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Zac Sunderland

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Zac Sunderland
Zac Sunderland (right) with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in August 2009
Born
Zachary Tristan Sunderland

(1991-11-29) November 29, 1991 (age 32)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationSailor
Known forSecond youngest person to sail around the world solo. First person, under the age of 18 to solo circumnavigate the world.
Parent(s)Laurence Sunderland
Marianne Sunderland

Zachary Tristan "Zac" Sunderland (born November 29, 1991) is an American sailor who was the first person under the age of 18 to sail solo around the world.[1] Sunderland completed his trip after 13 months and 2 days at sea on July 16, 2009 at age 17. The record of youngest solo circumnavigator was previously held by Australian David Dicks, and was surpassed on August 27, 2009 by Michael Perham of the United Kingdom. Sunderland is the youngest American to complete a circumnavigation, surpassing Brian Caldwell, who finished in 1996 at the age of 20. However, Sunderland's record was not recognized by Guinness World Records.[2] or by the World Sailing Speed Record Council.

In 2010, one of Sunderland's younger sisters, Abby Sunderland, also attempted a solo circumnavigation of the globe. She was forced to call off her attempt after her boat was damaged in a storm in the Indian Ocean.

Early life

The oldest of Marianne and Laurence Sunderland's eight children, Sunderland's first home was a 17-metre (56 ft) Tradewind sailboat. His family sailed in Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Mexico. His shipwright father bought a 51 feet (16 m) Aleutian, and the family made a three-year cruise of California's Channel Islands, Baja California and mainland Mexico.[3][4]

Voyage

History
 United StatesUnited States
NameIntrepid
OperatorZac Sunderland
StatusIn port
General characteristics

When Sunderland decided to attempt the circumnavigation, he purchased a 36-foot (11 m) Islander for $6,000, using all of his savings. With the assistance of his father, he retrofitted the yacht for the trip.[5][6] Sunderland planned to complete his voyage in April 2009 with a maximum time of 18 months.[7] He continued his schooling while on his trip, saying, "I have all my books with me. I have one more year to finish at high school and I have to send back my tests (via e-mail) to my mom. She's going to grade them and make sure I am doing well."[8][9]

Sunderland departed from Marina del Rey on June 14, 2008. The Intrepid featured the logos of Shuman’s RealSweet, Mastronardi’s Sunset Produce, and his sponsor Produce for Kids, promoting healthy eating and produce consumption for children.[10]

Sunderland crossed the Pacific to his first port of call, the Marshall Islands, then headed west to Papua New Guinea, then Australia, the Indian Ocean, Mauritius and Madagascar, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, sailing across the Atlantic, and finally transiting the Panama Canal/Galapagos Islands back to the Pacific and home.

Sunderland initially planned to make 15 to 30 stops around the world, the first of which was planned to be Marshall Islands, Micronesia. Due to some minor work needed to be done on the boat, and the desire to reprovision, he elected to re-route and set a heading for Hawaii. On July 11, Zac made his first stop at Emerald Bay, Catalina Island before heading on to Ala Wai Boat Harbor, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, off Diamond Head.[11] He left Hawaii headed towards the Marshall Islands (about 2,500 miles), on July 16, 2008.[12]

On August 4, 2008, Marshall Islands President Litokwa Tomeing (a sailor in his youth) formally welcomed and congratulated Sunderland in the President's Office on Majuro: "And how is your boat? I remember one time I went with my parents on a 26- or 27-foot canoe and we sailed from Wotje to Arno."[13] The U.S. Ambassador to the Marshall Islands, Clyde Bishop, also welcomed Sunderland to Majuro U.S. Embassy on August 7.[14]

Sailing from Majuro, Sunderland reached Darwin, Australia on September 18, 2008, with a faulty bilge pump and fuel problems forcing him to land in Papua New Guinea. Sunderland had his first encounter with pirates on October 7 after leaving Darwin. 250 km off the Indonesian coast, en route to his next stop in South Africa, in the Indian Ocean toward Cocos Islands, he encountered a large 60–70 foot wooden fishing boat without flags. The pirates, after shadowing the Intrepid for some time, eventually lost interest and sped off, but not before Sunderland, as a precaution, had loaded his revolver and locked himself in his cabin.[15][16] Sunderland had endured 25-knot winds and 10-foot seas for more than 24 hours on October 13. Amid continuing engine and fuel problems, a snapped boom, and a broken tiller needing repairs, Sunderland reached Cocos Islands (a.k.a. Keeling Islands) in the eastern Indian Ocean on October 14. He proceeded to Mauritius, thereby completing half of his expedition. Sunderland turned 17 on November 29, 2008, while at sea.[17][18][19][20][21] Sunderland arrived in Durban, South Africa on December 14, after a delay of around 10 days because of a lack of wind. He flew home to California on December 22 for Christmas to be with his family and returned to South Africa afterward to continue his circumnavigation of the world.[22]

