chapter one Like Brother Like Sister Who is Abby Sunderland Who is Zac Sunderland Abby Sunderland was born on October 19 1993 She’s an American sailor In 2010 she tried to set a world record She wanted to be the youngest person to sail solo around the world without stopping Solo means alone It means without help Sunderland didn’t do this But her story of survival made her famous Sunderland is from Thousand Oaks California Her parents are Marianne and Laurence Sunderland 4
They have eight children Sunderland is the second oldest She was homeschooled This means that she was taught at home Her parents were her teachers Marianne taught school subjects Laurence built boats He taught his children about sailing The Sunderland family lives in Southern California 5
spotlight biography Jessica Watson is from Australia She’s a sailor She’s the youngest to sail solo nonstop around the world She did this at age 16 She did this in 2010 She sailed for 210 days alone at sea Her boat is called Ella’s Pink Lady Australia’s leader called her a hero She said she wasn’t She said she was an ordinary person who had a dream worked hard at it and proved that anything really is possible She did other great things She led a team that competed in a boat race She was the youngest to compete She got an award for being the first female captain She also does community service She’s the Youth Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Program She traveled to refugee camps She has dyslexia This means she has a hard time reading But that doesn’t stop her She wrote a blog She wrote books She did a film about her experience 6
Sunderland grew up sailing She’d live on a sailboat She helped her father deliver boats to people She sailed up and down the California coast She trained in ocean sailing She trained with experienced sailors When she was 13 she decided she wanted to sail the world Her father trained her He tested her One day they were training They sailed for 20 hours He said It was a particularly rough day And her boat was rocking I knew she was freezing cold tired and hungry Her father asked if she still wanted to sail around the world Sunderland said Where is my boat She was determined The Sunderland family sailed to Australia New Zealand the United Kingdom and Mexico 7
