Atlantic crossing DISASTER! (Ep 270) 

Keith is an exceptional engineer, always so impressed with his ability to stay cool, future proof and problem solve 💯

I am still amazed that you can edit a show in the middle of the Ocean, and share it with the world. I enjoy your journey!

A word of caution regarding your rudder repair. In the 90s, I had a 46 foot sloop and had knocked the bottom 18 inches off the rudder twice. I contacted the naval architect who designed the boat, Herman Freres, for advice. He told me that the original design had a very robust rudder and on two occasions, early hull numbers hit something in the water and bent their rudder shafts. So beginning with hull #4, rudders were designed with a breakaway tip, so that in the event of a collision with some underwater object, the rudder shaft didn’t bend. When the rudder shaft bent, it caused interference with the hull and the boat could not be steered.

We are loving this crossing! Also realize that Keith’s brain can’t afford to sleep. It’s always alert to the functions on the boat. And he knows so much! What a great comfort.😊

So happy that you all have had a wonderfully safe Atlantic crossing. Luke is a great addition! Glad he had the opportunity to experience this with all of you. Glory would’ve enjoyed this so much. Feel badly that she didn’t get to experience this.

The Captain is amazing with his vast knowledge about the tech onboard. Like a farmer, jack of all trades.

Glad to see your journey was mostly non-eventful. Props to Keith for building in redundancies into his fixes / upgrades. Looking forward to the adventures on land.

I'm so in awe that you all are so courageous about being in the ocean. You just jump in so bravely. Keith, you are a consummate problem solver and fixer. Renee, you manage the food so amazingly. That's a complex boat home you have! Love watching your videos. Thanks! 🌺

I know they are not the most "exciting moments" but i really enjoy listening to Kieth talking/diagnosing and working on the boat or just explaining the issues to fix. Very informative to see what its like to sail from a person who is interested in sailboats and living like that.

We LOVE. The longer videos! I can't enough of your channel!

Another excellent video Renee. Ty for sharing. Blessings to you and yours.

One of the many things I admire about Keith is he doesnt mess around or procreate about boat repair. He gets right on it if he can fix it or if he has to have it done. Me... Id would have two extra of everything on that ship. Two extra Rutters, fan belts etc.

I am not sure what it was with this episode, but it really captured the facts that you are all alone in the middle of the ocean. And you did it without any exaggerating or sensationalizing the days at sea. Awsome Video!!!

Life has been good to the Zatara crew, if you think about what is happening in the world with Ukraine and now the Gaza Strip, you tend to leave all the world travels behind! Your episodes and videography has managed to relax our minds and allows us to wonder with your voyages, visions and most wonderful family. Thank you all for the ups and downs, adventures and mysteries of our most wonderful blue waters and oceans 👍🇺🇸God Bless America

I can't express HOW MUCH I have loved your channel. I make time EVERY Thursday to watch it! Look forward to the next chapters in all of your lives... for me, you've made me feel like one of the family. God Bless you ALL!

Keith is one of the clearer thinking guys you could listen too. Brilliant at educating in so many ways makes the channel a must watch.

Watching this from a boat in the Bahamas. Doesn't get much better. Yall have sparked a love and draw to the sea in me and my son. Before then it didn't seem possible, only in our dreams. Yall really gave us hope, and the strength to get here. Keith's lil quip, isn't just hot air. It's an invitation to dream big... out there on the water. Will do Keith. Will do.

I would not make the rudder stronger Keith. Building boats and repairing boats has given me the knowledge of the fact you do not want the rudder shaft bending or breaking around the bushings, causing structural damage. I agree 100 percent on getting them both re-built as you dont know the exact cause of the rudder shearing off. Cheers! SV Antares II.

@sailing zatara . a crappy day at sea is still better than a good day at work . be safe much love to you all

All I can say is you’re all Amazing.. I loved every thing about this video today. Knowing you’re port side “Somewhere” going by the dates you’ve documented and we’re way past the holidays now.. Keith you’re a true fixer upper sailor and I like how you describe everything in any and all repairs. Thanks Renee for a splendid review of life on a boat!! 👍

It was great to see you all making the best of each opportunity as it arose, rough or smooth, you seek to find what it takes to get through and to still have fun during your adventures. That shows your sailing experience, which you and Renee talked about. Experience eases the rough times and accentuates the smooth.

We absolutely love your family and the relationships you make with young people you have as guest on your boat. We travel the U.S. and Canada full time in an rv. Love your channel.

the “miss you glory” got me😭, haha GLORY THEY MISS YOU COME BACK!

