Sailing Zataravideo
Sailing through Pirate Territory | Colombia, Venezuela, Somalia (Ep 360)
30 April 2026 · 22 min · 224K views · Caribbean Sea
Sailor at helm of sloop Zatura wing on wing
What this video covers
Zatara completes a 753-mile, five-day passage from Bonaire to Panama, routing west past Curaçao and Aruba before making landfall to transit the Panama Canal for the second time aboard the boat.▶ 2:04 The passage runs downwind the entire way, averaging eight to nine knots, with two- to three-meter swells and a final day of dying wind dropping speed to five knots before conditions improved.▶ 13:12 The crew flies a brand-new Ullman asymmetrical spinnaker for the first time; at 20-plus knots it proves too light to handle safely, so they revert to the code zero, which Keith calls the workhorse of downwind sailing.▶ 2:51 Wing-on-wing with the genoa holding the code zero out adds speed and reduces flogging.▶ 13:01 Sailing 60 miles off the Colombian coast prompts an extended discussion of piracy.▶ 6:26 Keith describes modern pirates as opportunists in small skiffs who typically want cash, beer, or cigarettes rather than hostages.▶ 7:07 His tactics: turn off AIS in high-risk waters like Somalia (where Zatara passed 100–200 miles offshore in 2023), evade a ghosting vessel by changing angles, de-escalate verbally, and use Starlink to send a Mayday if a fast skiff closes.▶ 10:07 He argues against carrying firearms because foreign governments pose a greater legal risk than criminals.▶ 10:36 The passage ends with a pod of false killer whales following the boat into Panamanian waters.▶ 21:52
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