Panama Plans
All is well here on Intrepid. The wind has dropped off some so I am not making the great speeds that I was earlier this week but I am still fast approaching Colon, Panama. Life has been good here on board though the seas are pretty choppy giving me a rough ride for sure!
Shipping has definitely been increasing, though last night I had a good night's sleep with only one ship to watch out for all night.
It has been great to have stocked up on some good food in Grenada. One thing I have learned since being out here that I haven't mentioned much is that eating the right food makes such a huge difference in how I feel. It has been extremely difficult to get hold of good food and food that will last for weeks in remote ports.
While at home I could never be persuaded to drink Barley Green, the dehydrated barley juice that my mom loves. When I found a can of the stuff among the things she had dad bring out to Grenada, I was actually glad to see it. So every morning on this leg so far I drink a mixture of Barley Green and Gatorade powder in a small glass. Tastes pretty awful but I have been feeling great!
My newly repaired main sail blew out the top panel a few days ago. I have been sailing under genoa alone and still making decent time though my sailing angle is compromised some. UK Halsey Sailmakers have generously sponsored a new sail and will be sending it out to Panama City ASAP for me to pick up after I have transited the canal. It will be great to have a tight, new sail for the beat back northwards.
Mom and dad are working hard on arranging things in Panama. We will try to get the web camera turned on to Intrepid while in the Miraflores Lock and will be sure to let you know when we will be there if at all possible.
Cheers,
Zac
Shipping has definitely been increasing, though last night I had a good night's sleep with only one ship to watch out for all night.
It has been great to have stocked up on some good food in Grenada. One thing I have learned since being out here that I haven't mentioned much is that eating the right food makes such a huge difference in how I feel. It has been extremely difficult to get hold of good food and food that will last for weeks in remote ports.
While at home I could never be persuaded to drink Barley Green, the dehydrated barley juice that my mom loves. When I found a can of the stuff among the things she had dad bring out to Grenada, I was actually glad to see it. So every morning on this leg so far I drink a mixture of Barley Green and Gatorade powder in a small glass. Tastes pretty awful but I have been feeling great!
My newly repaired main sail blew out the top panel a few days ago. I have been sailing under genoa alone and still making decent time though my sailing angle is compromised some. UK Halsey Sailmakers have generously sponsored a new sail and will be sending it out to Panama City ASAP for me to pick up after I have transited the canal. It will be great to have a tight, new sail for the beat back northwards.
Mom and dad are working hard on arranging things in Panama. We will try to get the web camera turned on to Intrepid while in the Miraflores Lock and will be sure to let you know when we will be there if at all possible.
Cheers,
Zac
posted by Zac at
9:29 AM
31 Comments:
Zac,
Great to hear from you and so glad you're "feeling great"!
Can't wait to see you going through the canal.
Then it's homeward bound.
Go Zac go!
Mona
Tucson, AZ
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html
Here is the link to the live pictures of the Panama Canal. Perhaps we can catch Zac as he is going through Miraflores, The Centennial Bridge and Gatun.
Scott
Zac,
keep up the great work. we're praying for you. Can't wait to see you going through the Panama Canal.
Josiah Bridges
age 10
Shiloh,IL
Perfect leg for the main to blowout, and a GREAT leg coming up to have a new one from UKH! Perfect...
Daveh
dave@davehickson.com
who knows what your MOM did put in that drink powder??????????
Zac-
Sounds like a good ride the past few days. Looking forward to seeing you on cam in the Miraflores.
Take Care-Guzzle some more of that Gatorade concoction.
Kodiak Mike
Nice of UK Halsey to donate a new mainsail. As DaveH points out it will be good to have a new main for the bash against the wind as you head home to California.
Hope you also have a small, tough, storm jib or two for the same reason. In fact would be nice to have a small jib-top design with a high clew that sits above the deck to allow green water to pass between it and the deck while bashing northwards.
Perhaps UK Halsey could come up with the perfect Northbound Basher high-clewed #3 or #4 storm jib for you to use. (I'd go with Dacron.)
And if you've got sailtape on your main genoa, you might want to get some stitching added to the patch while in Panama.
WWW.PasageWeather.com shows perfect weather for you all the way to the Canal: 10 to 15 knots from aft. Can't ask for much better than that. It's like you're arriving on the Breath of Angels.
- Grant Fjermedal, Seattle
And thanks again to UK Halsey!
Hello to all: Okay, I have a question about the Panama canal. I understand it's need, and how it works. But my question is why the locks are needed. Why was the canal not just dug out to sail straight thru? Is it because it is not deep enough for the larger ships. Sorry for my lack of knowledge. I have never taken the time to really think much about the whole process until our Captain Zac adventure! I know there is a lot of knowledable Zac Pac (kers) out there to help me out. Thanks
God Speed Zac!
