Posted on 06/12/2010 5:33:40 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Californian teen sailor Abby Sunderland was rescued by French fishermen today after two days of battle with gale force winds and freezing temperatures while stranded on her stricken boat in the Indian Ocean.
The 16-year-old was said to be in good health when the Ile de la Reunion, a French fishing vessel, reached her battered yacht Wild Eyes in heavy seas earlier today.
Speaking outside the family home in Thousand Oaks, southern California, her father Laurence Sunderland said maritime authorities had contacted him to confirm the successful rescue operation, which took place at 7.45pm eastern Australian time (10.45 BST).
An hour before the rescue, an Australian rescue spotter plane overflew Wild Eyes and she fired off a flare to confirm her position.
The fishing ship then lowered one of its boats into the still-turbulent seas in order to bring her aboard.
Abby was forced to abandon her controversial round-the-world attempt when the 40ft ship’s mast snapped after it was pounded by wild weather midway between Africa and Australia on Thursday.
An international search and rescue mission was launched after emergency beacons on the yacht were set off and Abby’s family and support crew lost contact with the teenager.
The search for Abby involved Australian, US and French rescue authorities sending ships and a commercial airliner before she was eventually rescued approximately 2,000 nautical miles off the west coast of Australia.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
I’m glad she’s OK. Wish I had been as adventurous at age 16. I didn’t become adventurous until I was oh, 18, LOL!
FYI, Australian taxpayers are expected to cover some of the cost of rescuing the American teenager, which is believed to have already cost more than $AU200,000 (£116,000).
Abby left the US in January in a widely criticised attempt to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe alone non-stop. She had to give up her chance at that record when she was forced to pull into a port at Cape Town, South Africa, for repairs to her boat.
Her plight has rekindled a debate about teenagers attempting to sail around the world, after an Australian teenager, Jessica Watson, returned home to a hero’s welcome after completing a similar trip last month.
Many people have criticised Abby’s parents for allowing the high-risk adventure, especially during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months.
Talk show host, MICHAEL SAVAGE on the other hand, expressed admiration for the teen in his radio show and said we ought to raise more enterprising young people like her instead of whiny, spoiled little brats, who stay home, watch TV and do nothing but think of having sex.
FYI, Australian taxpayers are expected to cover some of the cost of rescuing the American teenager, which is believed to have already cost more than $AU200,000 (£116,000).
Abby left the US in January in a widely criticised attempt to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe alone non-stop. She had to give up her chance at that record when she was forced to pull into a port at Cape Town, South Africa, for repairs to her boat.
Her plight has rekindled a debate about teenagers attempting to sail around the world, after an Australian teenager, Jessica Watson, returned home to a hero’s welcome after completing a similar trip last month.
Many people have criticised Abby’s parents for allowing the high-risk adventure, especially during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months.
Talk show host, MICHAEL SAVAGE on the other hand, expressed admiration for the teen in his radio show and said we ought to raise more enterprising, daring young people like her instead of whiny, spoiled little brats, who stay home, watch TV and do nothing but think of having sex.
He called her a hero.
Laurence Sunderland, the father of 16-year-old Abby Sunderland, told reporters outside his home that the Australian Maritime Safety Authority had contacted him to confirm the rescue more than 2,000 miles from the western Australia coast.p> "She got out of her vessel with the clothes on her back, and we are just really excited and ecstatic that Abigail is in safe hands," he said. "She was in good spirits ... She talked to her mother."
The Australian group said the French ship Ile De La Reunion brought Sunderland on board from her stricken craft Saturday afternoon at the site (about 2:45 a.m. PDT).
French authorities called it a "delicate operation" and at one point the fishing boat's captain fell into the ocean. "He was fished out in difficult conditions" and is in good health, said a statement from the French territory of Reunion Island.
Laurence Sunderland said the crew used its dinghy to retrieve his daughter. "We are just ecstatic that she is alive and well and survived the ordeal."
An hour before the rescue, an Australian search and rescue spotter plane overflew Sunderland's boat and she fired off a flare to confirm her position. The plane and fishing boat maintained contact to determine how best to carry out the rescue amid concerns over the rough seas and the differing size of the two vessels.
The elder Sunderland said it could be more than a week before he sees his daughter. The French statement said the boat is headed toward the Kerguelen Islands. Australian authorities, coordinating with French officials, are to decide on Sunderland's final destination.
Laurence Sunderland said her boat will likely be sunk because of the difficulty towing it a great distance.
That’s Savage for you. It’s absolutely black or white with him.
I don’t care what anyone says , this is one he** of a girl. I have been around 79 years and it takes guts to do what she has done and gone through. She will do well in the future and is an asset to our USA.
Flame on, this is the type of person that built our country and made it strong. The ones opposite of her are the ones that are tearing it down. I can’t think of many challenges she will encounter in her life that would equal this and life is usually tough.
Some states will bill you to rescue you from a “jam” when you are out in the wilderness. I think in Idaho, if you have something like a fishing or hunting license, you pay a fee as a part of it, therefore not get charged. I think it is the same here in Colorado. I don’t get out into the wilderness too much but something like a hiking pass or fishing license is very cheap.
And the Australian government has to spend a lot of money to find her and Savage can criticise government spending and high taxes. This girl's silly adventure put an unnecessary burden on the hard working citizens of Australia.
ABSOLUTELY AGREE!! I would be damn proud if she were my daughter!
There is always a fine line between adventure and foolish risk. Very adventurous people evidently don't value their own lives very highly.
I am not her father yet I am still proud of her.
Very well stated. I agree with your sentiments.
“”ABSOLUTELY AGREE!! I would be damn proud if she were my daughter!””
I’ll second that! I’ve always said I wish I’d had (in younger years) what it would take to climb Mt. Everest. My family laughs as I’m a big chicken about most everything - including driving!
It’s wonderful that she’s safe. Her parents were wrong to encourage this adventure. They should have to pay all rescue costs.
If I were her parents, I’d be glad she’s safe from the water, but I’d be concerned about a 16 year old on a boat with fishermen who may have been at sea for weeks.
The girl’s parents have endangered her in more ways than one. And, for what?
"But its only another 'penny' om the Inland Revenue".
whatta parental ego trip.
She's old enough to get married in most states. Once upon a time, in a more self-sufficient era, 16 was NOT a child.
/johnny
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