The headline sucks but I had to post it.
Well, that’s not something that I would personally do, but it is quite an accomplishment and I would rather be reading about a 16-year old doing that, than what I hear from a lot of 16-year-olds today ... :-)
I’ve been across both the Atlantic and the Pacific by ship and I want to tell you that they are very, very big, deep, scary and unforgiving.
To the oceans, you’re just a small tid bit of food or flotsam.
That girl has got courage, guts and spunk.
Maybe she’s just a typical American!
Hate to hear it, but she accomplished a lot. Malfunctioning autopilots are not to be trifled with.
Her parents must be busting with pride. They did very well at raising a human.
/johnny
Well,for her I would worry about the weirdo’s that sail out on the ocean, like those pirate types.
ML/NJ
Here is the other girl very close to her goal:
http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/
I don’t care that she is an Aussie and not an American. She is a very skilled and brave sailor. Check out her route.
Meet Abigail (Abby) Sunderland
Abby Sunderland turned sixteen in October 2009. To the outward observer, she is a seemingly cleancut, All-American girl…the second of seven children. But inside of Abby, a passion burns. Since becoming a teenager, she has had her sights set on making history as the youngest person, male or female, to circumnavigate the world. Not only does she plan to accomplish this feat alone and unassisted, she plans to do it without once taking refuge on land. Aboard an Open 40 racing sailboat, Abby will embark on her voyage in January 2010 from Marina del Rey, California. By June 2010, Abby plans to have made history.
A Lifetime of Training
Abby has an extensive sailing background, being raised in and around sailboats. She has accumulated thousands of miles of coastal cruising through a number of hazardous weather conditions. Team Abby, passionately led by Laurence, is dedicated to preparing her for the fearsome rigors of the southern seas and other anticipated challenges.
Records... Made to be Broken
Abby's older brother Zac made worldwide headlines in July 2009 when, at 17, he became the youngest person to solo circumnavigate the world, sailing 27,500 nautical miles in 13 months. Not to be outdone, English teenager Mike Perham broke Zac's record roughly one month later, completing his journey also at the age of 17 but two months Zac's junior. Unintimidated by the success of two 17 year-old boys (and particularly motivated by her brother's dethronement), Abby is vying to smash Perham's freshly forged record.
Friday, April 23, 2010
A Bit of Wind and Autopilot Woes
I had some nice moderate wind for a little while yesterday, 15-20 knots. I didn't fully realize that the conditions would be like this down here. Ever since I have been in the south Atlantic it's been either tons of wind or no wind. If it was earlier in the season I could go further south where the wind is more consistant but, though frustrating, it is safer up here.
Today there hasn't been much wind and I was moving earlier but right now I have 2 knots and I am just drifting. I had a bit of a scare earlier today. I have had trouble with my auto pilot pretty much from the beginning of my trip and it hasn't gotten better with time. There seems to always be some new problem. As most of you know I am down to one auto pilot with spare parts for repairs but it hadn't been working all that great. It really seems like he had just gone insane - not correcting when I was off course, steering all over the place when I was on course and occasionally steering the wrong way. There is nothing like auto pilot alarms and accidental gybes at four in the morning to start off the day.
Well, this morning my auto pilot was acting normal - normal being pretty abnormal. I was fiddling around with it trying a few different tricks that usually help it to behave a little better but this time when I disengaged the auto pilot and put it back into pilot mode it didn't work at all! I could hear the engine trying to turn the rudder, but the tiller was completely loose. I could steer with my hand while the auto pilot was engaged. Long story short I talked to my team, tried a few things but it still it didn't work.
The whole time I was thinking about hand steering across the rest of the Atlantic Ocean... not a very nice thought. The great thing about auto pilots is that you can go round the clock, you don't have to stop the boat to sleep or eat, you just keep going. If I was going to hand steer I would have to stop at night to sleep which would make my progress much, much slower than it has already been.
Also, hand steering on a warm sunny day is great, but not so great in the pouring rain with no sun and weather that seems to always be extreme - either no wind or a storm. I can safely say I was unhappy about the whole thing, of course I did appreciate that it had decided to act up during day light. That doesn't often happen. In fact, the last time I had serious trouble with it was about 10 at night, I wasn't able to get it going again till about 6 or 7 the next morning, and the conditions weren't nearly as nice and calm through that long night.
What I ended up doing is wiring the main auto pilot hydraulic ram and engine in the back to the back up auto pilot brain box. And its working!! The new problem is that the transmission fluid reservoir for that ram has a bad leak. So now I'm working on getting the leak stopped.
I am also trying to wash off the notes of which wires go where off of my arm. I didn't want to forget while I was in the back as it is the kind of place that you want to limit your trips in and out of, not the most comfortable thing climbing in and out. While I was looking at the wiring diagrams, I couldn't find any paper, and the only thing I could find to write with at the moment happened to be a Sharpie. I'm a little sore, and a little covered in sharpie, but, extremely happy to be down in the warm cabin tonight instead of out in the pouring rain!
Posted by Abby Sunderland
at 5:45 PM
Saturday, April 24, 2010
News
I have some big news today. It's not necessarily good news, but the way I look at it, it's not bad either. I am going to be pulling into Cape Town for repairs thus ending my non-stop attempt. My whole team and I have been discussing whether or not I need to stop ever since my main auto pilot died. It's one thing to sail across an ocean with one well-working auto pilot, it's another to keep going with one that is not at all reliable.
It would be foolish and irresponsible for me to keep going with my equipment not working well. I'm about 10-14 days from Cape Town right now and though my auto pilot is working for now, we're all holding our breath and hoping it will last.
I gave it my best shot and made it almost half way around the world. I will definitely keep going, and whether or not I will make any more stops after this I don't know yet. I admit I was pretty upset at first, but there is no point in getting upset. Whats done is done and there is nothing I can do about it.
I know that some people will look on my trip as a failure because of this, and there really isn't anything that I can do about that. When you're surrounded by critics it can be hard to remember your own goals and expectations, you start to judge yourself by what other people are saying.
This is the experience of a life time. It's hard and sometimes down right terrifying, but I love it out here. My boat, my team, my sponsors, and you guys, my faithful followers are all great, and I am lucky to have you all on board. This whole trip came from a dream, a dream to sail around the world, and that is what I am doing - youngest or not, non-stop or stopping.
Abby
Posted by Abby Sunderland
at 2:23 PM