Abby Sunderland 16yo SoCal sailor feared lost at sea (found/rescued)

[Lovinlife]

Prayers for this young lady and her family...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37621453/?gt1=43001


Abby Sunderland, shown here in Cape Town, South Africa, on May 21, had been bidding to become the youngest to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat.

A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting a solo sail around the world was feared in trouble Thursday thousands of miles from land in the frigid, heaving southern Indian Ocean after her emergency beacons began signaling and communication was lost.

Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Carly Lusk said three vessels were sent from the French territory of Reunion Island and an aircraft was to depart from Perth on a four-hour flight to Abby Sunderland’s location more than 2,000 miles from both Africa and Australia.

It was not clear when the vessels left, but it would take a day for the nearest ship to reach the area. Reunion Island is off Madagascar, the very large island along the east coast of Africa.

Conditions can quickly become perilous for any sailor exposed to the elements in that part of the world.

“We’ve got to get a plane out there quick,” said family spokesman Christian Pinkston, adding that the teen’s family in Thousand Oaks was asking for prayers for her safety.

Her brother Zac, also a teenage solo sailor, said Abby was prepared and mentally tough. “I really wish I could see her and hope she gets through this one,” he told reporters outside the family home.

Abby last communicated with her family at 4 a.m. PDT and reported 30-foot swells but was not in distress, Pinkston said.

An hour later the family was notified that her emergency beacons had been activated, and there was no further communication. Pinkston said the beacons were manually activated.

Her brother said the boat was most likely not completely submerged because another beacon would be triggered at a depth of 15 feet.

Derrick Fries, a U.S. sailing instruction and safety expert, said Abby’s circumstances were very unclear.

“It’s hard to determine if she’s rolled over, swamped, or washed overboard. She has to have a dry suit on to have any chance,” he said. “To be capsized in the middle of the ocean with waves crashing relentlessly down, not just for hours, but days, I can’t tell you how difficult those conditions are.”

A lifelong sailor whose father is a shipwright and has a yacht management company, Abby set sail from Los Angeles County’s Marina del Rey in her 40-foot boat, Wild Eyes, on Jan. 23 in an attempt to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone without stopping. Her brother briefly held the record in 2009.

Before Abby’s voyage began, her brother described her as having more skill and experience than most sailors in their 20s and 30s. Her father said she had more solo sailing experience than Zac did before he started out.

“He totally thinks that I’m ready to do it, so that does help,” she said at the time.

Abby soon ran into equipment problems and had to stop for repairs. She gave up the goal of setting the record in April, but continued on.

On May 15, Australian 16-year-old Jessica Watson claimed the record after completing a 23,000-mile circumnavigation in 210 days.

Abby left Cape Town, South Africa, on May 21 and on Monday reached the halfway point of her voyage.

On Wednesday, she wrote in her log that it had been a rough few days with huge seas that had her boat “rolling around like crazy.”

“I’ve been in some rough weather for awhile with winds steady at 40-45 knots with higher gusts,” she wrote. “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.”

Information on her website said that as of June 8 she had completed a 2,100-mile leg from South Africa to north of the Kerguelen Islands, taking a route to avoid an ice hazard area. Ahead of her lay more than 2,100 miles of ocean on a 10- to 16-day leg to a point south of Cape Leeuwin on the southwest tip of Australia.

Charlie Nobles, executive director of the American Sailing Association, said the best-case scenario would be that she had had a severe knockdown or roll by a strong wave that caused her communication equipment to go out, or the boat sustained structural damage that was preventing her from sailing.

The worst case would be if she was in the water or in her life raft.

“It’s an extreme set of conditions with the winds, the force of the waves,” he said.

A person lost at sea can typically survive 12 days on average without fresh water and a month without food, according to survival experts.

If the boat capsized, survival will depend on factors including water temperature, sea conditions, safety gear and whether there was something to hold on to.

Last year a Netherlands court concerned about safety blocked a 13-year-old girl’s plan to sail around the world, sparking debate on the role of authorities and parents when children want to undertake risky adventures.

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ok..I am just going to say what I think...WTH were these parents thinking allowing Abby to do this on her own?? would they also allow her to drive cross country alone or go to a foreign country alone to hike and see the world??? aren't there pirates out in those waters that take over huge ships with men on them? wouldn't you fear that this girl traveling alone could get taken over by these pirates? I would hog tie my kid to keep her from doing this...but that is just me.....or couldn't the parents follow behind her in another boat just to make sure that she was ok? she would still be sailing alone..no contact, no visits etc...she would sail her own boat and they would be in theirs...Am I crazy for thinking that this was an outlandish idea??? follow your dreams but somewhere common sense has to come into the picture...go ahead and throw the nanners but this is how I really feel...

