Youngest Circumnavigator Arrives Thursday
It’s all over but the media circus!
Thirteen months after departing Marina del Rey, 17-year-old Zac Sunderland is nearly spittin’ distance from crossing his tracks, and thus becoming the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe.
In anticipation of an enormous onslaught of press and well-wishers, Zac’s official arrival aboard his vintage Islander 36 Intrepid has been planned for 10:00 a.m. tomorrow at Marina del Rey’s Fisherman’s Village. (He’s currently anchored at Catalina, attempting to rest up for the frenzy.)
Having followed a route loosely based on the track of another Southern California teen during the 1960s, Robin Lee Graham, author of the best-selling book Dove, Zac intends to publish an account of his own adventures, as well as a two-DVD documentary.
When the Thousand Oaks native first announced his plans in the spring of 2008, skeptics placed long odds on his chance of success. His parents even had to endure criticism that sending their then-16-year-old son out to sea was irresponsible. Those voices are largely silent now, as Zac has shown competence and maturity well beyond his years. His feat is truly impressive, and we predict that the name Zac Sunderland will be familiar in sailing circles for many years to come.