Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Cape Horn at Last
I rounded Cape Horn today!!
I didn't get to see it as I was around 50-60 miles offshore when I went around. Even though I didn't get to see it, it's very exciting to finally be here! I've covered a lot of miles and have been through a lot, so finally getting here to Cape Horn is very exciting!! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hook up with my dad. The local sailors don't take sailing around here lightly and sailing out to sea nearly 100 miles to take my picture and say Hi didn't quite qualify I'm afraid.
Cape Horn is considered by some the Mount Everest of sailing and I believe I am the youngest person to ever sail around it alone. Of course, there are sooo many people who have been such a big part of this. A big 'thanks' to my sponsors, my supporters and an even bigger thanks to my support team. Who knows where I would be with out you guys!
Today has been pretty nice. It has been cold, grey and raining but a nice 20 knots all day and some 15- 20 foot swells. The rolling around makes getting around the cabin pretty hard and painful but after one very flat night I actually missed the big swells and the thrill of surfing down them watching the speed gauge as it goes right on up to 15, 16 and 17 knots (17 knots is my record so far).
Being so close to shore I have seen a lot of ships on my radar recently. When my AIS alarm went off for the first time in months, I jumped out of my skin! It took a while for my heart to stop pounding but I'm beginning to get used to it again.
I am looking forward to getting further out to sea again. I'm celebrating with a movie tonight - Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit with my foot up on the table. :)
Abby
Posted by Abby Sunderland at 4:30 PM 306 comments
Most of these nanny staters have children who couln’t even write Abby’s blog entry you just posted....much less sail around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope solo....
But if she had spent the last year in planning, serious training, and talking to other sailors who had done a Southern Ocean circumnavigation, then set out next month in a reliable 32-38' cruiser (as was the original intention - just don't let her father design it) she probably stood a good chance of becoming the 1st American teen, the 1st American woman, and the 10th woman from anywhere to get all the way around solo, non-stop, and unassisted.
That would have been an achievement to stand her in good stead in the sailing community.
But Laurie set her chasing a non-existant "record", ill-prepared, at the wrong time, in the wrong boat - to become the first teenage solo sailor to lose her boat. She deserved better.