Search under way for Abby Sunderland

sf11b_p · 06-10-2010, 12:39

There were some reports from her prior to the emergency beacon.

Quote:

2:23 p.m. Thursday, June 10, 2010
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting a solo sail around the world is feared in trouble in the southern Indian Ocean after her emergency beacons began signaling.

Family spokesman Christian Pinkston says rescuers began searching for Abby Sunderland on Thursday somewhere between Africa and Australia. He says beacons activated overnight and there has been a loss of communication.

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world...if-546206.html

June 06

Quote:

- The new autopilot is amazing. I can carry way more sail now without him going into standby. The wind is dying down a little right now, but earlier I was making about 12-15 knots so that was pretty fun, she writes in her blog.

Abby is now 925 miles northeast of Prince Edward Island and heading due east.

- The wind should be picking up over the night and I am looking forward to another biggish blow soon. Wild Eyes is doing very well and I am finally getting ahead with all the repairs. My two autopilots seem to be working well - it's such a relief to have reliable pilots, she writes.

http://explorersweb.com/oceans/news.php?id=19418

June 09

Quote:

Wednesday, June 9, 2010
A Rough Few Days
The last few days have pretty busy out here. I've been in some rough weather for awhile with winds steady at 40-45 knots with higher gusts. With that front passing, the conditions were lighter today. It was a nice day today with some lighter winds which gave me a chance to patch everything up. Wild Eyes was great through everything but after a day with over 50 knots at times, I had quite a bit of work to do.

For most of the day today I had about 20 knots. I had been hoping to get some lighter winds so I could patch up one of my sails. It was still a bit windy out but with more rough weather tomorrow I wasn't sure when my next chance to fix it would be. I managed to take it down, take care of the tear and get it back up in a couple of hours. It wasn't the most fun job I have done out here. With the seas still huge, Wild Eyes was rolling around like crazy. Of course not even half and hour after I got the sail back up the wind dropped from 20 to 10 knots!

My Thrane & Thrane (Internet) system is down again so I am not able to send in my blog. The problem seems a bit more serious than the last few times I have had trouble with it. There is something wrong with the terminal at the back. It is possible that water got inside of it because it has a rough ride back there the past few days with waves crashing right over it. Unfortunately, if that is the problem I probably won't be able to fix it. At least I still have my Iridium phones so I can still call in to my mom and read her my bog for her to post.

The wind is beginning to pick up. It is back up to 20 knots and I am expecting that by midnight tonight I could have 35-50 knots with gusts to 60 so I am off to sleep before it really picks up.
Posted by Abby Sunderland at 9:49 AM
http://soloround.blogspot.com/

Quote:

NEW YORK, June 10, 2010
(CBS) Updated 2:17 p.m. ET

Abby Sunderland, the California 16-year-old who recently set out to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, may be lost at sea after losing contact with her land-based crew and activating emergency positioning beacons, according to an ABC News report.

Sunderland activated the beacons at around 9 a.m. (ET) Thursday, a crew member told ABC.

A major search effort is underway.

She had been combating 20-plus foot waves and high winds in the Indian Ocean, at least 400 miles from the nearest ship and even farther from land.

The nearest land is the French-controlled Reunion Islands off Madagascar. Authorities there detected Sunderland's emergency satellite signals, the GrindTV blog reported Thursday.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/...n6568712.shtml

mojaveman · 06-10-2010, 12:47

I've done some sailing off the coast when I was younger but going at it solo and around the world would be a serious challenge for even an experienced adult.

Hope she is found and rescued.

Utah Bob · 06-10-2010, 14:47

I still think her folks should be horse whipped.

Buffalobob · 06-10-2010, 17:32

Quote:

Her planned route took her from Southern California south then around Cape Horn (South America's southern tip) where, according to the American Sailing Association Executive Director Charlie Nobles "you can literally have waves of 100 feet" if the weather turns nasty. From there, Abby would head into the Southern Atlantic, known for having the roughest waters on the planet - and where she apparently ran into trouble this week.

"It is dangerous," Abby said at the time. "But you have to kinda understand what you're getting into and be ready for it."

Her father says Abby is ready for the challenge, observing that, "She's pretty much been in training for this her whole life."

Abby notes she "decided to do this when I was 13 years old." And, to critics who say she's too young and the trip too dangerous, Laurence Sunderland asserts, "I don't agree with them. Not everybody should be put into a box, the boxes of society."

I hope they have to pay the costs for the rescue effort. When it is over they should be charged with child endangerment.

Richard · 06-10-2010, 18:34

MOO - their call (parents + girl) - their having to live with the outcome.

However - YMMV - and so it goes...

Richard's $.02

sf11b_p · 06-11-2010, 03:14

Good news.

Quote:

Teenage Girl, Sailing Solo, Is Found
By MALIA WOLLAN
Published: June 11, 2010

A 16-year-old girl trying to sail solo around the world who was missing in the Indian Ocean some 2,000 miles east of Madagascar has been found by a search plane and is in good condition, her parents said on Friday.

The girl, Abby Sunderland of Thousand Oaks, Calif., departed alone Jan. 23 in her sailboat Wild Eyes. On Thursday, she lost satellite phone contact with her family and set off emergency beacons, triggering a rescue effort by United States, Australian and French authorities. Ms. Sunderland was trying to break the record for the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe, a title held briefly by her older brother Zac, who completed his sail last year at 17.

“We have just heard from the Australian Search and Rescue. The plane arrived on the scene moments ago. Wild Eyes is upright but her rigging is down. The weather conditions are abating. Radio communication was made and Abby reports that she is fine,” Ms. Sunderland’s parents reported on her blog.

“We don’t know much else right now. The French fishing vessel that was diverted to her location will be there in a little over 24 hours. Where they will take her or how long it will take we don’t know,” they said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/12/us/12sailor.html

Quote:

Missing 16-year-old solo sailor Abby Sunderland found alive and well

Abby Sunderland activated emergency beacons on her boat Wild Eyes in stormy seas, 2,000 miles off Madagascar

Chris McGreal in Washington and agencies
guardian.co.uk, Friday 11 June 2010 08.11 BST

A 16-year-old Californian girl attempting to sail solo around the world has been found alive and well following a desperate overnight search in a remote part of the Indian Ocean.

Rescuers contacted Abby Sunderland after she set off two emergency satellite beacons on her 40ft yacht, Wild Eyes, her father said.

Laurence Sunderland said rescuers on board a chartered Australian airline had made contact with her earlier today and that she was alive.

"She's fine, the boat's afloat and she's on it," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "It's huge, fantastic, exciting news."

Abbey's parents lost satellite phone contact with her after she had told them she had been repeatedly knocked down in 60-knot winds and 50-foot waves, about 2,000 miles east of Madagascar.

One of the beacons was believed to have been attached to a survival suit and was designed to be set off by a person in the water or on a life raft. Both beacons were manually activated. Rescuers had been seeking to contact the nearest ship, 400 miles away.

Sunderland's parents, Laurence and Marianne, posted a message on their daughter's blog saying that when they last spoke to her she was having difficulties, but appeared to be coping.

"We were helping her troubleshoot her engine that she was trying to start to charge her systems. Satellite phone reception was patchy. She was able to get the water out of the engine and start up. We were waiting to hear back from her when American search and rescue authorities called to report having received a signal from her emergency beacon," they said. "We are working closely with American, French and Australian search and rescue authorities to coordinate several ships in the area to divert to her location."

But the nearest ship was believed to be nearly two days away.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010...nd-found-alive

mojaveman · 06-11-2010, 08:11

Glad that she's ok. She now has an interesting $tory to share with the world.

mark46th · 06-11-2010, 09:13

You can train your child to do these things but until they are 18, they shouldn't be allowed to go. I am all for people living with their decisions but a child should not be out on their own with something as dangerous as a solo sail around the world. The voyage itself is hazardous but with the human animals that lurk around the world, there is no way I would let a 16 year old girl go alone.

sf11b_p · 06-11-2010, 13:55

So your against seventeen year olds serving in the military.

mark46th · 06-11-2010, 14:38

I think every American youth should do 2 years of government service with at least one year outside of the continental United States after high school. The military would do a lot of 17 year olds good. It would teach them responsibility, team work and leadership among other things.

A kid can get into trouble and/or danger anywhere, at least they would be supervised.

Buffalobob · 06-11-2010, 14:46

Quote:

So your against seventeen year olds serving in the military.

Ask any team sergeant, platoon sergeant or platoon leader what it is like to command teenagers in an infantry unit in a combat zone. At least 30% of the time is spent reminding them to "pay attention" i.e. don't bunch up, don't talk loud, quit clanking, look around you instead of watching your feet, No you cannot go swimming in the river, yes you have to clear your field of fire, no you cannot smoke pot while on ambush, no you cannot have a fire after dark for hot chocolate, and it just never ends no matter how many times you tell them that their very life depends upon constant alertness.

The Army does not allow any 17 year old to wander around alone in dangerous areas without experienced supervision.

Richard · 06-12-2010, 06:01

A French fishing vessel rescued a California teenager Saturday from her crippled sailboat in the turbulent southern Indian Ocean, bringing relief to her family but ending her around-the-world sailing effort.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100612/...t_sailor_found

And so it goes...

Richard

Green Light · 06-12-2010, 12:05

As a guy with two daughters, I guess being rescued by a shipload of French merchant seamen is better than being fish food. But I wouldn't feel safe until she was safely out of their hands. Paranoid? Have you seen European fishing boats?

Glad they found her. I think most of us were expecting a tragic end.

sf11b_p · 06-12-2010, 12:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buffalobob

The Army does not allow any 17 year old to wander around alone in dangerous areas without experienced supervision.

A seventeen year old American soldier sailor or marine has never been in an isolated action, or taken individual action without orders?

It may not have been a desired event but I'm fairly sure it's been a contingency planned and trained for and it's happened.

mark46th · 06-12-2010, 13:32

The fishing boat is probably French flagged. Maybe the captain is European but the crew is probably African or Asian...