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.
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.
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.
There is always a fine line between adventure and foolish risk. Very adventurous people evidently don't value their own lives very highly.
whatta parental ego trip.
Bravo Abbey I say. She is a brave, motivated and well-spoken young lady. I wish our nation had many more like her. I have read her blog. I am very proud of her. The costs? Hell, I’ll chip in if need be.
Proof positive that women don’t belong in the high seas. They belong in the ... well never mind :) And men have to risk their lives to bring ‘em back to safety !
She's no better off now. Sure she's’safe.’
But she now is on a ship filled with Frenchmen (notoriously smelly, the French) and it’s a fishing ship (notoriously smelly).
From what I have read about this, it wasn’t the fact that Abby tried this, it was the time of year. Winter on the high seas was the worst time. If she had waited for proper conditions, she would have had a much better chance. Most of the experts are not critisizing her efforts, only the timing. She should have waited for a few monthes.
I understand the points being made that she was too young and that she should not have been allowed to sail in that portion of the ocean at this time of year. However, she was an experienced sailor, from a family with considerable sailing experience and took many prudent precautions for this type of adventure. I think her age is immaterial.
No one hiccuped at all when Isabelle Autissier was sailing alone around the world and had to be rescued when her boat foundered. Then, like in this case, a rescue was initiated and was successful. This is just the way things are done.
My hat is off to both her and to those who were involved in her rescue. Speaking of Isabelle, she said the following:
Weeks after being rescued from the raging, frigid Southern seas for the second time in her larger-than-life career, Isabelle Autissier had this to say about racing around the world alone: “No more.… This has been my crazy job for 10 years. I had 10 wonderful years doing that, maybe the best years of my life—great adventures, great friends, great feelings. It has been a wonderful story for me. But now it’s time to do something else.”
You know- we think parents who let 16 year olds run around town without supervision are negligent. I certainly do! So this girl is in the OCEAN ALONE????
PLEASE- stay your butt out of the wilderness, the ocean and off of mountains on these ‘personal adventures’ that risk you life needlessly! And if you’re too stupid to, don’t scream for or expect rescue.
Underage kid going around the world alone on a boat needs rescue?
Parents need prosecution for negligence and endangering a minor.
One woman’s opinion.
Lucky Somali pirates didn’t get to her first.
This girl is an inspiration to young and old.
Would that more 16 year olds would step into the arena of life and attempt great things instead of squandering their precious lives away with video games and indoctrination into the herd to serve as little more than unquestioning ‘units of labor’ for some filthy globalist.
In a world of dependent 40 year old man-childs and silly 50 year old ‘girls’, She serves as a reminder of what it used to mean to be a free and sovereign human being.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A Note from Abby
Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven’t written in so long as you probably already know I had a pretty rough couple of days. I can’t write much now as I am typing on a french key pad as well as trying to stay seated in a bouncy fishing boat.
The long and the short of it is, well, one long wave, and one short mast (short meaning two inch stub.) I’ll write a more detailed blog later, just wanted to let every one know I am safe and sound on a great big fishing boat headed I am not exactly sure where.
Crazy is the word that really describes everything that has happened best.
Within a few minutes of being on board the fishing boat, I was already getting calls from the press. I don’t know how they got the number but it seems everybody is eager to pounce on my story now that something bad has happened.
There are plenty of things people can think of to blame for my situation; my age, the time of year and many more. The truth is, I was in a storm and you don’t sail through the Indian Ocean without getting in at least one storm. It wasn’t the time of year it was just a Southern Ocean storm. Storms are part of the deal when you set out to sail around the world.
As for age, since when does age create gigantic waves and storms?
I keep hitting the wrong keys and am still trying to get over the fact that I will never see my Wild Eyes again. So Ill write more later.
Abby