The main thing is that I hope that Abby is found safe! and soon!

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Thank God! Abby has been located and will be rescued! what a miracle !! woo hoo!

[SteveDinMD]

        Allowing a child to attempt a solo circumnavigation of the world was a supremely foolish decision by her parents.  It was a stunt that served no purpose at all except to put the girl at risk in the interest of seeking notoriety and possibly a book deal or TV movie of week.  She very easily could have died.  More seriously, those attempting to rescue this foolish child were gratuitously put at risk of their own lives.  In fact, the captain of the French fishing boat actually fell overboard during the rescue and very easily could have died, himself. 
        This reminds me of the situation ~15 years ago when there was a "competition" among those attempting to become the youngest to fly across North America.  At that time, there were a succession of ever younger record holders until, at one point, a 7 year old boy crashed his plane on takeoff killing himself, his father, and his flight instructor during one such attempt.  With dozens of would-be record holders making ready their own attempts, this sad and dangerous state of affairs ended only when Congress modified the laws to set a minimum age for those operating an aircraft. 
        Perhaps the time has come to modify U.S. maritime laws, as well.  Currently, there are NO licensing requirements for those operating certain vessels, among them most pleasurecraft.  Perhaps it should now be mandated that any vessel operating in U.S. territorial waters beyond three miles from shore be under the command of a maritime license holder who must remain on board at all times.  It should perhaps be further mandated that no one be granted such license until having at least attained the age of 18 years, effectively preventing future similar instances of child endangerment, or at least those originating from U.S. shores. 

[cookie]

        Allowing a child to attempt a solo circumnavigation of the world was a supremely foolish decision by her parents.  It was a stunt that served no purpose at all except to put the girl at risk in the interest of seeking notoriety and possibly a book deal or TV movie of week.  She very easily could have died.  More seriously, those attempting to rescue this foolish child were gratuitously put at risk of their own lives.  In fact, the captain of the French fishing boat actually fell overboard during the rescue and very easily could have died, himself. 
        This reminds me of the situation ~15 years ago when there was a "competition" among those attempting to become the youngest to fly across North America.  At that time, there were a succession of ever younger record holders until, at one point, a 7 year old boy crashed his plane on takeoff killing himself, his father, and his flight instructor during one such attempt.  With dozens of would-be record holders making ready their own attempts, this sad and dangerous state of affairs ended only when Congress modified the laws to set a minimum age for those operating an aircraft. 
        Perhaps the time has come to modify U.S. maritime laws, as well.  Currently, there are NO licensing requirements for those operating certain vessels, among them most pleasurecraft.  Perhaps it should now be mandated that any vessel operating in U.S. territorial waters beyond three miles from shore be under the command of a maritime license holder who must remain on board at all times.  It should perhaps be further mandated that no one be granted such license until having at least attained the age of 18 years, effectively preventing future similar instances of child endangerment, or at least those originating from U.S. shores. 

well said...
from what I have read/heard, most people feel that this was a bad decision on the parents part for allowing Abby to go solo ....I am one of those people..
still, glad that she is ok...

[SteveDinMD]

        Allowing a child to attempt a solo circumnavigation of the world was a supremely foolish decision by her parents.  It was a stunt that served no purpose at all except to put the girl at risk in the interest of seeking notoriety and possibly a book deal or TV movie of week.  She very easily could have died.  More seriously, those attempting to rescue this foolish child were gratuitously put at risk of their own lives.  In fact, the captain of the French fishing boat actually fell overboard during the rescue and very easily could have died, himself. 
        This reminds me of the situation ~15 years ago when there was a "competition" among those attempting to become the youngest to fly across North America.  At that time, there were a succession of ever younger record holders until, at one point, a 7 year old boy crashed his plane on takeoff killing himself, his father, and his flight instructor during one such attempt.  With dozens of would-be record holders making ready their own attempts, this sad and dangerous state of affairs ended only when Congress modified the laws to set a minimum age for those operating an aircraft. 
        Perhaps the time has come to modify U.S. maritime laws, as well.  Currently, there are NO licensing requirements for those operating certain vessels, among them most pleasurecraft.  Perhaps it should now be mandated that any vessel operating in U.S. territorial waters beyond three miles from shore be under the command of a maritime license holder who must remain on board at all times.  It should perhaps be further mandated that no one be granted such license until having at least attained the age of 18 years, effectively preventing future similar instances of child endangerment, or at least those originating from U.S. shores. 

well said...
from what I have read/heard, most people feel that this was a bad decision on the parents part for allowing Abby to go solo ....I am one of those people..
still, glad that she is ok...

