Zac and Abby Sunderland 'Sportspersons of the Year'

by Sail-World Cruising/Daily News on 29 Dec 2009 He did it his own way, but she hasn't even started. That didn't stop the Los Angeles Daily News from naming circumnavigator Zac and would-be circumnavigator Abby Sunderland as the 'Los Angeles Sportspersons of the Year'.

Their reason for choosing the couple is the explanation. They have chosen Zac and Abby Sunderland, 'for reminding us how to dream big no matter what the obstacles'.

Zac Sunderland, the son of boat builder Laurence Sunderland, set off in the summer of 2008 to sail around the world. In the small (36ft) boat that he bought with his own savings, he faced many challenges on his way, from suspicious pirate incidents to major breakages on his boat.

In declaring the accolade, the Daily New expressed their admiration well: 'Returning safely to Marina del Rey in July, 11 crazy months from the start of a 20,000 nautical-mile trek on the battered 36-foot Intrepid that had already been around the globe with another crew years earlier, the fact that he'd become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world by himself at 17years, six months was almost incidental. (That title was taken by British teen Mike Perham a couple of months later)

His brush with pirates off Indonesia, frequent ship repairs due to heavy storms in the Indian Ocean, long periods of sleep deprivation causing his mind to play tricks on him - oh, and nearly getting crushed by a 300-foot freighter while crossing the Panama Canal - made his quest far more interesting to retell when he was included last month in the Arete Honors for Sports Courage TV special. Previous recipients include Lance Armstrong, Muhammad Ali and Arthur Ashe.'

In the future for Zac, there's more mundane things ahead - getting a driving licence, ccmpleting high school, and heading off to college.

However, his co-Los-Angeles-Sportsperson-of-the-Year, his younger sister Abby, is in the final stages of preparation of her Open 40 sailing boat 'Wild Eyes' in which she is just about to set out for an even higher goal than Zac's. She wants to do the circumnavigation 'non-stop and unassisted'. This means that she is obliged to round the much dreaded Cape Horn and negotiate the wild weather of the south Indian Ocean.

She is expected to begin her journey in the next week, dependent on the readiness of the boat, and in time to catch the best weather around the Horn.

Abby doesn't deny that Zac has inspired her with the confidence to undertake her own journey. After Zac's return, her comments from the Daily Mail were telling:

'I had begun to think that dreams are meant to be no more than dreams and that in reality dreams don't come true. Then my brother left on his trip. It was amazing to see all the support that he got from around the world and to see how everyone worked together to help make his dream reality. Watching him do this really made me believe that I could too.'

Australian Jessica Watson is already more than two months into her own quest to complete the same journey as Abby, but as she is several months older, Abby still has a good chance.

Good luck Abby!