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A 17-year-old US mariner steered his battered sailboat into a Southern California harbour on Thursday to complete a gruelling 13-month voyage and become the youngest person to sail around the world alone.
Zac Sunderland arrived in Marina Del Rey aboard his 36-foot sloop Intrepid at about 10am local time. During his 28,000-nautical-mile journey, he braved storms, equipment failures, close calls with freighters and a run-in with suspected pirates.
"It's awesome to be back." Sunderland, of Thousand Oaks, California, said after he was welcomed home by a flotilla of well-wishers.
Fewer than 250 people have sailed solo around the globe, with three times that many scaling the top of Mount Everest, according to the American Sailing Association, which certified Sunderland's feat.
He left Marina Del Rey, just south of Los Angeles, on June 14, 2008, and celebrated his 17th birthday at sea while off Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
His return was delayed near the end of his voyage when his single-masted boat sustained a broken bulkhead in rough seas off Mexico, forcing him to stop at Puerto Vallarta long enough for his father to fly in to make repairs.
Another tense moment occurred in the Indian Ocean off Indonesia, where the Intrepid was approached by a suspected pirate boat.
The intruders fled after a plane flew overhead and Sunderland climbed onto his deck with a gun to ward them off, said Charlie Nobles, executive director of the association.
Sunderland, who remained in satellite telephone contact with his father during the voyage, dumped the gun before entering Mexican waters, where it is illegal to carry private firearms.
He becomes the first person under 18 to circumnavigate the globe by sea alone, and the youngest to date. The previous record-holder was David Dicks of Australia, who completed his voyage in November 1996 at age 18.
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(Agencies)
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一位17歲的美國水手周四將他的飽經風霜的帆船駛入加利福尼亞南部港灣，完成了他長達13個月的艱苦旅程，自此他成為歷史上孤身環(huán)球航海最年輕的人。
扎克?桑德蘭在當?shù)貢r間早上大約10點鐘駕著他的36英尺長的“勇猛”號的單桅縱帆船到達了瑪琳娜得瑞港。在他長達28,000海里的旅途中，他戰(zhàn)勝了暴風雨、設備故障等難題，在險些和貨輪相撞時幸運脫身，還與疑似海盜的船只擦肩而過。
桑德蘭回到老家加利福尼亞千橡市時受到許多祝福者的歡迎，他說：“能回來真是太好了。”
美國航行協(xié)會為桑德蘭的成就頒發(fā)了鑒定證書，根據(jù)這一協(xié)會的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，曾獨自駕船環(huán)游地球人不到250個，而登上珠穆朗瑪峰頂峰的人數(shù)卻是它的三倍。
2008年6月14日，桑德蘭駕船離開了洛杉磯南部的瑪琳娜得瑞港，途中在非洲好望角附近的海上慶祝了自己十七歲的生日。
在他行至墨西哥附近的海域接近旅途結束的時候，他的單桅帆船的隔板斷了，當時海面上波濤洶涌，這迫使他不得不停靠在墨西哥的瓦亞塔港口，直到他的父親乘飛機趕到為他修理帆船。
另外一個驚險時刻是在印度尼西亞附近的印度洋海域，當時，一艘疑似海盜船的船只靠近了“勇猛”號。
航行協(xié)會的執(zhí)行董事查理?諾伯爾斯說，就在那時一架飛機從頭頂飛過，桑德蘭爬到甲板上用槍對著他們，于是那些入侵者就逃走了。
桑德蘭在航行過程中一直用衛(wèi)星電話和父親保持聯(lián)系。他在進入墨西哥水域時把那支槍扔了，因為在那里私帶槍支是違法的。
他成為了18歲以下孤身環(huán)球航海的第一人，也是至今完成這一航行最年輕的人。之前保持這一紀錄的是澳大利亞的戴維?迪克斯，他在1996年11月滿18歲那年完成了自己的環(huán)球之旅。
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（英語點津 陳丹妮編輯） |