NICE JOB, ZAC! You are learning and doing and - again - it is so fun to "ride along." THANK YOU!
So, now we all know what SUPER-MARIANNE's SECRET power powder is!! NO WONDER SHE CAN WRANGLE 7 KIDS AND EVERYTHING ELSE!! And did you hear that, mom?? He admitted to everyone that YOU WERE RIGHT! :D Seriously, although the gatorade powder and barley green together don't taste so good...it is prob. better than the barely green on its own! Your body is a machine and the food (and other) you put into it are the fuel. YOU WILL RUN BETTER WITH GOOD FUEL in you! Amazing how that works - and amazing how long it takes many of us to TRULY GRASP that idea and live by it! I hope you keep hold of it.
Hold on tight with those choppy seas and keep harnessed! Glad you got a good nights sleep last night.
Didn't post before - but that photo of little Ben in the dread hat and grenada shirt - TOO CUTE! And I enjoyed the other photos as well as the post from Dad.
Lawrence - the retelling of your harrowing cockroach experience only reminds me of why I live in a climate where bugs FREEZE in the winter - they don't get that big - AND I'M GLAD! YIKES!
Amazing list of repairs done while in Grenada and in RECORD TIME! The Formulua-I team deserves much kudos. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! WELL DONE!!
Well, enjoy your barley juice, Zac and grow up big and strong like your Dad. :) (you too, Ben...)
Continued blessings from G_d on your adventure. It will be very cool if we can actually "see" Intrepid navigate the canal. Hope we can make it happen!
Ride on, Cap'n Zac!
LA in MN
Zac: Wonderful progress, sail swift and safe.
God Bless
Balmoral Sailor
Glad you are feeling chipper! Are you pushing the boat a little hard in your quest for home? Awesome news on the new sail from UKH.
Don't you just love Grant Fjermedal's words....It's like you're arriving on the Breath of Angels......
Wow, I love that.
You sound great Zac and hooray for your mum's magic potion!
Excited about your journey through the canal.
Glad you got some good sleep.
Keep safe and go Zac go.
UK friend
RE: Scott's message...be sure to click on the tab for High Resolution cam on the Miraflores Lock, you'll get an excellent picture! New frame every 30 seconds. Unless the cam mount is changed by the time Zac gets there you'll see a fantastic record of the Intrepid's passage.
Way to go, Zac! What a remarkable adventure! Thank you.
Dale in LA
Hi Zac,
too bad about the main sail, but great from UK Sails to get you a new one. I hope the wind stays so that you can sail Genoa alone to the canal.
Happy Sailing,
RK
@anon and everybody else who want to know more about the Panama Canal. The Canal web site has this nice animation explaining the locks and everything.
http://www.pancanal.com/eng/general/howitworks/index.html
The anticipation of your return and the end of your amazing adventure has created some excitement here at our school. School will end here next week but all of my students will be following you from their homes or for some the public library. Besides being their teacher I also am a librarian at the public library and have access to a distance learning screening room to show the video from the Miraflores webcam on a wall size screen. We are going to have a Zac the Mac Canal crossing party.
Your adventure has provided us with much this past year and we are all a little saddened that it is coming to an end, but we are confident that we will hear from you again at some point in our future.
We continue to pray for your successes and the good health of the entire Sunderland family.
Zac,
So glad you have realized the benefit of the Barley Greens! Just wish my son would. I always like to ask folks "Where does an elephant (or cow) get it's protein from?" The original fuel recommended by the Manufacturer (Gen. 1:29) is really the best for optimal health and performance. Continued blessings for a safe passage.
The Kittiwake Kids
Glad to hear that you are feeling GOOD! your epic journey continues to amaze me, and I wish you a safe passage to Panama, and warm greetings from here in the UK.
Regards, Dave (Bedfordshire, UK)
Sail on Captain!!
Sounds like a great trip so far..admitting MOM WAS RIGHT....Priceless!! You have grown grasshopper...LOL!!
Stay safe, have fun
Hugs,
Anita
Waterloo, NY
Captain SV Wombat
Way to go Zac..sounds like your sailing along nicely..bummer about the sail but you'll be good as new in no time.
I sent out a card yesterday..hopefully you have lots of them to read on your last leg.
Stay safe!!
Oh yeah, i clicked the donate button a few weeks ago..i hope it helps a little.
Laura Bermuda Dunes
Hi Zac,
Glad to hear that you arrived not only safe in Grenada but that you are already on you way to Panama. Home is near...
Here the announced little surprise for you from Rodrigus island, there is a message from someoe you know, at least he told me so...
http://insel-rodrigues.blogspot.com
Wish you nice winds and good sailing
Birgit from Rodrigues
Zac, so close yet so far! I'm sure the excitement is building to see the Pacific Ocean and then MDR. Enjoy the rest of the sail.
