In the final days of Zac Sunderland's attempt to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world solo, the Thousand Oaks 17-year-old found himself actually sailing away from his ultimate destination.

Light winds and engine problems forced him to head his 36-foot vessel, Intrepid, in a westerly direction north of Guadalupe Island for almost two days in the Pacific Ocean, some 250 miles southwest of the city of Ensenada in Baja California.

"It is still freezing cold out here all the time, and I am wearing all of my foul weather gear," Sunderland said in an interview via satellite telephone.

He was experiencing the arduous complexities of sailing up the coast from Mexico without a motor to counter the seas and current that experienced sailors know as "the Baja Bash."

But on Friday, Sunderland was at last able to maneuver Intrepid eastward toward Southern California, where he hopes to complete his 24,000-mile journey sometime this week - probably Thursday - arriving more than a year after he left Marina del Rey at age 16.

In a post on his Internet blog, Sunderland said he planned to decide sometime this weekend, after evaluating the weather forecast and his progress, whether to delay his official return.

"It's going to be really awesome to get back and see all my friends and family again," Sunderland said. "It's kind of weird not having another ocean to cross."

Among those on hand when he docks his sailboat

Charlie Nobles, executive director of the American Sailing Association, the nation's largest sailing association, said Sunderland has encountered experiences and conditions in the past year that few other people can appreciate or even comprehend.

"People don't realize that much of the time, you are traveling at a speed under 3 miles per hour," Nobles said.

"At times, the wind literally stops. It can be hours, days or weeks until the wind returns and the boat can get moving again.

"The patience, knowledge and fortitude required for such a journey is immeasurable. And it's beyond unusual to find those qualities in someone Zac's age."

Sunderland also endured a series of mechanical and engine problems, ultimately requiring his shipbuilder dad Laurence to do extensive repair work while the boat was docked in Puerto Vallarta last month.

A home-schooled kid and the oldest of seven siblings, Sunderland also had encounters with pirates, escaping danger by locking himself in the bullet-proof glass of his vessel's cabin.

"This has been the experience of a lifetime for him," said his mother, Marianne, who spoke daily with her son by phone. "But it will be good to have him home."

Sunderland said that although he is eager to return home, he already has been thinking of a new adventure to undertake - possibly scaling Mount Everest.

"I've seen the whole world and seen and been to some places you can't get to any other way," he said. "I've seen so much and met so many people along the way, it's definitely been worth it.

"It's been a huge adventure with a lot of freedom, and I think of myself as an adventurer."

But looming in the near future may be a threat that Sunderland may not be able to do anything about.

Mike Perham, a British youngster several months younger than Sunderland, is also currently sailing around the world in a newer, faster 50-foot racing yacht in which he is expected to claim Sunderland's record later this year.

"Whether he gets back in time to break my record, I don't really know," Sunderland said. "I really wouldn't be happy about it, but eventually the record is going to get broken."

Sunderland said he understands that a 15-year-old Australian girl has set out in pursuit of the record.

"There's always going to be someone younger," he said. "I'll be the first person under 18 to sail around the world alone. They can't take that away."