Recovered/Located Emergency rescue effort is launched for teen sailor Abby Sunderland, June 2010

[LadyL]

Abby's Cockpit

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCNafGsw8Fc&feature=player_embedded#!

what an amazing young lady

gosh I hope they can get to her sooner than has been stated

 

[LadyL]

Here's a really great mini documentary. You'll get to meet the family and learn their background:

16 year old girl Abby Sunderland starts solo sail around the world

http://www.latimes.com/videobeta/?watchId=5d353ed4-44f5-4358-afd9-ada9669edb68

her parents seem so nice
I saw a lot of worry in their eyes as she sailed away

 

[mysticrose]

I agree about her parents, they seem really nice. I know I vented earlier but I just can not grasp this train of thought, letting your child just sail off around the world by herself at 16. There is so much risk there, not only from the ocean but the people who are out there as well , pirates , they are thick in some places they take over huge cargo ships all the time. And I have read horror stories about crusiers being boarded or an attempted boarding until they shot a flare gun into the gas tank .....

 

[LadyL]

I agree. As for the risk-taking, here's a thought-provoking article about Laura Dekker, the Dutch girl who was prevented from solo-circumnavigating at 13 yrs old:
http://irresponsibility.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/boob-jobs-at-13-better-than-going-to-sea/ (<-- must read!)

And the "live like were are dying": that's what prompted our trip. My husband had recovered from cancer (at age 39), and we realized that not everyone gets to live to retirement. So we lived (part of) our dream: rented our house, emptied our savings, bought a sailboat, and sailed for a year from the Chesapeake to the Bahamas and back when our son was 3-yrs-old. We are now dirt poor but had the experience of a lifetime. And have a plan to do it again - but for longer.

link didn't work for me ... "wordpress will be back in a minute"

 

[Bobbisangel]

I've been upset since I first learned of children attempting to make it alone. I think it's wrong.

I hope to God they find her quickly and that she is fine.

I can't imagine letting my 16 yr old make a trip like that alone just to set some kind of record. Risking the loss of life is not worth it.

 

[belimom]

link didn't work for me ... "wordpress will be back in a minute"

I noticed that a moment ago. If you put the link in Google, then it will give you the option of pulling up the cached version. I don't totally agree with everything in the article, but I have to admit it's one of the most thought-provoking (and well-written) things I've read in awhile.

ETA: The link seems to be working now...

 

[reb]

Why is this legal........??? Seriously......???

 

[raeann]

If the Australian flight took off at night in order to reach her area at daylight, they should be in the area within an hour or two.....

 

[iluvmua]

I hope they find her alive; I'm worried for her not only for her ordeal but the fact that sharks roam those parts of the ocean.

 

[lucky181]

Her father thinks the boat is upside down and they are hoping that she's inside.

``However, we all have breaking points and she's had a couple of boisterous days out there.

``It's going to take a bit of a miracle.''

http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/abb.../story-e6frg12c-1225878405854?from=public_rss

 

[mysticrose]

Airbus nears search zone for teen sailor Abby Sunderland Tony Barrass From: The Australian June 11, 2010 1:56PM

A QANTAS A330 airbus is heading toward two emergency beacon signals in the Indian Ocean as fears grow for the safety of an American teenager attempting to sail solo around the world.
As conditions deteriorate around the emergency zone 2000 nautical miles west south west of Perth, 11 West Australian State Emergency Service officers trained in aerial spotting, along with officers from the state's Water Police and the Fire and Emergency Services Authority, are searching for what they believe may be the overturned yacht of 16-year-old Abby Sunderland.

Sunderland was past the halfway mark of her journey when she hit trouble yesterday morning, activating two manual distress beacons.

Her father, Laurence Sunderland, told ABC radio that he thought the boat may have lost its keel.

&#8220;I think what's happened due to drift factor is, I think the keel has been knocked off probably by a submerged object . . . the boat's upside down and she's inside in a cocoon waiting for a rescue.&#8221;

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/new...-abby-sunderland/story-e6frg6nf-1225878482522

 

[mysticrose]

Ships go to aid of girl sailing the world solo

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

An international effort to rescue young Abby Sunderland began, but the vast distances meant long hours of waiting for her family and support team, which expressed confidence that she was alive because the beacons were deliberately turned on rather than set off automatically.


http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2010/jun/11/ships-go-to-aid-of-girl-sailing-the-world-solo/news/

 

[jjenny]

Let me see. 16 year old alone in the boat in the ocean. What on Earth could go wrong?

 

[iluvmua]

If the Keel is off, how long will it take the boat to actually sink?

 

[luckyducky]

My kids are 19 and 21 and I still get all nervous when they drive to the mall. Just can't imagine this at all.:waitasec:. Hope they find her ok. It's a big ocean - tiny boat. Hopefull for a good outcome.

 

[tiredblondy]

All I can think of is Pirates, but I'm not a boater and get sea sick in a bathtub. I hope the father is correct and they find her. My admiration to all you who do sail. I think it would be wonderful but I can't even ride a ferry!

 

[Kateyes]

I am praying for her safe return. Could someone who remembers this please post and let me know: I thought I read an article about three weeks ago that someone about Abby's age had abandoned such a sail around the world. I thought it was her. Do I have a need to worry about Alzheimer's or does someone else remember this?

 

[RoughlyCollie]

What could be submerged out in the middle of the ocean that the keel could hit such that it is knocked off?

A whale or a shark?

The way I'm looking at it is that the keel is X feet long and unless the purported submerged object is alive, I'd think it would have sunk and not be around for the keel to hit.

RC
Who knows *nothing* about sailing or boats or oceans

 

[belimom]

From http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/11/2924732.htm:

"The man who fitted out Jessica Watson's yacht says missing solo teenage sailor Abby Sunderland's boat is not designed for a solo trip around the world."

I really do hope she's okay...

 

[RoughlyCollie]

I am praying for her safe return. Could someone who remembers this please post and let me know: I thought I read an article about three weeks ago that someone about Abby's age had abandoned such a sail around the world. I thought it was her. Do I have a need to worry about Alzheimer's or does someone else remember this?

Is this who you are thinking about? If so, she successfully completed her voyage on May 15.

"Jessica Watson became the youngest person to sail around the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted when she cruised into Sydney Harbour in her pink, 34-foot (10-meter) yacht to a rock star welcome of thousands. She successfully maneuvered her boat through raging storms, 40-foot (12-meter) waves and seven knockdowns during the 23,000 nautical mile journey that critics thought she wouldn't survive."

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37161350/ns/sports/