     Yes, many people agree that it was a bad idea.  Surprisingly, though, many others remain supportive of the parents' decision to permit and finance the expedition.  Abby, herself, has been quoted since her rescue as looking forward to makng another attempt.  Experience seems to have taught her NOTHING.  This is why there are laws mandating minimum ages for people to participate in various activities.  Wisdom comes only with experience AND age.  By the time she turns 21 -- assuming she survives that long -- I suspect Abby might well come to a different conclusion regarding the advisability of her "adventure." 

[cookie]

and never mind the expense to rescue these individuals whose dream of adventure has gone to hell...and never mind those who risk their own lives to rescue these people..Only to have them go out again on another merry adventure...the parents should be responsible for the expense to retrieve their daughter imo...maybe if more people/parents were held accountable when they need help, they might think twice about doing something so foolish..This was just nuts as far as I am concerned..A young girl out there all alone..Pirates are about, other vessels who might have undesirables aboard..just plain nuts if you ask me....If I was her parents, I would forbid her going back out alone, but they won't..

[SteveDinMD]

and never mind the expense to rescue these individuals whose dream of adventure has gone to hell...and never mind those who risk their own lives to rescue these people..Only to have them go out again on another merry adventure...the parents should be responsible for the expense to retrieve their daughter imo...maybe if more people/parents were held accountable when they need help, they might think twice about doing something so foolish..This was just nuts as far as I am concerned..A young girl out there all alone..Pirates are about, other vessels who might have undesirables aboard..just plain nuts if you ask me....If I was her parents, I would forbid her going back out alone, but they won't..

     I've heard/read people dismiss the costs of Anny's rescue on the grounds that the rescuers are "standing by" to help everyone, regardless.  These same people have also pointed to the case of Alaskan crab fisherman who willingly engage in a very dangerous occupation and who fairly frequently are in need of assistance from the Coast Guard and others.  "Why not outlaw crab fishing?" they ask. 
     These people completely miss the point.  Alaskan crab fisherman are engaged in LICENSED COMMERCE.  They are gathering FOOD for mankind -- a particularly delicious and expensive food, to be sure, but food nonetheless.  What valuable service to mankind was Abby providing?  What product was she bringing to market?  What goods or passengers was she transporting across the sea?  What scientific and/or technical knowledge was she attempting to discover?  In each and every case, the answer is NONE.  She was doing absolutely nothing to benefit the World.  She was merely indulging a personal whim and caprice, and expecting the rest of humanity to implicitly underwrite her personal safety.  It was profoundly selfish of her and grossly irresponsible for her parents to indulge her.  You're absolutely right.  Let the parents pay for the blessing of having their daughter returned to them safe and sound. 

[cookie]

yes indeedy Steve! well said again!

[Nut44x4]

Teen sailor healthy, weary after 3 days adrift
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER (AP) – 1 hour ago

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Rescued solo sailor Abby Sunderland summed up the end of her circumnavigation quest in a sentence.

"The long and the short of it is, well, one long wave, and one short mast (short meaning two inch stub)," the 16-year-old California girl wrote on her blog just hours after she was rescued Saturday from her crippled sailboat in the turbulent southern Indian Ocean.

A French fishing boat brought her on board more than 2,000 miles west of Australia after a wave broke the mast of her boat, Wild Eyes, satellite phone communication was lost and she set off emergency beacons.

Her parents said after a 20-minute phone conversation with their daughter that she was bumped and bruised after three days adrift but otherwise healthy.

"She sounded tired, a little bit small in her voice, but she was able to make jokes and she was looking forward to getting some sleep," her mother, Marianne Sunderland, told reporters outside the family northwest of Los Angeles.

Her mother, who is close to giving birth to a boy, said her daughter joked about her ordeal affecting the baby and also talked about plans for the next school year.

"Crazy is the word that really describes everything that has happened best," she wrote from "a great big fishing boat headed I am not exactly sure where." She will spend more than a week traveling to Reunion Island, a French territory east of Madagascar.