Question here. Could you do a video on your safety protocols. Why you do or don't wear life jackets, when would you?. Do you always trail a rope or two. Are there readily available life rings to throw. Do your nite crew members snap into a safety line when they move around the deck. Really just would like to hear you talk about man overboard, fire, hole in hull etc. Do you have go bags if you all have to leave the boat. Like if the boat is sinking do you cut your dingy loose and get your life raft in the water and do you practice. Is there a radio you could take on the life raft to call for help. This a great channel and i have been listening and watching for years. Keep it up.

Love Love Love Everyone’s videos! As parents, you and Keith are amazing and so blessed with those wonderful grown kids of yours. They are super blessed to have you two as parents. God has really taken care of you during your travels as well. Thank you so much for your content as I began watching when I started a cancer journey and I was away from home for a year 2.5 years ago. You will have great memories to watch in the future. I am not even sure if you will ever read my comment, but I want to put it out there. YOU ALL ARE AWESOME !!!

Our family loves you guys! Sending you good vibes for your safe passage crossing, all is well and you’re okay. We appreciate hearing how you’re doing. always looking forward to seeing your next video!! Thank you for sharing 🙏

Thank you for sharing your family adventures! To be out in the sun,wind,the night sky,, would be so wonderful! God bless you all!

So, what was the DISASTER?

Keith is unbelievable guy, He knew things always ahead. I envy him with everything knowledge he have.

Great episode, thank you. You are fortunate to have so much talent onboard. You were fortunate to have such good weather.

Wonderful, thank you Mama Renee! Well done everyone!! 🤗🤗

We ❤ the Zatara family + Luke. And We love the window into your life on the seas.

So glad I can watch this episode on my 64 birthday, life at sea seems hard but you guys make it look easy

Thank you for checking in. I've been on from time to time and had started to wonder...

Thank you for sharing these moments and your amazing family. Y'all are blessed. These videos give me inspiration.

I just love how each of you how your own skill. Keith works on the boat/engineer Renee takes care of the kids cooks etc, Jack is an awesome helper and has mastered sailing. Finn is great at video games😂😂 also skim boarding I think is the name of it. He’s great at that so is Jack. Kate is just good at being herself, her vibe is just immaculate. Luke he brings smiles!

coming back to the channel after so long, last video was when the big daughter went to study on land. felt very happy so see son all grown up with beard and everything and pops has lost a few hairs and mom being the same with extra sun burn and new kids on bord. cant wait to watch all the videos to catch up

Another great video and you are so lucky that you have Keith as the Awesome problem solver.

Renee you do such a great job with the filming and everything. We thoroughly enjoyed the video. Other than the rudder problem, we’re glad the rest of the day was pretty much uneventful. We pray you have a safe journey on in! 👍❤️🙏

Awesome video guys!!! Great news that everything that's happened was minor and fixable on the way. See y'all next time.

Can you guys show more cooking on these long passages! Love that...Fresh fish catch, clean cook!

Could I suggest that you use more of a fish when you have caught one? The skin is the most nutritional part of the fish with the highest level of omega. Fry the skin in a pan until crisp, you can "crumble it" on top of your other food or eat it as "crackling". The bones and head make delicious soup. Why not roast the whole fish or cook it on the BBQ wrapped in foil? There is so much more you could use from a fish than just the fillets (especially when it is freshly caught). 😊

I have been watching this adventure for years and I never get over how much effort it takes to sail a boat. I can just think about what life really was like on the ships of old back centuries ago.

Great team work. Renee your a good mom always attentive and making sure your family is well fed. Thank you for the upload safe travels 💕

Captain Keith, I like what you said about repairing systems on the boat and other places- "If it was running good before you worked on it- probably something you did caused it to not"- Brilliant but simple. I run an Electrical contracting service in Hawaii and specialize in hard to find problems. Process of elimination. Who did what? Detective analyzing the crime scene. If I don't fix it We ain't going nowhere. All eyes on me- But, like you, I know what to do. Aloha Captain

Just a thought. Wouldn't a bread maker help on passage?? You can make bread and bagels, buns etc.

Enjoyed the video again, it's great how you manage to get it together and especially the technical issues by Keith, from the video I felt the enormous space and emptiness, one with nature. Hello from Khon Kaen/Thailand

I just found your channel. I love your vibe. You seem like a wonderful family. Thanks for taking me along.😊

Funny you guys have a Wilson volleyball there and he sounds very similar to Tom Hanks. 😅👍🏼

I’d think twice about over strengthening the rudders as it may break something else in the steering linkage or even tear a hole in the hull if you had another strike or hit something.

