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| 16-Year-Old Magellan |
"I'm going to see the world," 16-year-old Zac Sunderland told the Daily News Online. The Solomon Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa and the Galapagos Islands.
A sophomore from Thousand Oaks, California, Sunderland, schoolbooks in tow, will embark on his global journey soon. Sunderland plans on being the youngest person to solo-sail around the world and the only one to complete the journey before turning 18.
David Dicks, the current youth record holder, started the journey at 17 in 1996 and, nine months later, completed the voyage at 18. Sunderland plans to be back long before turning 18. If all goes well, he'll celebrate his 17th birthday sailing across the Indian Ocean.
A 36-foot Islander sailboat will be Sunderland's new home, purchased with money he has saved since he was a child. He'll secure himself into a bunk each night to keep from rolling off. An alarm will sound to wake him or warn him of a large ship. Sunderland, fearing pirates, has altered his planned course after reading of real life pirates off of Somalia.
Malaria pills, vitamins and freeze-dried foods will be his sustenance on the trip. Fishing gear is also stowed on the ship and his mother says he has a gallon of teriyaki sauce for his fresh catches.
Sunderland has, in a way, always been at sea. His parents lived on a 55-foot boat when he was born and they later spent three years cruising off California and Mexico. Laurence Sunderland, Zac's father and a longtime shipwright and yachtsman, has helped to ensure that Zac's vessel is seaworthy. "I'm excited to contribute to something my son wants to do," Laurence Sunderland told the Daily News Online. "The big issue these days is that fathers and sons seem to be so far apart. Sons are off wanting to rock'n'roll and do this or that. It's great that Zac has chosen this."
Zac will chronicle his trip on his blog, Zacsunderland.com, and he'll have an Iridium satellite phone with ClearPoint software, allowing free calls and access to detailed weather reports from anywhere.
The completed trip will encompass 40,000 miles.
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