Sunderland, who departed Marina del Rey when he was 16 on June 14, 2008, not only broke a record held by Australia’s Jesse Martin, who was 18 when he finished in 1999. He became the first person to solo-circumnavigate the planet before turning 18 — a mark he’ll never relinquish.
And he did this without major sponsorship on an older Islander sailboat named Intrepid, as one of seven Sunderland children who live in a modest Thousand Oaks home.
“I think society puts young people in a box — people 15, 16, 17 — and does not expect them to do much but go to high school and play football and stuff like that,” Sunderland said. “This just shows they can do a lot more with some strong ambition and desire. My [advice] is to get out there and do your thing with all you got.”
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California teen completes round-the-world voyage
After thirteen months at sea, seventeen-year-old Zac Sunderland has become the youngest person to sail around the world alone. The California teenager sailed into Marina Del Rey on Thursday to a hero’s welcome.
From the LA Times: