Father of lone sailor falling into debt

The father of Zac Sunderland has revealed his son’s bid to become the youngest person to sail solo round the world has left him with massive debts. Laurence Sunderland, a shipwright whose business has suffered because of the recession, reluctantly conceded in an interview with the LA Times that the odyssey has cost about £140,000, and that the family is sinking hopelessly into debt and now must pay for Zac’s passage through the Panama Canal.

The 17-year-old adventurer is currently crossing the Atlantic, covering up to 170 miles a day, and approaching Grenada in the southeastern Caribbean. He should reach the island nation by Wednesday of next week. “It feels like I should be seeing land by now I’ve been out here so long,” Zac reports on his blog.

Overall, Zac has been at sea or in far-flung ports since last June, when he
set out to become the youngest person to solo-sail around the world. After
Grenada he’ll sail to Colon, Panama, then travel nearly 3,000 miles to his
Marina del Rey starting point.

Picture AP