ShareThisSeventeen-year-old Zac Sunderland completed his 13-month journey to become the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe on July 16. He made the voyage in a 36-foot boat, Intrepid, which he paid $6,000 for himself by working.
I listened to Zac speak about his epic adventure in our hometown at the Westlake Yacht Club, which sponsored his epic travels along with the American Sailing Association. The poise and confidence displayed by this young man were far beyond his years.
I'd guess that spending so much time alone, avoiding modern-day pirates (with the help of the Australian Coast Guard), weathering storms with 30-foot waves and eating canned and freeze-dried food that he describes as "nasty" couldn't help but make you feel that you can do anything.
He also shared that he only caught about three fish, encountered sharks while swimming in the middle of nowhere and stopped at about 14 ports along the way. Zac's impression of people in other cultures was that they were much more laid-back than we are here at home.
He kept a blog, and many followed his journey via the Web. When he arrived at Marina del Rey in Southern California, this cool kid was greeted by about 1,500 fans, 100 boats, 75 news-media personnel and three helicopters and got interviewed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" with much more to come.
Although a bit overwhelmed by the media frenzy, he handled it well. But would you expect less from someone who just did the impossible? Fewer than 250 people have ever sailed solo around the globe. What an amazing club to belong to, let alone being the youngest member of this esteemed group of spirited souls.
Of course, one has to ask what gave him the courage to do it, and Zac's parents are a big part of the answer. From the very beginning, the support they showed in his quest helped to give him the strength and confidence to complete the arduous journey.
"Zac is a very good sailor and brave. We knew he could do it," said his mother, Marianne. Both parents seemed mostly glad just to have him back home safe, and everyone is wondering what he's going to do next.
"I still have three courses to take to finish high school, and right now I just want to hang out with my friends," said Zac. It's easy to see him kicking it with his crew at the beach, now forever famous but still, like totally, a 17-year-old dude.
One explanation of why he was able to deal with the isolation of the nearly 28,000-mile journey could be that he enjoyed a little privacy. He is the oldest of six siblings.
Younger sister Abby is now contemplating a circumnavigation of her own, but Mom is a bit reticent to give her permission.
No one is sure what Zac will do next, but his heart is attached to adventure. He has earned the confidence to tackle his next great quest -- whatever it may be.
(Dr. Barton Goldsmith, a marriage and family therapist in Westlake Village, Calif., is the author, most recently, of "Emotional Fitness for Intimacy." He also hosts "Emotional Fitness" on NPR. E-mail him at Barton(at)BartonGoldsmith.com.)
EMOTIONAL FITNESS