Sunderland sailed short hops to East London, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, and finally got to Cape Town, where he had a chance meeting with Mike Perham, who was vying for a record as the world's youngest solo-circumnavigator, and Minoru Saito who, at 75, is making his eighth solo-circumnavigation and holds the record as the oldest solo, non-stop circumnavigator. After departing Cape Town, Sunderland continued to St. Helena and then across the Atlantic to Grenada. His next stop was Panama, where he crossed the canal into the Pacific. After a couple of stops in Mexico, to dodge bad weather and repair a bulkhead, Sunderland tacked back up the coast to home, completing the journey on July 16, 2009.[23][24][25][26][27][28]

Sailing route

WSSRC not ratified

The World Sailing Speed Record Council (WSSRC), the world sailing authority, complimented Sunderland on his achievement but did not ratify this event and has further stated that the route does not meet the requirements for a round the world voyage. According to John Reed, Secretary to the WSSRC, Sunderland failed to meet the requirements for an official sailing circumnavigation because he used an engine at various times during the attempt, stopped, had assistance and did not sail around Cape Horn.[29]

However, the American Sailing Association has ratified it, using less strict rules, just "circumnavigating alone".[28]

Honors

On September 19, 2009, Sunderland was Grand Marshal of the 14th annual Route 66 Parade in Duarte, California. On December 12, he was Grand Marshal of the 2009 Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade in Marina del Rey, California.

References

  1. ^ Thomas, Pete (July 17, 2009). "Zac Sunderland completes solo sail around the world". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  2. ^ "British teen becomes youngest to sail world solo". Reuters. August 27, 2009.
  3. ^ "cnn.com/video, the CNN.com Live interview". Cnn.com. July 16, 2010. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  4. ^ "ypwr.blogs.cnn.com, Zac Sunderland". Ypwr.blogs.cnn.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  5. ^ "RiMajolOnline Represents the People of the Marshall Islands :: View topic - American Solo Teen Sailor Expected In Majuro Today". rimajol.com. Retrieved August 30, 2008.
  6. ^ "American Teen Zac Sunderland Makes It To Majuro On Solo Voyage". Pacific Magazine. Retrieved August 30, 2008.[dead link]
  7. ^ "CNN's Nicole Lapin interview with Zac Sunderlang, TSN". Cnn.com. August 13, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  8. ^ "A Columbus of our dreams." Los Angeles Times. June 23, 2008.
  9. ^ "www.smh.com.au, Aussie sailor's record under threat". Smh.com.au. June 16, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  10. ^ thepacker.com/icms, 16-year-old sailing the world, promoting produce[dead link]
  11. ^ "sail-world.com, Zac Sunderland stops in Hawaii on circumnavigation". Sail-world.com:80. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  12. ^ "khnl.com, Teenager attempting world record sails into Honolulu". Khnl.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  13. ^ pacificmagazine.net, "Teen Solo Sailor Meets Marshall Islands President[dead link]
  14. ^ pacificmagazine.net/news, Zac Sunderland Meets US Ambassador(sic), Readies To Sail To Australia[dead link]
  15. ^ October 8, 2008  (October 8, 2008). "Sailor Zac latimes.com, Sunderland endures first pirate scare". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010. {{cite news}}: Text " 10:32 am" ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ theaustralian.news, Lone sailor's scare[dead link]
  17. ^ pacificmagazine.net, American Teen Solo Sailor Limps Into Cocos Islands[dead link]
  18. ^ October 14, 2008  (October 14, 2008). "latimes.com, Solo sailor Zac Sunderland survives heavy seas, nears halfway point". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010. {{cite news}}: Text " 11:27 am" ignored (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ "sail-world.com, What Happened to Zac?". Sail-world.com:80. October 7, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  20. ^ "thelog.com/news, SoCal Teen Sailor Makes Stop in Australia". Thelog.com. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  21. ^ "abc.net.au, Teenage sailor docks in Darwin on world record attempt". Abc.net.au. September 18, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2010.
  22. ^ Independent Newspapers Online (December 14, 2008). "iol.co.za, Round-the-world teen arrives in SA". Iol.co.za. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
  23. ^ Laven, Kate (February 20, 2009). "Britain's Mike Perham has chance meeting with Minoru Saito". Telegraph. London. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  24. ^ "Forums - Sailing in general - Party Time in Cape Town". Sail Japan. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  25. ^ "Teenage solo circumnavigators meet". yachtingworld.com. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  26. ^ "Zac Sunderland". Latitude 38 - The West's Premier Sailing & Marine Magazine. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  27. ^ Thomas, Pete (July 17, 2009). "Zac Sunderland completes solo sail around the world". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  28. ^ a b "Press Room - American Sailing Association". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  29. ^ Appelbaum, Eliav (June 24, 2009). "Captain Zac returns to a hero's welcome". Simi Valley Acorn. Retrieved August 15, 2010.

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