She dismissed criticism that she was too young to undertake an attempt to sail around the world by herself.

"As for age, since when does age create gigantic waves and storms?" she wrote.

Her father, Laurence Sunderland, a boat builder who teaches sailing, said his daughter had thousands of miles of solo sailing experience before she set out and he had scrutinized her skills.

"This was not a flippant decision," he said. "Abigail's been raised on the ocean all her life. She's lived over half her life on yachts. ... This is like second nature to Abigail."

Laurence Sunderland said the team of experts that worked on Wild Eyes and the circumnavigation project were "second to none."

He said his daughter desired to sail solo around the world since she was 13 but he considered her "not fit" at that age or 14, when she was already helming by herself.

"And I did a lot of things to dissuade her actually by showing her the ferocity of the ocean around here ... taking yachts in very adverse conditions and to see what her mettle was made of," he said.

He said his daughter simply "caught a bad wave."

"Should age be a factor here?" he said. "Abigail has proven herself. She sailed around Cape Horn, the Cape of Good Hope. She'd endured 50 knots and 60 knots-plus of wind prior to this unfortunate circumstance."

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the French ship Ile De La Reunion brought Abby Sunderland aboard from her stricken craft Saturday afternoon at the site.

French authorities called it a "delicate operation," and said at one point the fishing boat's captain fell into the ocean and had to be rescued, but was in "good health." Laurence Sunderland said the crew used its dinghy in the transfer.

Australian authorities were broadcasting a message to boats crossing through the area warning them that Sunderland's sailboat is still adrift.

Sunderland will leave the French fishing boat in about two days to board a maritime patrol boat that will take her to Reunion Island, according to a statement from the office of the French Indian Ocean island's top official. The transfer will take place off the Kerguelen Islands, with the exact timing depending on weather and ocean conditions.

Authorities said Sunderland likely would not arrive in Reunion for at least a week.

Marianne Sunderland said her daughter was relieved to be off her boat, but it was difficult to abandon it.

"When you're on a boat like Abby has been and so closely related to that boat for your everyday existence you become very close to it," she said. "She had to leave Wild Eyes in the middle of the ocean and that's been hard for her."

Family spokesman Jeff Casher said the 10-year-old boat and its equipment would have been worth about $120,000 before it was damaged.

Sunderland wrote in her blog: "I keep hitting the wrong keys and am still trying to get over the fact that I will never see my Wild Eyes again."

Sunderland set out from Marina del Rey on the Los Angeles County coast on Jan. 23, trying to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo and nonstop.

Soon after starting her trip, Sunderland ran into equipment problems and had to stop for repairs. She gave up the goal of setting the record in April, but hoped to complete the journey.

Zac Sunderland, her brother, held the record briefly last year until Briton Mike Perham completed his own journey. The record changed hands last month when 16-year-old Australian Jessica Watson completed her own around-the-world voyage.

Outside the family home on Saturday eight pink balloons were tethered to the white picket fence and beneath them was a hand-painted sign that read: "Thank God Abby's alive."

She had been keeping in contact with her parents and support team by satellite phone during the voyage. Early Thursday she reported her yacht was being tossed by 30-foot (9-meter) waves — as tall as a 3-story building. An hour after her last call ended Thursday, her emergency beacons began signaling.

Rescuers in a chartered jet flew from Australia's west coast and spotted Sunderland's boat on Thursday. She was able to radio to the plane to say she was in good health and had plenty of food supplies.

The Australian maritime authority did not say how much the rescue mission cost but said it would not be seeking compensation for the search, which initially fell just outside of Australia's search and rescue region. It was not immediately clear if the French vessel would seek compensation.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hLJkAvvDTrkiJLJJnmS3pipmVVDgD9GAB8J00

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/06/14/sailor-abby-sunderlands-dad-signed-reality-doomed-voyage/

June 14, 2010
Sailor Abby Sunderland's Dad Signed Her To TV Deal Before Her Doomed Voyage

Abby Sunderland, 16, set sail last January, but got stranded in the Indian Ocean last week after storms smashed the mast of her sailboat, Wild Eyes, knocking out satellite-phone reception.
fox news

Here's a dose of reality.

The father of teen sailor Abby Sunderland told The NY Post that he's broke and had signed a contract to do a reality show, "Adventures in Sunderland," about his family of daredevil kids weeks after she set off on her doomed and dangerous solo sail around the globe.