It’s an absolute joy watching you all. Thursdays are way too long between episodes😂. Travel safe x

Your such a great family and thanks for your sharing of all the passages ❤

Dad is such a great guy, he has the entire boat schematics in his head. Reminds me of good times sailing. Thanks.

one word.. 'awesome family experience'.

I just came across another video of a sailing family who met you on a chance encounter. Dutch Sailing Family! How awesome is that! My heart melted.... Keith You are so wonderful! I live in St Petersburg, Fl. If I am ever lucky to have a chance encounter to meet the family! It would be a memorable moment in my life. I currently work on a 182 ft yacht out of Tampa as a marine crew...Deckhand. I'm working towards living on a catamaran with my man. I have followed you for a long time and have watched the kids grow up. Granted I had to watch past videos to catch up. I love your family. I watch other RU-vid Sailers as well, but something about your family keeps me waiting for your next post. I am subscribed to both your children's RU-vid channels and its always a pleasure to see what their prospective about their environment is. On another note, Welcome home! back to the US of getting all those food items you guys have missed. FYI, I do follow a few who have left your boat. Glory and Jadyn. Lovely girls. Love, Love, Love, you guys! You are all inspiration not only to go sailing, but to just get out and explore. rather by boat or train or flight. Just do it! Leshgo!

I’ve been watching you guys for awhile & I wasn’t sure how possible how possible life on the water could be in the long term, but now you guys have me feeling living like this is a dream. I’m hoping I can get at least 1 year out there.

You all have come so far as sailors. ❤️👊🏼

I know you have said you don't film because you guys are "not doing much", but seriously, videos like this one where you just film just normal things sitting around talking etc, is perhaps the kind of videos I enjoy most.

I'm from the UK and in 1999 I bought a nine year old ,42ft Catamaran in Florida and sailed it via the Azores to Portugal. I lost a rudder completely. It had snapped off flush with the underside of the hull. We saw nothing nor heard or felt anything. I realised something was wrong because, although the boat was steering alright the auto-pilot was doing overtime. When I got to the Azores where I had to pay my VAT as I brought the boat in to Europe. I swam under the boat and was somewhat taken aback to find no rudder on one side. The boat's beam was 24ft and there was no lift big enough to lift the boat from the water. My two friends and I pulled the broken remains from one hull and the complete rudder from the other. I had little choice but to fly back to the Uk with both rudders and have a new one made. Two weeks later we refitted them with much puffing and panting through our snorkels and were on our way again, three day out we hit a large whale, it lifted one hull, perhaps nine inches out of the water but we incurred no damage. I then sailed down the coast of Portugal, Spain and in to the Med. I lived on board for two years. A great adventure, marvellous fun, but I met a number of liveaboard yachties who had become water Gypsies, out of money and ideas. Not a good thing. I sold the boat in Spain, returned to the UK and returned to business. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Good luck Keith and family, the experience will be with you for ever.

This is fascinating and so relaxing, happy I came across your channel!

Looking forward to seeing the kids start to diagnose and repair some of the issues that arise. I know Jack has mentioned getting his own boat, and I’m confident that he can tackle 90% of what’s required. But that’s not the same as being the one making the tough decisions and knowing the consequences of making the wrong one. Keith makes it look easy. Finn and Kate still have a ways to go (from just watching this), but they both have the experience to do this.

Enjoy the videos immensely especially the fishing. Shouldn't have passed up on the short billed spearfish. Have been fortunate to catch two in my extensive fishing experience...think of a lighter sweeter Mahi plus big yield. If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I'm coming back as Zahara crew. Safe travels.

And this ladies and gentlemen is why you want at least 2 of everything on a boat. If something breaks it may slow you down but it won't leave you dead in the water. Keep the good stuff coming guys.

One of the best videos i have seen in a while. Really made me feel hapoy and relaxed

I recently discovered your channel. I watched some of your new episodes and liked them so much I decided to go back to the beginning of your adventure. I am up to episode 61. I did some crewing in the Sea of Cortez when I was young and enjoyed sailing so much. I wish it had been part of my later years but it wasn’t. I am now in my 80s and I will satisfy my sailing wanderlust through your videos.

Thank you for sharing your amazing journey. Beautiful scenery and footage. "we need the food" mom being practical. Don't forget sunblock, I'd burn like a lobster. Safe and healthy travels

Great video ! Enjoyed the passage. Regarding the rudders, on many boats the lower portion of the rudder is sacrificial. Designed to break if if it hits something. Better it breaks than bending a rudder shaft or worse ! Stay safe, fair winds !

