Los Angeles, CA – A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting a solo sail around the world was feared in trouble Thursday in the frigid, heaving southern Indian Ocean after her emergency beacons began signaling and communication was lost.
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Abby Sunderland’s family was talking with U.S. and international governments about organizing a search of the remote ocean between southern Africa and Australia, family spokesman Christian Pinkston said.
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 Pinkston, who was in close contact with Sunderland’s family in Thousand Oaks.
“They are exhausting every resource to try to mobilize an air rescue including discussions with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Coast Guard and various international rescue organizations,” he said.
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.
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 Zac briefly held the record at age 17.
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.”
If they are not allowed to drink and/or buy smokes, why are they allowed to undertake these dangerous missions? Anyone?
I hope they find her alive. It wasn’t a bright idea for the parents to let a 16 year old girl try to travel around the world by boat alone.
Is she jewish?
Such stupidity. Why in the world would anyone put their CHILD in such a harmful situation?
And who pays for all this???
These people do these things and we taxpayers pay for the searches
What sort of irresponsible parents permits a 16 year old girl to undertake such a dangerous mission. In addition to mechanical problems, weather problems (bad storms), whales and sharks, there is also the danger of being capsized by other merchant ships, especially at night. Also, there are pirates which are also on the high seas. One has got to be “meshuganah” to undertake such a mission.
Circumnavigation of the globe was a very worthy goal– 400 years ago. At this point, it’s been done. A healthier respect for Mother Nature would have been a good idea.
Stop crying over spilled milk, she did it good, if you don`t want to send your kid around the world don`t, they did, and she is 16 years old what are you crying about????
Searching for her in a “remote ocean between southern Africa and Australia”.
Thats a pretty big area. The phrase “searching for a needle in a haystack” should now be changed to a “rowboat in the indian ocean”
What’s taking so long, let them just send out a plane.
I agree that people do stupid things and then the taxpayer has to fot the bill BUT;
The costs are really artificial. The USA already pays military 24/7 all over the world, now they have what to do. They are there and on the payroll already.
I wouldn’t expect anyone her young age to sail around the world and come out alive. If one wants to be some sort of hero – there are other things they can do, like save someone’s life and donate a kidney. Oh, no, I don’t consider myself a hero, but I did better, than sailing across the world.
her brother did it last year, they just want to have a whole bunch of “world records” in the famly…goyim (i think)
So there finnaly is a teenager that can show her peers that life is exciting and its not just drugs and garbage and she needs to be criticised?
To all of you people worried about taxpayers money, this happened on international waters, so it’s not coming from your pockets. Even if it was coming from your money, better use the money to save a person, than use your money to pay for public defenders for crimals. That comes from your money too.
Its still in middle the school year. How can she flunk school to go on such a trip?? School comes first!!!!!!!!! What a shame to get a world record by skipping school!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can only assume that she was one heck of a teenager at home and her parents were more then glad to get rid of her! ( kidding! ) What I really dont understand is why would SHE want to be on the ocean all alone for such a long time ????? Didnt she read stuff about storms etc??? A goyishe kop!