Good seas & steady winds.
Jeff
MDR via Santa Clarita
Is there a plan to put a CD together from all the pics and videos done on the arrival in MDR? If so - I would like to buy one as soon as possible. Would be great for all the Zac packers who can not make it to that major event.
Axel
heye@madisoncounty.net
It seems that Mike Perham; after having spent a month in Hobart Tasmania with a multitude of mechanical problems, now has to divert to Auckland NZ with more troubles. This time with the bearings on his right rudder.
I agree with Grant about the storm jib comments...
On my last boat that I did so many miles on, I had a track that would allow a storm jib setup to self-tack, a GREAT feature when you're beating into the winds for days on end tacking over and over and over... with it, you just turn the wheel...... GREAT feature...
Daveh
dave@davehickson.com
@ anon re mike. at first I thought it simply had to be a joke. poor mike's efforts and claim to'beat zac' have turned into a complete and utter farce. it defies comprehension that this piece of garbage boat 'totallymoney' is even licensed to float. i just do not understand who arranged for this effort in the first place without even bothering to make that thing sea worthy. it's now clear to me that this effort is a result of zac's attempts to be the youngest circumnavigator around the world. someone pushed mike and his pathetic 'boat' out the door out the door asap in order to 'win' the record. It's a joke. A complete circus. If mike's junk even makes it back home, he'll win the record for being the youngest sailor with the most stops for repairs to his boat while sailing around the world. big fancy boat, big fancy sponsers, thousands of pounds at their disposal and everyone forgot to fix the stupid boat before leaving. a massively expensive waste of time. it's very sweet that everyone says have fun pulling into ports and meeting people, but it's quite obvious that that was never the intention. it's clear their campaign was rushed out the door since zac was underway. and so it's backfired in the biggest possible way.
Zac
I hope the rest of the ride to the canal is safe for you and that you thoroughly enjoy the time spent on Intrepid....the waves, high or low, the movement of the boat, the horizon where sky and ocean meet and all the exciting things you've done so far....they will serve you well in years to come. In the meantime, I pray for safe voyage to your next stop...
Betty E., Lomita, CA
@Anonymous may 13 1:10PM
The canal needs locks because the highest point of the canal is about 30m (100ft) above mean sea level, and the biggest section of the 'canal' is actually a massive artificial lake (Gatun) about 160sq miles in area. The canals are really only the entrance and exits to this lake. The mean distance across the canal is approx 55 miles.
Why the canal was not just "dug through from Atlantic to Pacific Oceans" and just sailed through?
Presumably cost. The geology of the area is extremely difficult as well for such excavation works!
Imagine a canal with 100 foot vertical sides? Not likely. Can you imagine the additional volume (mass) of rock/soil to be moved to make such the sides of such a canal safe.
Hope this helps
A profile of the canal can be seen at:http://www.czbrats.com/CuPA/bfall/ProfilePC.htm
An excellent resource is to use Google Earth and 'fly to' Panama Canal.
The Corinth Canal in Greece was build without locks. However its a lot shorter ( 6.3 km/3.5 miles) and a lot narrower (~70 ft) as well as very shallow (~24 ft)
Axel
Beside the need to span through a mountainous rain forest, there remains one KEY reason for a canal built so far above sea level, thus requiring locks - and that's the simple fact that sea level on the Pacific side of Panama is approx. 8-inches higher than sea level on the Atlantic side.
If the Panama Canal had simply been built deep enough to be a sea level canal, a constant flow from Pacific to Atlantic would occur. The flow rate (speed), while not severe, would be enough to make navigation a bit more difficult.
MOREOVER: a sea level canal with resultant flow would create a severe detriment to Pacific and Atlantic marine species that otherwise never mingle.
@ Anonymous in the bold type
Mike's voyage and Zac's are apples and oranges. They took different strategies to attempt the same goal, and comparing them is a slippery slope.
Imagine if you wanted to travel across the country from San Diego to New York, you have a week's vacation available, and you have only two options as to the car you can take.
Option #1: You can take an old Volkswagen, which will run forever on commonly available parts and minimal maintenance, but it's slow so your entire vacation will be spent driving.
Option #2: You can drive a Formula 1 race car which will get you there in less than half the time if all goes well, and you can spend half your vacation seeing the sights, sounds, and smells of the biggest cesspool on the North American Continent.
If all goes well, then option 2 seems like the best idea, the best use of time and resources, and if you can keep a high-strung racing machine running for the trip then it'll work.
Without all the information available to the folks who did the planning and preparation for Zac's and Mike's trips, none of us here are really qualified to make the kind of judgments often seen here, but if the internet has done anything, then it's proven the old adage that opinions are like noses. Everybody has one, and all of them smell.
-Mouse in Whittier
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