Laurence Sunderland, a sailing instructor who lives in the middle-class Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks with his pregnant wife and seven kids, opened their home to film crews four months ago.

YOU DECIDE: What Were Abby's Parents Thinking?

"The show might be about family, it might be about Abigail's trip. It's something that was shopped around," he said.

Abby, 16, set sail last January, but got stranded in the Indian Ocean last week after storms smashed the mast of her sailboat, Wild Eyes, knocking out satellite-phone reception. The near-disaster triggered a frantic international rescue effort.

The solo voyage ran into heavy criticism for its high risk and the allegedly poor planning that put Abby in the treacherous Indian Ocean right in the middle of storm season.

Sunday, she remained aboard the French vessel that rescued her, according to the ship's captain, and was making her slow voyage home.

The boat, Ile de la Reunion, is scheduled to transfer the teen to another ship. It will take her about a week to get to land, the captain said.

Standing in the driveway outside his home, Sunderland explained the theme he envisioned for the show.

"We thought it might be a good idea if it was encouraging to kids to get out there and do things," he said. Sunderland said he didn't initially get many bites.

But Magnetic Entertainment of Studio City, Calif., is already promoting "Adventures in Sunderland" and "Abby's Journey," a documentary, on its Web site.

The studio didn't reply to e-mails and calls for comment yesterday.

Sunderland insists Abby's trip wasn't just a stunt.

The reality show was, he said, "the last thing on my mind.

"The wheels in motion for this trip had actually started when Abigail was 13 years old," he added.

Sunderland also defended his decision to let his daughter take the risky journey.

"I love my daughter dearly," he said. "I love the passion of sailing dearly, and this was about Abigail following her dream. She followed the criteria that I had set out, and met all the requirements to embark on this trip."

Yesterday, Abby blogged that she was undaunted by her misadventure, and was considering writing a book.

She called her wild ride on Wild Eyes "the best thing I have ever done or been through and I don't ever want to forget all the great times . . . or the bad ones for that matter."

The large family has long been a curiosity in the community, neighbors said. All seven children are home-schooled.

"They rarely leave their house, and they rarely talk to neighbors," local resident Brian Gonzales said.


See my post in Musings from yesterday.  This is exactly what I meant.  I didn't make sense.  It's very expensive to live in California.  How do you have 7-8 kids yet afford the boats and sailing trips.  Very costly.

http://scaredmonkeys.net/index.php?topic=6570.msg1158867#msg1158867

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Klaas..that is exactly what I was thinking too... mom is pregnant again! how do folks afford that many children in this economy along with the "hobbies" that they have?  geeZ!  wonder if they had insurance on the boat that Abby was on? I read that it was around $120,000...that should bring in some dough for the family if the insurance kicks in...

[SteveDinMD]

Klaas..that is exactly what I was thinking too... mom is pregnant again! how do folks afford that many children in this economy along with the "hobbies" that they have?  geeZ!  wonder if they had insurance on the boat that Abby was on? I read that it was around $120,000...that should bring in some dough for the family if the insurance kicks in...

I had read that the boat wasn't insured.  They probably couldn't get insurance for a circumnavigation.  Also, $120K for the boat seems rather low.  I had done some searching on yacht brokerage sites and found a few Open-40 cruiser/racers of approximately that age, maybe a bit newer, advertised for ~$225K to ~$500K.  That doesn't include refitting, customization, and outfitting for the journey, which can add up to $500K to the base cost.  I'd be surprised if the whole package came in under $250K.  Frankly, even that's low. 

[cookie]

Klaas..that is exactly what I was thinking too... mom is pregnant again! how do folks afford that many children in this economy along with the "hobbies" that they have?  geeZ!  wonder if they had insurance on the boat that Abby was on? I read that it was around $120,000...that should bring in some dough for the family if the insurance kicks in...

I had read that the boat wasn't insured.  They probably couldn't get insurance for a circumnavigation.  Also, $120K for the boat seems rather low.  I had done some searching on yacht brokerage sites and found a few Open-40 cruiser/racers of approximately that age, maybe a bit newer, advertised for ~$225K to ~$500K.  That doesn't include refitting, customization, and outfitting for the journey, which can add up to $500K to the base cost.  I'd be surprised if the whole package came in under $250K.  Frankly, even that's low. 

yes..it is a low price for the boat..but when one is broke, $120K would certainly come in handy! but if it wasn't insured,then they are out that money..too bad, so sad..the risk one takes for "adventure" I guess...