Sixteen year old Zac, with the boat he plans to solo sail round the world

(Xinhua2008-06-15 13:12:15)A 16-year-old sailor set sail on Saturday for a solo circumnavigation from Marina del Rey in Southern California.

Zac Sunderland had planned to leave earlier but delayed his departure to replace the auxiliary engine on his Islander 36.

Then, after the transmission's oil seal failed, Sunderland and his father decided to replace the entire engine on his 36-foot sloop.

Sunderland wrote in his blog that the delay was a "huge disappointment in some ways," but ultimately turned out for the best.

Zac, who grew up sailing with his parents, hopes to set a record as the world's youngest solo circumnavigator. He expected his trip to take about 18 months, returning to California when he is 17.

From the West Coast, he plans to cross the Pacific to the Marshall Islands and then continue west, eventually rounding the Cape of Good Hope, crossing the Atlantic and, eventually, transiting the Panama Canal back into the Pacific.

Zac, who plans to keep up with his school work while at sea, was in part inspired by Robin Lee Graham's 1974 book "Dove." Graham left Los Angeles on a 24-foot boat when he was just 15 and circled the globe, though not alone.

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