Sailing Zatara causing some Pacific ripples

[anotherT34C]

definition quoted

d-bag;
The term "d-bag" generally refers to a male with a certain combination of obnoxious characteristics related to attitude, social ineptitude, public behavior, or outward presentation.

Though the common d-bag thinks he is accepted by the people around him, most of his peers dislike him. He has an inflated sense of self-worth, compounded by a lack of social grace and self-awareness. He behaves inappropriately in public, yet is completely ignorant to how pathetic he appears to others.

He often talks about how cool, successful, and popular he is, yet never catches on to the fact that he comes across as a total loser. Nevertheless, he firmly believes that he is the smartest, most desirable, and most charming person in the room... and will try to bad-rep anyone who would threaten to expose this facade.

He fancies himself a ladies’ man, yet tends to be a joke to all but the most naive of women. He tries to portray himself as part of the in-crowd (a fashionista, an upwardly mobile professional, the life of the party, etc.) but only succeeds in his own mind.

To everyone else, he is an annoying and arrogant phony who comes across as a wannabe overcompensating for his insecurities. He tries to appear like the center of whatever group will tolerate him, but in reality, he is just a tag-along who mooches drinks, women, contacts, social standing, and other benefits from the group... while contributing nothing.

A-list ego; D-list status.

[Freedom45]

Originally Posted by OloteleMtn

I was there in August and September of last year, and my wife and i were very uncomfortable due to the weather; when the average temperature year round where one lives is 80 plus, even 75 seems cold. 40s is in the hypothermic range. "Not that cold" will vary depending on whether one is a Hottentot or an Inuit...

Got down to 2c yesterday here in Whangarei, and it’s wet.
Very grateful to be here, but had to buy socks, shoes and long pants

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Freedom45

Got down to 2c yesterday here in Whangarei, and it’s wet.
Very grateful to be here, but had to buy socks, shoes and long pants

When I lived in New Zealand we wore our cold weather clothes (all of which were nicely stored in lockers on Wings, waiting for the chance to be of service) and were fine,

The Kiwi's however seemed impervious to the weather. The lived in houses with poor weather sealing and no central heat. The sent their kids to school without shoes, they ate outside at sidewalk cafes in what seemed like freezing weather, and they went sailing in bare feet and shorts in absolutely horrendous conditions, came back smiling and ran to the pub, soaking wet.

[Bruno187]

I used to follow them and was a subscriber to their YT channel, and found it entertaining. A little while ago he started in with some political crap. That's decidedly NOT why I watch cruising videos. I cancelled my subscription. Now I hear he is defying the Tongan directives to NOT enter the country, but is doing it anyway. This is not political, not COVID driven, not anything except arrogance and hubris driven. They should impound the boat and deport them back to the US. Very simple. When American cruisers refuse to comply with the laws of the host countries, it gives us ALL a bad name and bolsters the stereotype of "Ugly American". And to that guy who keeps mentioning that "they're Texans" and "Alamo this and that", I'd remind you that this is the South Pacific, where tribal warfare was an art-form and decapitation the norm until 100 years ago. I'd put my money on a nation of these guys vs a boatload of Texans everyday and twice on Sunday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME8NtctI_Ro

[OloteleMtn]

Originally Posted by Bruno187

I used to follow them and was a subscriber to their YT channel, and found it entertaining. A little while ago he started in with some political crap. That's decidedly NOT why I watch cruising videos. I cancelled my subscription. Now I hear he is defying the Tongan directives to NOT enter the country, but is doing it anyway. This is not political, not COVID driven, not anything except arrogance and hubris driven. They should impound the boat and deport them back to the US. Very simple. When American cruisers refuse to comply with the laws of the host countries, it gives us ALL a bad name and bolsters the stereotype of "Ugly American". And to that guy who keeps mentioning that "they're Texans" and "Alamo this and that", I'd remind you that this is the South Pacific, where tribal warfare was an art-form and decapitation the norm until 100 years ago. I'd put my money on a nation of these guys vs a boatload of Texans everyday and twice on Sunday.

You are wrong on most of what you said, but don't let that get in the way of a good story. Maybe read back some and catch up, and then tell us what laws were broken.

[GTom]

Originally Posted by nzmal

https://matangitonga.to/2020/07/04/a...-sailing-tonga

Just read this Tongan article referencing the Sailing Zatara crew heading out of NZ. Seemed like a bad idea heading North during lockdown... but I guess YouTube needs feeding...

"Nothing interesting to film"...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsUlHilL0Is

[OloteleMtn]

^ pah, mountains, they have those all over America, trails....yep; hairy legged hobbits....yep. AND they drive on the wrong side of the road.....

