SIXTEEN YEAR OLD SAILOR SOLO VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD - UPDATE: SUNDERLAND NOW MISSING AT SEA!

thecypresstimes.com ^ | 06/10/2010

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Why give up now? There has been no radio contact, but she was able to turn on her emergency beacons. She could simply be adrift waiting pickup.

[JPG]

I hope she makes it. If she doesn't, her parents will be saddled with a lifetime of guilt. A 16 year-old girl should be studying algebra and worrying about her complexion. Mom and Dad should have know better...now they do.

[skeeter]

What kind of idiot parents would allow their 16 daughter to attempt such a feat?

[Northern Yankee]

Exactly right!

[kitkat]

bookmark

[Northern Yankee]

Love the picture.

Looks like another job for you!

[garyhope]

I’ve crossed the Pacific and the Atlantic by ship and the oceans are very, very large, deep, lonely and unforgiving.

In the middle of the ocean, you are less than a speck.

I hope she is safe and that they find her.

[FrankR]

Don't let obama get involved, he'll be suing the boat manufacturer and trying to take over the satellite phone company. AFTER, that is, a few rounds of golf and a quick vacation.

Maybe he'll have Ringo STarr in to give a private concert as well.

[Navy Patriot]

Abby Sunderland

Hope she's OK.

[From The Deer Stand]

Thrill seekers put themselves in very dangerous situations all the time and expect someone to come to their rescue when disaster happens. I pray she’s safe, but I can’t understand why people feel the need to tease death just to prove a point.

[patriot08]

Prayers for the girl.
The parents should not have allowed this girl to do this.

[Osage Orange]

She could be armed.

If I was her father she would be weapons trained.

[faucetman]

While I don't mind that people do these crazy things, I'm not going to lose any sleep or shed any tears for them. It isn't a tragedy. Like those who climb Mount Everest, they know the risks. They know it's a game of Russian Roulette.

[Straight Vermonter]

The EPIRBs are automatic.

[Persevero]

“Like those who climb Mount Everest, they know the risks. “

I’d agree with you except the girl is not yet an adult.

Some say we should support the kids’ dreams, not raise them in bubble wrap. I agree to a point. One could give a child sailing lessons (with rescue personnel within a mile or two), get them sailing gear, help them to save up for such a trip, aid them in research and so forth, introduce them to salty sailors, take them to yacht races. . .

there are all sort of ways to support a kid’s dream to sail around the world.

Then, when they are legally adults, they can undertake, if they want to take the risk. In this case I would not hold the parents responsible.

At this point I must.

[kenmcg]

She didn’t have a back-up crew following??? That’s suicide! The parents....what were they thinking?

[devane617]

as far as i can tell, no, she did not have a backup.

[ASOC]

She should be fine
Her boat was designed for just this kind of sailing and weather. A check on her Wiki page shows:

Sunderland's yacht, Wild Eyes, is a 40-foot (12.19 m) sloop built in 2001 by A.S.A. Yachts PTY, Australia. It was designed by Jutson Yacht, Australia, specifically to be sailed single-handed through the Southern Ocean.

As BTC Velocity, the vessel finished second in the Class 3 (Open 40) category of the Around Alone 2002 race.[10] Wild Eyes is constructed of E-glass with Kevlar reinforcement into five watertight compartments with a crash bulkhead and a stern escape hatch.

Most likely she has been dismasted and by herself lacks the strength to set, for example, a whisker pole for a jury rigged mast. A 40 footer is a lot of boat and requires far too much in the way of power assist to sail. No motor means no power for winches, power furling or other assisted technology.

Me? I think a a Pacific Seacraft Dana 24 would be a better boat for single-handed sailing. However, the Dana 24 is no OSTAR style boat....

[Recovering Ex-hippie]

Its about the money making deal if she makes it...

We had “Baloon Boy”....now we have “Sail Girl”...I am disgusted, not impressed.

[Navy Patriot]

Thanks for the excellent rundown, Wild Eyes sounds built to survive, I should have checked Wiki.