Teen Abby Sunderland not fit to handle winter seas, says Aussie who built her yacht

Daily Telegraph ^ | 12th June 2010 | Geoff Chambers

[naturalman1975]

STRANDED, alone and scared aboard her stricken yacht in one of the most remote stretches of water in the world, 16-year-old sailor Abby Sunderland faces an anxious wait to be rescued.

But as emergency boats race to reach the American teenager, an angry debate has erupted over whether she should have been allowed to set sail at all.

Abby was spotted late yesterday about 3700km southwest of Perth after a 12-hour search that has already cost Australian taxpayers more than $200,000.

.....

A rescue ship had been expected to reach her by this afternoon but rough weather will delay its arrival.

Abby's parents have been heavily criticised for letting her sail a 12-metre racing yacht across the Indian Ocean in the notorious winter storm season, only a month after she was forced to stop in South Africa for auto-pilot problems.

A similar voyage by Australian teen Jessica Watson was done in much more favourable seasons.

The man who built Wild Eyes said that Abby was not up to the trip.

"The way we built the boat means that it is unsinkable. We had stringent rules to test the positive buoyancy and we tested it again and again," said Queensland boat builder Jon Sayer.

"This boat is bigger and faster than Jessica Watson's boat. In Abby's case she wasn't physically or mentally strong enough to handle a 40-foot boat in those winter storm conditions."

.....

There is still a risk that her yacht will overturn in the heavy seas. If that happened, the Federal Government would order an aerial rescue, which would cost millions of dollars.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Don’t if you climb Mount Everest and get stuck, you are pretty much on your own?

[momtothree]

I wondered if the parents wanted this voyage during this time before she turns 17? It seems like it would have been wise to wait for better weather.

[Psycho_Bunny]

"the Federal Government would order an aerial rescue, which would cost millions of dollars"

Millions of dollars? That's tough to believe.

[LukeL]

Remeber the government cost of things is often 5-10X or more than what the private sector can do.

[SkyDancer]

Brave girl ... poor planning .....

[naturalman1975]

I can't see how it's even possible - but if it was, it would be incredibly expensive.

That little yellow dot in the middle of that globe is her approximate location. She's 2000 miles from Africa, 2000 miles from India, 2000 miles from Australia, and 2000 miles from Antartica.

Australia could airlift a helicopter on a C-17 to the nearest location with a suitable runway, but I think that would be Reunion, and even that's 1500 miles away. A 3000 mile round trip on a helicopter...

Some reports say a Royal Australian Navy warship is heading towards her, but if so, it's at least a day and a half to two days away (based on the time of arrival of the closest ships - it must be behind them). If it has a helicopter aboard, it can launch eventually but would have to be fairly close even to do that.

[cmj328]

It would have to be deployed from an airplane (too far for helicopters), so I’d imagine it would be very expensive. Especially since it cost them $200K for a single flight.

Australia should pass a law allowing them to collect from boaters and corporate sponsors in cases like this.

[naturalman1975]

An Australian girl just recently completed a similar trip just before her 17th birthday. Abby set out to try and break her record for youngest sailor.

Abby lost any chance of the record a while ago when she had to put into port for repairs. Her parents should have pulled the plug then, if not before.

[TNdandelion]

That's what I was thinking. The pressure to be the "youngest" is not necessarily a good reason to embark on such an adventure. A 17-18yr old girl sailing the ocean is every bit as fantastic as a 16yr old girl doing it.

Although, I'd rather have my 18-19yr old daughter sail the ocean on a US Navy ship. ;)

[achilles2000]

This story is really about parental vanity and feminism. They nearly got this girl killed. I particularly liked the part where the father let a sixteen year-old girl make a decision to continue sailing into the Southern Indian Ocean in the winter. It was so imbecilic that almost makes you think he had her well insured.

I hope they are able to pull her out, but I doubt if the parents and their daughtrer will have learned what they really should learn from this.

[calex59]

Yep, they didn’t want to wait because then she wouldn’t have broken the age record.

[Talisker]

The man who built Wild Eyes said that Abby was not up to the trip. "The way we built the boat means that it is unsinkable. We had stringent rules to test the positive buoyancy and we tested it again and again," said Queensland boat builder Jon Sayer. "This boat is bigger and faster than Jessica Watson's boat. In Abby's case she wasn't physically or mentally strong enough to handle a 40-foot boat in those winter storm conditions."

He's just covering his ass because he built the boat, and the boat failed. So the jerk is now blaming Abby. Where was his big mouth when she was setting out? Why didn't he say he felt she was incompetent then? Because he doesn't believe it, and he was excited about her using his boat and getting all the fame from it, that's why. Hypocrite.

FWIW, there's nothing - nothing - that anyone can point to indicating Abby screwed up at all, and many points that indicate she handled constant mechanical malfunctions with poise, efficiency and calm - including her dismasting. And as for that being her fault, she had already handled weeks of massive waves and storms quite handily.

But there are such things as "rogue waves" that will smash and sink any boat or even ship. In fact, in 1995 a rogue wave 90 feet tall smashed into the Queen Elizabeth 2 and scared the hell out of everyone. Usually if such a wave hits a small sailboat, it's swallowed up without a trace.

So if a rogue wave hit Abby's boat, it is precisely because of the superior quality of the boat and her excellent seamanship skills that she's alive and well now.

[RickB444]

I’m sure that her parents will be more than happy to foot the bill for her rescue. If not, make them anyway.

[BitWielder1]

She knew the risks, her parents knew the risks, they must be well aware what a rescue could cost and everybody has 20/20 hindsight.
Still, it's good she's OK.
We need the brave youths. Not everyone will survive. That's what "risk" means.
Keep things in perspective too. Thousands die every year in "ordinary" traffic accidents.

[La Enchiladita]

Go, Talisker!!

We are just seeing that Australia has their whiners too.

[tupac]

What type of rescue would cost millions? My guess is that the type that puts a helicopter on site. Which would mean having the helicopter transported there by ship. That may add up to a million or three.

[Secret Agent Man]

Vanity, perhaps, but not feminism. Her brother who is 17 now did the same thing, just in better weather.

[Bean Counter]

Any idea what it costs to operate one rescue helicopter for one hour??

[tupac]

I don’t know, the guy seemed to be saying that the boat was unsinkable but the girl wasn’t up for the physical challenge of the southern seas in a boat that size.

There have been other comments about the size of the boat, a smaller boat being better for a single sailor.