Monday, June 16, 2008

An Adventure Begins

About a month ago, I heard an NPR interview with a sixteen-year-old boy who was preparing to embark on a journey to become the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe alone in a yacht.

Zac Sunderland is an American teenager who set out on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 PM. He is captaining a 36-foot sailboat christened "The Intrepid," and he seeks to break the record set in 1996 by an Australian teen who accomplished the journey at age 18. Zac plans to complete his journey in eleven months and before he turns 18.

According to the San Jose Mercury News:
The oldest of seven children, Sunderland is a lifelong sailor from a long line of yachtsmen—his Web site says his first home was a 55-foot Tradewind sailboat.

The Los Angeles Times reported:
Zac has always loved the sea. His parents lived on a 55-foot boat when he was born; Marianne recalls spreading the news via single-sideband radio. The family spent three years cruising off California and Mexico. Laurence Sunderland, who transfers boats to various destinations, has often employed his son as night watch-captain.

When NPR asked Zac about his plans for a future career, he told the interviewer:
"I'll have plenty of time to think about it during my trip. . . We'll see how it works out. You never know where life's going to take you."

You can follow along with Zac's journey on his blog here.

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