It IS a beautiful country....

[Discovery 15797]

Originally Posted by Moontide

Hard to believe some of the posts here. Sure sounds to me like most of the posters here have not actually watched the Zatara video in question. My recollection is that they have provisions for 6 months and fuel for 3 (although with their solar they could greatly extend that with some conserving). He also indicated that they were not going to crash a country and had several places that they had the ability to go to that would let them in. If Tonga was not reopened before they got there they had no intention of going there. I guess part of the question is who "owns" Minevera. In the fairly recent past there have been confrontations between Tonga and Fiji over this issue. But its really moot since the population of Miverva is ZERO.

I have stated multiple times the inter-governmental organization called the Pacific Islands Forum (which is included in the UN General Assembly) has officially recognized the claim of these reefs by Tonga. This is a fact.

Fiji disputes the claim and that is a legal matter between those nation states and the UN. And Fiji has filed claim at the UN, and the 2 nations have had formal discussions on the matter. But, currently the Pacific Islands Forum and the UN recognize Tongan sovereignty. This is also a fact.

But, you don't have to take my word for it...you can read the actual United Nations document THE OUTER LIMITS OF THE CONTINENTAL SHELF OF THE KINGDOM OF TONGA IN THE WESTERN PART OF THE LAU-COLVILLE RIDGE PURSUANT TO PART VI OF AND ANNEX II TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA

In summary it states

WHEREAS the Reefs known as North Minerva Reef and South Minerva Reef have long served as fishing grounds for the Tongan people and have long been regarded as belonging to the Kingdom of Tonga has now created on these Reefs islands known as Teleki Tokelau and Teleki Tonga; AND WHEREAS it is expedient that we should now confirm the rights of the Kingdom of Tonga to these islands; THEREFORE we do hereby AFFIRM and PROCLAIM that the islands, rocks, reefs, foreshores and waters lying within a radius of twelve miles [19.31 km] thereof are part of our Kingdom of Tonga.

Hopefully that puts to rest any further speculative, uninformed, and senseless debates regarding sovereignty of these reefs?

WRT the population of Minerva Reef being zero...it has absolutely no bearing on the matter.

A few weeks ago the sailing vessel Akra Kinari illegally anchored at Taka Atoll, Marshall Islands which is also uninhabited. They were immediately expelled and not allowed to clear into Majuro, or FSM.

There are many thousands of uninhabited reefs, atolls, and islands in the Pacific. They are all claimed territory of one of the recognized island nations.

When you drop an anchor...you are officially in the country that claims that reef, atoll, or island regardless of whether it is inhabited or not. If you don't clear in properly...they can expel you, deny entry, detain you, and/or fine you.

WRTo the "they were not going to crash a country and had several places that they had the ability to go to that would let them in" statement...that is complete bull$hit! Fiji announced an opening on June 21 with tight restrictions and case-by-case basis. American Samoa is closed, but according to a post by OloteleMtn they allow resupply. Guam is possible but imposes mandatory 14 day quarantine...regardless of time at sea. Hawaii also has quarantine, but sea-time counts. No other Pacific island nation is open for visiting yachts.

Again, my expressed anger is not because they decided to leave NZ...it is because they showed complete disregard for the laws and edicts of a Pacific island nation. He has enough sea miles so he cannot plead ignorance...he can only claim arrogance. Akra Kinari attempted the same thing and were rightfully denied entry into Marshalls and FSM, and forced to head to Guam for repairs and provisioning.

S/V Zatara's actions reflect poorly on cruisers, and especially American cruisers.

So, for all you puddle-pirates who think you know a thing or two about international law because you read a wikipedia page and have a chart and a set of dividers, or think you are superior and exempt from the laws and customs of the Pacific island nations...please stay away.

[OloteleMtn]

Zatara on their blog apparently stated that they had contacted Tongan authorities while 12 miles outside of the Minerva Reef area to ask for permission to visit the reef.....that permission was granted. What else was required? Why are you all so insistent on finding fault with them? They make you look bad? No, that is on you.

[fxykty]

Why has this thread descended into country-slagging? While SZ are American (or should it be Texan?), that doesn’t have any bearing on their actions nor how their actions are viewed.

They broke rules here in NZ and they left for the South Pacific without any plan other than to force their way into one of the countries there. There was before they left a set of hoops to jump through to go to Fiji legally, but they chose to ignore those hoops and left anyway.

Their actions are likely to make it harder for the rest of us to go cruising in this area of the world. That’s why there are a number of us who don’t like what they’ve done. It’s not about their nationality.

I guess they’re planning on heading to Hawaii for hurricane season?

[JPA Cate]

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