the next update & more pics...

Peace, Your Oklahoma Well-Wisher

March 14, 2009 at 8:52 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good Sat. Morning to all..I read "California Dreaming" Great read and really cool to see all the pictures.
For all of you who don't have a facebook page, you should..not only another way to keep in touch with Zac but we can learn more about each other too.
So the article mentioned Zac leaving this weekend..is that so?
Have a great weekend Zac if it's your last on SH..
Laura BD

March 14, 2009 at 9:16 AM  
Blogger Croaker of FrogPond said...

Hello to everyone:

Enjoyed the pictures of Zac and the article about the incredible tortoise.

Zac must be too busy preparing for an immenient departure to file a post. On behalf of all the Zac-Packers, I extend profuse thanks and have great admiration for the fine folks of Saint Helena who have made "our" stay-over there memorable.

Records are temporary as they are only established to be broken. There are more significant things in "just doing it" that are inerasable and will last forever. The experience of this adventure is something that I will remember forever. I can not imagine the dimensions that it must add to the spirit and charachter of our Captain. When he is an old man, he will continue to draw from the things he has learned about fellow humans -- like it has been said, we are all more alike than we are different.

Zac is a force unto himself and has been formed by being a part of an extraordinary family. We are all formed, and informed, by our experiences. Zac must be at the top of the pyramid of informed people in his age bracket and way up there in a bracket that includes all ages. Why is he so different? He dared to experience his dreams. If only that courage could be bottled, Pepsi and Coca-Cola would be out of business!!

The Croaker

March 15, 2009 at 7:23 PM  
Blogger John Gezelius said...

I, too, listened to Zac the DJ although I had to drop off and play lawyer . . .

Please pass, by back channel, along any information that you may have about his Caribbean landfall.

March 15, 2009 at 9:05 PM  
Blogger Douglas Pistone said...

Marianne,

Thanks for the update. I'm glad Zac is having all kinds of fun. I'm sure Zac's enjoying himself living in a spare bedroom of the radio station for the moment and even becoming a DJ, sounds like lots of fun.

Hopefully that starter gets taken care of and will work fine when Zac leaves.

Have a great time,
Douglas Pistone
MDR, Califonia

March 16, 2009 at 5:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

just wondering where jenn will be in florida? we are in ft. lauderdale & if she's in the area and needs anything, we'd be happy to help!

March 16, 2009 at 11:31 AM  
Blogger Fulgum said...

Thanks for the update, Marianne. Looks like Zac is having a jolly good time in St. Helena.

Five or six minutes up Jacob's Ladder??? Maybe it's just the angle of the pic, but it looks like it would take a lot longer than six minutes to transverse an area that long. Thinking skyscraper???

As always, thanks to Jen for the pics!

Scott

:)

March 16, 2009 at 2:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for keeping us up to date. Marta just came to St. Helena and Natasza Caban (another Polish solo circumnavigating young woman) is apparently somewhere close to St. Helena, too. If Marta is not staying to long, maybe you three can form a convoy, I mean sailing within radio distance. That sounds safe and fun.

Just a thought.
Happy sailing,
RK

March 16, 2009 at 2:09 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Seem to get much more information from other Zac sites like Facebook and Twitter ("I am stranded on a deserted island") - am I right? Is Zac using those sites as his main sites?

March 16, 2009 at 5:02 PM  

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