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What were her parents thinking? Many people were asking that question as a 16-year-old girl sat adrift and alone in the frigid southern Indian Ocean, her ship's mast dashed along with her around-the-world sailing effort. Abby Sunderland's ship was rolling in 20- to 30-foot waves as she waited to be rescued by a boat that was expected to arrive early Saturday morning Pacific time. She set off a distress signal Thursday after rough seas disabled her ship and her satellite phone reception. There were 20 hours of tense silence before a search plane launched from Australia's west coast made brief...

CANBERRA, Australia -- A 16-year-old California girl who was feared lost at sea while sailing solo around the world has been found alive and well, adrift in the southern Indian Ocean with rescue boats headed toward her damaged yacht, officials said. After a tense 20 hours of silence, a Qantas Airbus A330 search plane launched from Australia's west coast made radio contact with Abby Sunderland on Friday in the frigid southern seas where her boat was repeatedly knocked down by huge waves and she lost satellite phone contact.

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...

Abby Sunderland, the 16 year old attempting to sail around the world, was feared missing at sea yesterday, but has now been found alive and well. Sunderland had sent out numerous distress signals after her yacht, “Wild Eyes”, was pounded by huge waves in the Indian Ocean some 2,000 miles off the south African coast enroute to Australia. Word of Abby’s rescue was first posted on her blog by her parents: We have just heard from the Australian Search and Rescue. The plane arrived on the scene moments ago. Wild Eyes is upright but her rigging is down. The weather...

AUSTRALIA will to pay for its part in the search and rescue of teenage solo sailor Abby Sunderland who encountered extremely rough weather in the Indian Ocean. Australian Maritime Safety Authority chief executive Mick Kinley said searchers saw and made radio contact with Abby just after 4pm (AEST) on Friday. "She sounds like she's in good health, as far as we can tell, and she's going to hang in there,'' Mr Kinley told said in Canberra. Australian authorities commissioned a Qantas plane to search for Abby, who is about 3700km off the coast of Western Australia. Mr Kinley did not...

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) -- A family spokesman says searchers have contacted a 16-year-old Southern California girl who was feared lost at sea and she is alive and well. William Bennett with "Team Abby" said Thursday that searchers aboard an Airbus A330 spotted her boat in an upright position and made contact with her via radio. Bennett said Sunderland said she was doing fine and had plenty of food.

BREAKING NEWS: Abbey Sunderland has been found alive on her boat in the Indian Ocean. The signal from her boat was spotted by a chartered Airbus A330 aircraft. She was able to communicate with the aircraft via VHF radio. The boat is de-masted and unmaneuverable, but she has at least 30 days of food on board. A fishing ship is approximately 27-hrs, away from her and is currently en route to her location. This info was from a live news conference that was just broadcast on FOXX-11 News in LA.

The man who built Jessica Watson's yacht says missing solo teenage sailor Abby Sunderland's boat is not designed for a solo trip around the world. A multi-national search and rescue operation has been launched after emergency beacons onboard 16-year-old Sunderland's boat were triggered when the young American adventurer ran into huge waves hundreds of kilometres from land in the Indian Ocean early this morning. A Qantas Airbus is heading to the search zone, which is about 3,600 kilometres from the WA coast between Australia and Africa. Veteran yachtsman Marty Still built Jessica Watson's yacht and sailed it for 17 years,...

A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting a solo sail around the world was feared in trouble Thursday thousands of miles from land in the frigid, heaving 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.

A Qantas Airbus is joining the search for a solo teenage girl sailor who is missing in mountainous seas in the middle of the Indian Ocean. The rescue effort was launched after emergency beacons onboard 16-year-old Abby Sunderland's boat were triggered when the young Amercian adventurer ran into huge waves hundreds of kilometres from land. Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) spokeswoman Carly Lusk says the Airbus is expected to take about four hours to reach the search zone, which is around 3,600 kilometres from the WA coast. "We've got two Qantas flight crews on board, as well as 11 trained...

The engineer behind Abby Sunderland's solo trip around the world says he believes the 16-year-old Thousand Oaks sailor is "alive" and "most likely floating" in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Speaking to a throng of reporters outside the family's home, Jeff Casher said he spoke to her at 3:45 a.m. Thursday, then lost contact after she went to check on some equipment on her boat. About an hour later, she apparently activated her emergency beacons – devices that sent automatic alerts to the Coast Guard and her family. Casher said the family is looking at three possible scenarios. Either...

Abby Sunderland, one of two 16-year-old girls on different quests to sail around the world alone, nonstop and unassisted, has announced she will head to Cape Town, South Africa, to repair a faulty autopilot system. The high-school junior from Thousand Oaks, Calif., stressed on her blog that she will continue her journey after making repairs and seek to become simply the youngest person to solo-circumnavigate the planet in a sailboat. [...] Autopilots are supposed to hold a sailor's course but Sunderland's primary and backup units have been faulty. At one point recently, in rough seas and freezing temperatures, the...

Rescuers searched Thursday for a 16-year-old Southern California girl feared missing while attempting a solo sail around the world. Family spokesman Christian Pinkston said the search began for Abby Sunderland somewhere between Africa and Australia after emergency beacons were activated overnight and there was a loss of communication.

A rescue effort has been launched in hope of finding Abby Sunderland, 16, who set off her emergency beacon locating devices from the southern Indian Ocean early this morning. Sunderland, who had been attempting to sail around the world alone, endured multiple knockdowns in 60-knot winds Thursday before conditions briefly abated. snip Abby is hundreds of miles from land. The nearest ship was about 400 miles away. The rescue effort is being coordinated by the French-controlled Reunion Islands and Australia. Sunderland had been sailing in 50- to 60-foot seas and it was dark when the EPIRB devices were activated. snip...

A rescue effort has been launched in hope of finding Abby Sunderland, 16, who set off her emergency beacon locating devices from the southern Indian Ocean early this morning. Sunderland, who had been attempting to sail around the world alone, endured multiple knockdowns in 60-knot winds yesterday (Thursday local time) before conditions briefly abated. However, her parents lost satellite phone contact early this morning and an hour later were notified by the Coast Guard at French-controlled Reunion Islands that both of Sunderland's EPIRB satellite devices had been activated. One apparently is attached to a survival suit and meant to be...

MARINA DEL REY, Calif.—A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone has rounded Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America. Abby Sunderland is believed to be the youngest person to sail alone around Cape Horn, known for treacherous winds and waves. Sunderland says on her blog that she didn't get to see the cape because she was some 50 to 60 miles offshore as she crossed from the Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic. Sunderland embarked five months after older brother Zac completed a westerly solo circumnavigation at the age...