Teen Sails Around the World
What Happened:
On July 16, 17-year-old Zac Sunderland sailed into Marina del Ray, Calif., in his yacht, Intrepid. In so doing, he became the youngest person to ever sail around the world—alone.
Zac has been sailing since he was a little boy. He started fantasizing about taking a long sailing trip when he was 8, after his mom read him the story of Robin Graham. Graham made his own five-year, around-the-world trip beginning when he was 16 and ending after he turned 21.
Eventually, Zac bought his own yacht with money he earned repairing and selling dinghies; then slowly outfitted it with GPS systems, sextants, computers and other critical gear through sponsorships.
On June 14, 16-year-old Zac set sail from Marina del Ray. It took him 13 months and 28,000 miles to circle around the globe. Along the way, he dealt with pirates, sharks and storms.
His father, an experienced sailor, would fly to meet him at various ports around the world, often to help Zac repair his wounded boat.
“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he told People magazine a few days before landing. “It’s been an amazing year. Tons of fun, lots of great stuff.”
Talk About It:
“I guess the point is to have a dream, pursue it and don’t give up,” Zac said on his blog. What are your dreams? What steps would you need to take to achieve them?
Zac sacrificed a lot to do this trip. He worked constantly before his voyage and missed his friends, his family and his iPod a lot during it. What would you miss most if you left home for a year? What would you absolutely need to take? What sort of sacrifices would you be willing to make to see your dream come true?
To do something really big, like sailing around the world, what kind of person do you need to be? Brave? Determined? Crazy?
What the Bible Says:
“The seas have lifted up, O Lord,
“The seas have lifted up their voice;
“The seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
“Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
“Mightier than the breakers of the sea—
“The Lord on high is mighty” (
“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind” (
“Fear not, for I am with you;
“be not dismayed, for I am your God;
“I will strengthen you, I will help you,
“I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (
Click here for more Youth Culture Lessons.
