Danger factor rises for sailor Zac Sunderland
Adventure sailor Zac Sunderland, who is attempting to become the youngest person to solo-circumnavigate the planet, is stuck in Port Moresby, capital of Papua New Guinea, and eager to shove off.
Why? Because it’s a dangerous city with a “what’s yours is mine” mentality among much of the populace, Marianne Sunderland, Zac’s mom, said by phone Thousand Oaks home.
Port Moresby has been called the world’s worst city because of poverty and a high crime and murder rate.
Sunderland, 16, who departed from Marina del Rey in June, was headed toward Darwin, Australia. He made the unplanned stop because of engine problems he is still trying to sort out. Fortunately, he was taken under the wing of Americans working in the city, and became a guest of the posh yacht club.
Zac’s only reference to danger in his blog is this passage:
“There has been a lot of concern over safety in Port Moresby (POM). As I looked out of my cockpit I saw an armed guard standing in a guard tower overlooking the marina. Another armed guard was pacing back and forth across the breakwater outside the marina. I learned 2 things; POM definitely is a dangerous place and also that I would be safe where I was. The security at the Yacht Club is pretty elaborate. It has the feel of a military compound.”
Sunderland tried sailing out Wednesday but his oil alarm sounded so he sailed back in. He'll leave as soon as possible and the trouble factor will not subside much after he departs. Between his 36-foot boat, Intrepid, and Darwin, is the infamous Torres Strait, a 150-mile-long maze of shallow or exposed reefs.
If he were only back home, he’d have no such worries. He’d be starting school and playing football, his passion before this dream of sailing around the world took root. Now he is getting an education beyond what he could have imagined.
With luck and a brisk wind he'll be in Darwin, a much safer haven, within two weeks.
--Pete Thomas
Photo courtesy of Zac Sunderland
Caption: Zac Sunderland poses for a photo in a Port Moresby workshop. His sailboat is under repairs but he hopes to continue his journey around the world this week.
