For those following other young solo sailors, Zac Sunderland and Micheal Perham (both around 17 years old) happened to be in Cape Town, South Africa at the same time for a while which is quite ironic considering they are both sailing completely different routes around the world. Interestingly, Minoru Saito, a sailor from Japan who is attempting to become the oldest circumnavigator also stopped in South Africa for a while and they all enjoyed sharing a few yarns. The press has had their excitement too!
Michael was attempting a nonstop circumnavigation aboard his open 50, but equipment failure has forced him to stop three times so far. This is one example where having simple but reliable systems on board would be much better than trusting temperamental electronics. He is however continuing to sail his boat into the Roaring Forties soon.
Well, I worked like mad to get everything ready for the delivery from New Zealand to Hawaii. It took a lot of effort to get the necessary details taken care of with flights, schooling, communication, etc., but it looked like everything was falling into place. That is until shortly before departure when we discovered that my passport was no longer valid. This may be a minor problem for most, but not so much for a sixteen year old who was due to fly alone one way to New Zealand.
There was actually some chance with getting an expediter to take care of the details and issue an emergency passport, but that fell through when they sent the wrong form and there was no time to get it all taken care of before departure. That was that.
Despite these challenges, there is hope to join leg two of this delivery from Honolulu to LA on the same boat. This would mean not sailing as far, but the route would still offer some challenges. Sailing from Hawaii to the mainland, one has to go over the North Pacific High, and this usually means passing over Forty degrees north where some exciting weather can be experienced. There is also a tendency for storms to develop off the coast of California, which could make for a wet arrival.
In the mean time I will continue working with sponsors and hopefully fit in a few sailing days as well.
Cheers,
Ryan