Pressing On (17 year-old near the end of his round the world sail)

Zac's Blog ^ | July 3, 2009 | Zac Sunderland

[ml/nj]

Pressing On
Position: 07/03/09 1633Z 26 16.151N 114 01.632W

The last couple of days have been pretty crazy around here. I have been battling a 2-3 knot current and a 25 knot wind from the NW. I have been tacking every few hours day and night trying to make headway which has been exhausting.

Yesterday morning my radar alarm went off and I saw a white boat heading towards me. I tried hailing them a few times but got no answer. As they got closer I saw it was a Coast Guard cutter so I waited as they approached and launched an inflatable. The side of the boat said US Coast Guard20 miles off of the coast of Mexico.

I dropped the sails and 4 armed officers boarded the boat After checking my paperwork and passport they asked if parents knew I was sailing around the world alone and which was pretty funny. They were from Ventura but must not read the newspaper or they have been out of town for awhile. They got back in their boat and left me with a fix-it ticket to get a fog horn. Must be getting closer!

I pulled up the sails and was off again. The wind and current built in the afternoon and into the night. I ended up staying up all night tacking back and forth in 25 knots. As the sun rose the wind died and I tacked one last time and crashed for a couple of hours. The conditions have improved some now and I am able to make better head way. I am thinking of heading into Turtle Bay for a day or two depending on the weather.

[ml/nj]

Someone posted something here a while ago about Zac's solo round-the-world-sail which began a little more than a year ago. I went back to his archives to start at the beginning and caught up. Now I follow him in the present. He is expected to complete his journey at Marina del Rey on or about July 14.

I thought this post of his was pretty funny. You probably have to have read how other Coast Guards have greeted him, how he always has to be on alert for potential collisions with other boats (The pirates don't radio back either!), and how supportive his parents have been, to see some of the humor in the stuff I bolded, or sadness in the way our Coast Guard acts. (The Captain will probably get a gold leaf cluster for being sure Zac gets a fog horn!)

I'm not really sure why our Coast Guard is boarding boats in international waters, but I'll sleep better knowing that they have protected us all from this potentially dangerous kid.

ML/NJ

[angkor]

The coordinates at the top plug right in to Google Maps, so anyone can see exactly where he is.

26 16.151 N, 114 01.632 W

[constitutiongirl]

Maybe they’re concerned about drug and/or people smuggling. I was kind of surprised they haven’t heard of him. Brave kid.

[ml/nj]

I don't know. He certainly wasn't in US waters. They approached him in such a manner that he thought he might have to abandon his boat. Did they have a warrant; or do they not need a steeenkin warrant? If our government is worried about people and drugs, it would be much cheaper to build and supply gun towers along the southern border.

ML/NJ

[x1stcav]

I can’t remember his name, but a 15-year-old (also from California) did this back in 1965-68.

He wrote a book titled ‘Dove’ about his adventures. It’s good reading.

[ml/nj]

???

My understanding is that Zac set out to be the youngest to do a solo round the word sail.

ML/NJ

[x1stcav]

Apparently you're correct.

Dove is a true story of a 16-year-old boy named Robin Graham who sailed around the world in a 24-foot sailboat. Robin is a wealthy California boy who dislikes society life and would much rather go on sailing adventures to explore different cultures. He follows his dream of sailing around the world, but does not expect the intense loneliness or treacherous weather that would plague him.

He set out when he was 16 and took almost 5 years to do it. It was recorded, as I remember at the time, in National Geographic.