US Teen Solo Sailor - out to beat the Ozzie Record

by Ventura County Star/Sail-World on 4 Aug 2008 Zac Sunderland, the teen who is aiming to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone, is spending his days and nights alone thousands of miles from home, surrounded only by an endless blue tropical sea. David Dicks, an Australian from Fremantle, now holds the record - he completed the trip in nine months when he was 18 years and 41 days old.


'The ocean is an awfully big place,' said Zac Sunderland, as he spoke by satellite phone on Thursday from his boat as it neared the Marshall Islands, located in Micronesia. 'There's a lot more water out there than a lot of people realize.'

To achieve his goal, the 16-year-old must return to Southern California by January 2010. He thinks he can complete the journey by April 2009.

Zac plans to pull into Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, today, exactly seven weeks after setting sail from Marina Del Rey.

So far, Zac has sailed nearly 4,200 miles. He said he's had very little chance to get bored. His days are filled with taking care of the myriad tasks necessary to ensure a safe ocean crossing. At night, flying fish will often land on the deck of the 36-foot sailboat as Zac sleeps below.

He has a good supply of food on board, including canned fish, dried nuts and fruit from Trader Joe's and an assortment of other goodies. He said his biggest problem is that he hasn't been that hungry so far.

'I'm eating a lot less than I thought I would.'

The boat's refrigerator, radio, computers, satellite phone and iPods are powered through electricity produced by solar panels and a wind generator. It's been a relatively problem-free trip so far, he said. His biggest problem now are the lack of strong winds, something that's common in the Equatorial zones.

Should he need help, Zac has more than enough technology at hand to allow him to quickly communicate with other boats or those on land.

Technology also is enabling him to stay in touch with his family back home in Thousand Oaks.

'We talk every day by phone,' said his mother, Marianne, who cares for Zac's six younger brothers and sisters.

Zac's father, Laurence, who manages yachts for a living, flew from Los Angeles to the Marshall Islands this week, bringing some supplies to his son.

From the Marshalls, Zac will most likely sail to the Solomon Islands east of Papua New Guinea and then on to Darwin, in Northern Australia.

Though he's already spent more than a month at sea, not counting the time he spent in Hawaii repairing his boat and visiting with family and friends, Zac knows he faces many more months of sailing before he pulls back into California.

While at sea, he must always be on the watch for storms. He must also be alert to other vessels and balance this with his need for sleep, while tending to navigation, cooking and many other chores.

Pirates are also a danger, especially in the seas around South East Asia and East Africa. Piracy is also common off the Somali coast. It's one reason Zac has decided to sail around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa before heading into the Atlantic and north to the Caribbean.

Zac is using a video camera to document his trip. A video crew also will be on hand when he comes into port, as he is expected to do today. Much of the video will be used in a documentary by a group of local filmmakers.

'I also plan to write a book about my trip,' he said.

In between all this, he will also have to find time to study, taking the normal load of high school courses that he would have had if he remained in California.

But Zac said he knows that his most important course is the one he's embarked on now as he slowly makes his way around Earth alone.

'There's a lot that I've learned and a lot more that I will learn,' he said.