An Update from Dad

Zac heading out of St George's Bay

What a whirlwind of a trip! The flights went smoothly apart from a few minor delays which had me running whilst they held the gate open to make my connecting flight to Grenada.

It was great to hook up with Mike Smith, whose expertize and help was much needed on this trip, and Jen who had been on an adventure herself as crew aboard a 37 ft Leopard power catamaran from Ascension Island in the South Atlantic to Florida. It was almost like a family reunion - much was talked about and Mike and I discussed the work at hand in detail.

When we arrived at the hotel room and I was able to check back with Marianne, I was met with the news that she hadn't heard from Zac all day. He would have been approximately 2 days out from St George's Bay. Knowing his conditions and the fatigue fatigue factor that he was operating under we were both very concerned. At the time, my mind went back to the earlier communication breakdown back in September when Zac was nearing the infamous Torres Strait.

Our arrival 2 days earlier allowed us to scope out St George's Bay and figure the most efficient way to complete the extensive work list. The first night in our hotel I was viciously attacked by a Tigertooth 2" cockroach. Still semi-comatose from my travels, I lunged into action as it ran across my head and then disappeared beneath the covers. Ripping the covers from the bed, it scurried over the edge and took cover beneath the bed. I lifted up the bed and threw it on one side to find my attacker scurrying for cover. One swift and well executed move brought an end to the Tigertooth Cockroach's life. Mike, who was sharing a room with me, thought I was playing one of my practical jokes. I thought I would keep the dead cockroach and present it to the reception in the morning. I wondered as I fell back to sleep whether my attacker was alone .

The following day there was still no word from Zac. We projected his course and went to the Grenadian Coast Guard. The reason for this was to try and make contact via on of their high frequency radios and also to put them on notice of the situation. The report was taken, and as Zac would be passing within 30 miles of Trinidad they felt confident that the Trinidad Coast Guard would be able to contact Zac. A follow up call revealed that no information had been exchanged and that all the efforts that we had made were for nothing. Later that day Zac managed to get a position out on his Spot transponder. What a great relief for us all. I would like to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.























Ben with his Grenada souvenirs

We were very fortunate to have Guy Gittins, an executive from the Port Louis development, and Clyde from Camper Nicholson furnish us with a slip and a rather luxurious 2 bedroom bungalow called the Cinnamon Hotel. They also allowed us use of the launch to meet Zac and send him off along with the sea trials and photo shoot. This was faithfully skippered by Rodger who was also great company. Intrepid had traveled nearly 6,000 nautical miles since Cape Town and the work list was long and extensive. Without Mike's help, we would still be in Grenada. Michael from Sundowner, a 85ft Oyster, came alongside and rebuilt the winches and inspected the rigging. He found several things that needed attention. We also had Joseph and Cassey who I renamed Mary which she seemed to like. They were engaged to be married. They completely emptied everything inside Zac's boat that had been swamped earlier in the week by a rogue wave. Things were sorted, washed, dried and put back.



















Zac with Joseph and 'Mary'

Zac was eager to get back on the ocean realizing that hurricane season starts around the the 1st of June. Not wanting to take chances, he would like to get back sooner rather than later. Zac is in excellent spirits and making good progress on his way to Panama.

If you would like to mail your letters to Zac's mail box, we will be certain that they get to Panama.

Zac Sunderland
1710 N. Moorpark Rd #212
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360




















Zac, Christian and I 'going local'


The Work List with thanks to Mike Smith

Upon reaching the harbor of St. George in Grenada, Intrepid had traveled more than 3800NM from St. Helena over a period of 5 weeks. Last full service was completed in South Africa, so many repairs were needed in a very short period of time. Over a marathon pit-stop of 6 days, the following tasks were identified and performed by the Formula-I (for Intrepid!) team while Zac was occupied by interviews and tele-conferences via Skype:

-The Solar regulator/charger had failed since South Africa. The original unit that had failed before Hawaii was serviced and successfully replaced into service.

-The A/C inverter failed rather dramatically (see A/C distribution panel below) and was replaced with a new identical unit, which was fortunately located on the island after a search of several Marine Chandleries.

-The A/C distribution panel was killed by rogue wave overwash. The resulting short-circuit left the inverter with a flaming circuit board and power failure. The entire electrical panel was treated with cleaner and sprayed with anti-corrosion spray.

-One DC outlet was repaired and restored to service at the aft chart desk.

-A broken signal line in the radar cable had caused radar failure. The entire cable was cut and re-spliced, taped, and sealed.

-The permanent-mount Iridium satellite phone antenna cable was found to be corroded and broken. While repairs could not be completed on-site, a new cable ansd adapter will be shipped from the US to meet Intrepid in Panama. Meanwhile, the hand-held antenna will be used.

-A new, more powerful Raymarine SmartPilot X-5 tiller system autopilot, kindly provided by the American Sailing Association, was installed and calibrated.

-The Monitor Windvane pendulum mechanism was slightly damaged and had missing nylon bushings. A repair/rebuild kit with new bearings and bushings and new pendulum were installed. The rig was readjusted to prevent a misalignment problem that had been a constant difficulty. All-new control lines were installed, a couple of worn bolts were replaced, and the entire rig was tightened.

-The port-side cockpit scupper drain was relieved (unclogged).

-A fraying lower starboard shroud was replaced.

-A Broken lower starboard shroud-plate was removed for welding.

-The upper starboard spreader had a stripped bolt that was removed and replaced. The fastener was re-tapped.

-A bolt was installed in the mainsail tack to restore smoother sail trim.

-Port side Lazy Jacks were repaired by replacing a line and re-routing other lines.

-Significant mainsail repairs were needed and were performed by a sailmaker

-Genoa tears were taped with sailtape.

-A diver cleaned marine growth from Intrepid's bottom hull.

-The Head was malfunctioning, and repairs included replacement of a non-return valve and disassembly/cleaning of the hand pump.

-All gear, cushions, etc., were stripped for cleaning and resorting. The entire cabin and cockpit were emptied and washed. Cushions and covers were sent to a laundry service along with all Zac's clothing.

-The engine oil pressure sender was diagnosed as defective, plus there was some water found in the fuel. A complete engine work-up included all new internal and external fuel filters, new water pump impeller, and cooling line check. The engine was cleaned and coated with anti-corrosion spray.

-A larger, higher-output propeller was installed in anticipation of the Panama Canal crossing.

-All four main winches were completely disassembled, cleaned, and lubricated, thanks to fellow yachter Michel Picot of "Sundowner".

-Some video cameras were dead due to salt water corrosion and were substituted and brought back for repairs

-Intrepid (and Zac!) starred in a total of 8 hours of photo session work. A well-known professional photographer was engaged by a respected sports magazine to produce a variety of portrait and functional shots for a June publication. More to come...

-Intrepid was completely reprovisioned, refueled, re-watered.

-Prior to departure, Intrepid was tested for a couple of hours in a sea trial, including compass swing and calibration, plus a "learn" run to allow the new autopilot to self-calibrate steering sensitivity. Several rigging tune-ups were made, and all systems were declared "GO".