Zac Sunderland is admittedly nervous but experiencing no second thoughts, he assures, as he counts down to what promises to be one of the greatest adventures a 16-year-old could imagine.
His tone is soft, unconvincing, until his eyes widen as he lists some of his intended destinations . . . the Solomon Islands, Australia, Papua New Guinea, South Africa, the Galapagos Islands.
"I'm going to see the world," he declared, smiling bravely despite the daunting task ahead.
On May 31, the high school sophomore from Thousand Oaks will leave family and friends -- but stow his schoolbooks aboard -- to embark on a yearlong voyage around the world.
The oldest of seven Sunderland children, Zac aspires to be the youngest person to solo-sail around the world, and the only person to complete the journey before turning 18.
He'll have until January 2010 to break the record held by David Dicks, who left Australia when he was 17, in 1996, and returned nine months later when he was 18 years, 41 days old.
Sunderland plans to be back long before he turns 18 on Nov. 29, 2009. He'll spend his 17th birthday, if the wind is sufficient, sailing across the Indian Ocean.
Home will be a used 36-foot Islander sailboat purchased with money saved since he was, well, a child. Bed will be a narrow bunk he'll secure himself into each night, so he doesn't roll off.
When an alarm sounds, it'll either be time to wake up and resume normal sailing activity, or evade large ships.
Nightmares -- and what 16-year-old would not have them under these circumstances? -- are almost sure to involve pirates and, in fact, Sunderland has altered his original course after reading about real-life pirate attacks off Somalia.
His diet will include freeze-dried food, vitamins, malaria pills and other medications required of global travel.
"I just got my yellow-fever shot yesterday," Sunderland, touching his shoulder, boasted from the Marina del Rey docks on a recent hazy afternoon.
That will be his point of departure and return, and where he and his father have worked tirelessly to ensure a seaworthy, well-provisioned vessel.
"I'm excited to contribute to something my son wants to do," said Laurence Sunderland, a longtime shipwright and yachtsman. "The big issue these days is that fathers and sons seem to be so far apart. Sons are off wanting to rock 'n' roll and do this or that. It's great that Zac has chosen to do this."
