Where in the world is Zac Sunderland?

First things first - who is Zac Sunderland? He's the teen from Thousand Oaks who started a round-the-world trip on his 36-foot sailboat in June. Pete Thomas has an update:

"I'm about 5 degrees above the equator right now, stuck in the doldrums," [Zac] said Tuesday via satellite phone.

Sunderland, 16, hoping to become the youngest sailor to solo-circumnavigate the planet, will be featured in a forthcoming article in The Times, but we can say that he recently left Majuro in the Marshall Islands and is headed toward Darwin, Australia.

That leg should take about 26 days to complete -- if he can find some wind with which to fill his sails and safely negotiate the oft-treacherous Torres Strait. He seemed in good spirits but sounded a bit homesick and acknowledged missing high school football -- he was a star linebacker -- and his family and friends.

"I've never been away from them for more than a week so it's kind of weird not seeing them for a couple of months," he said.

However, judging from the accompanying photo, Zac is still finding time to meet pretty girls.

Indeed, he said he had no major complaints and that he's intent on accomplishing his mission, which if all goes well will end when he sails into Marina del Rey early next summer.

That's Zac in the photo at a Marshallese cafe in Uliga village. What's in the bowl? Check our adventure blog, Outposts, for the ummm, surprising details.

--Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Karen Earnshaw / Marshall Islands Journal

Comments

[Adolfo Cano]

The last time we herd from you was the 13 where are you?