Abby Sunderland, navigating Wild Eyes.
The Associated Press reported today that Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old California girl sailing around the world alone, may be in trouble. The last contact with Sunderland was a satellite phone call with her home team around 4am California time today.
“We spoke with Abby early this morning and learned that she had had a very rough day with winds up to 60 knots and seas 20-25 feet. She had been knocked down several times but was handling things well. The wind had subsided to around 35 knots which she and Wild Eyes are quite comfortable with,” reads today’s post on Abby’s blog.
Shortly after the call, Sunderland’s parents were notified that one of the vessel’s EPIRBs, or emergency locator beacons, had been manually triggered. A second signal came in from Sunderland’s personal locator beacon. No further communication has been received from Sunderland.
Abby Sunderland is the younger sister of Zac Sunderland, who briefly captured the title of youngest solo circumnavigator when he completed his voyage almost one year ago. That title was recently claimed by Jessica Watson, who completed her circuit May 15 in Sydney. Abby Sunderland’s hopes of retaking the youngest circumnavigator laurels were dashed when she had to put into Cape Town for repairs.
Repairs to Wild Eyes, Sunderland’s 40-foot sloop, were completed last month. Sunderland sailed out to sea again on May 21. On June 8 she passed the Kerguelen Islands, a French archipelago about midway between Africa and Australia. Rescue may take some time. The nearest ship is estimated to be 40 hours away from Sunderland’s last known position.