What was the disaster?

So what’s the disaster

I really enjoy your videos and adventures. Thank you for sharing. I get to see things and places here that I’d never get to see otherwise. My late dad and I, as well as a few local farmers would take a couple fishing trips every year to Mexico near Guaymas Mexico. Work and life as well as age changed that. My dad taught me how to filet fish 50+ years ago. Instead of wig-wagging the knife while holding the skin, he’d hold the skin and wig-wag & slightly pulling it while holding the knife in one spot. We filleted a lot of bass that way too. Just thought I’d share that tip. Thank You, from New Mexico.

I luv watching, Keith ALWAYS has great advice. Fuel pump redundancy is SO brilliant. AND I JUST NOTICED, when did you guys rescue Wilson? 26:04

You don’t eat Tuna?

Does anyone else wish that these vlogs were longer? Of course!

New sails look awsome!!! Thanks for the show!

1-20-2024 I always watch your videos. They are sooooo good its like watching a great movie, they are never boring but have action and parts that just pull you in like when Keith is fixing a part of the engine, or when you guys catch a fish, or see a whale, etc. I just really love what all of you are doing and explaining how things work out on the ocean for those of us who will never be able to enjoy it in real life. Thank you.

people hanging off the back of the boat thumbs down.

SERIOUS CLICKBAIT

Very insightful the technical challenges with engine, power and technical changes- thanks for the Keith insight. Fantastic experience on open ocean with wildlife encounters and fishing- super thanks as always for sharing you guys!

Why is no one talking about how they're dangling off the back of the boat, without tethers, while underway. That's a long swim if anything goes wrong.

So what is the disaster ?? A broken rudder or engine issues does not equate to a disaster unless it leads to a serious repercussion or dire situation. Boring talking and a title unwarranted. Better channels similar content...

Just finished binge watching all of your videos over the last weeks and absolutely love them all keep at it 😊. Going to continue to watch all of your videos from now on ❤

Thank you for sharing your journey. Remember it is not what life throws at us but how we respond. Safe and healthy travels.

so a misleading title

What disaster? Pathetic clickbaiting!

Hi, you all! I stumbled upon your videos recently and now I'm hooked. Thanks for taking us along your journeys! Jeremy, Austin Texas!

I really enjoyed this video, I thought the length was perfect too. Beautiful family!!

I think you guys need to look up the definition of a disaster. Breaking half a rudder when you have 2 doesn't qualify. Loosing an engine when you have 2 and its secondary propulsion definitely doesn't count. Im going to go back to he sailing channels that dont begin our relationship with a clickbait lie now.

That last segment confirmed that Ya'll Ain't Right! Great video as usual! Keep up the good work!

Awesome y’all. Love the content. Everything we want to see on a passage.

Glad to see you are still able to move via both engines with the alternator bolt fixed. The fresh fish looked very tasty and making fish tacos sounded really tasty too. It's good to see that you found "WILSON" somewhere along your journey. The FedEx Castaway guy (I know Tom Hanks played that role, but I forgot his screen name) will be so relieved...LOL Be safe and enjoy the rest of your journey to get the rudder fixed.

Glad y’all are safe!

The best family and also Keith is an amazing mechanic! Regardless if he ever learnt that he is great !

Had a dream I was sailing the Atlantic with you guys. As we reached Newfoundland, we were all in awe of the huge icebergs - so majestic! Haha, stopped Jack from complaining about the cold.

I got alot to learn . Blessings to all . Beautiful family . Please be safe . An inspiration .

I know that calm weather is not great for sailing, but that looks just incredible to be out on the ocean and be so calm. Swimming with a pilot whale (or any whale or dolphin. ) just seems incredible. Donate for a Dream

Just ran across this video. I enjoyed learning from it! Glad y'all had a good Christmas! I love your Wilson!! LOL Safe travels! ✌🐢

Great show guys. Enjoyed watching. You do such good editing. Can’t wait for the next

Great video Love it Love it Love it Love the passage and the high spirits despite the rudder thing and the engine yet all are cool and everyone is happy. Bless you all Looking forward to the next one Keep them coming please.

I would watch your videos how ever long they were(love them that much). It was nice seeing Kate and the boys fileting fish. Also nice to see Kate dress like a girl and smiling almost like she s coming out of her shell. Love you all

I really like the long videos although I know it is hard on you Renee. Great episode because I love seeing what actually happens while you guy’s are sailing. Looking forward to what is in store for the new year after the passage. Sending all of you guys lots of love and happiness. I look forward to Thursdays just to see what is happening with the new week. ❤