Posted on 06/10/2010 11:11:42 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Abby Sunderland, 16, who is attempting to become the youngest sailor ever to circumnavigate the globe, was feared lost at sea today after her crew lost contact with her boat.
Jeff Casher, an engineer on Sunderland's support team, said two emergency beacons on her boat are now signaling she is in trouble.
Abby's mother, MaryAnne Sunderland, told ABC News that Abby manually activated two beacons around 6 a.m. Pacific Time Thursday.
A beacon designed to automatically go off when it contacts water had not been activated, she said.
Abby was in 20-25 foot waves at the time of last contact, with 35-knot winds, said MaryAnne Sunderland, who is due to give birth at the end of the month. She was shaken but focused on trying to get a rescue effort together.
The closest land to Abby's boat was Reunion Island, which is east of Madagascar. The nearest ship was 400 miles away. Rescuers were trying to contact the ship.
Casher told ABC News that he last spoke with the 16-year-old sailor around 6 a.m. PDT after she had been knocked down twice during the night because of strong winds -- meaning that her sail had touched the water.
One of those knock-downs, Casher said, ripped the radar off the boat. She had been speaking with Casher on a satellite telephone earlier because of engine problems and was in the process of fixing those problems when she told Casher she'd call right back.
She has not been heard from since, except for the distress signals.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
She wanted to beat her brother. A little sibling rivalry.
Great story about your 14yo great-great Aunt.
Not sure that I personally would let my 16 yr old sail around the world alone (especially since my kids can’t sail) but I think as a society we coddle our kids WAY too much!!
I thought it was 60 ft? Anyway that's what I seem to recall from the dive tables, many years back.
Doesn't hurt to keep an extra pad, where kids are concered.
Its 60 feet for 12-16 year olds. 45 feet for 10-12 yr olds.
"She was able to get the water out of the engine and start her up."
Well, she's has a chance then. I read up on this boat and watertight or not it will eventually be breached.
The boat is most likely incapacitated otherwise a rescue wouldn't be necessary. My guess is the mast is broken from rolling. The hull may well be damaged. It will only withstand so many rolls before coming apart.
This is a race against time. I don't know what the weather report is for her area but it will determine whether she lives or dies.
I hope this one lasts. :-)
I think I recently read about that employing that CHDK for a do-it-yourself book scanner.
It was all about the "record" of being the youngest and nothing else.......
Hopefully all will turn out well. If not then her parents can take solace in the fact that their daughter "lived her life to the fullest"....yea, the mere two or three years in which a child starts becoming aware of their life........and if she is dead, here's another thought: she never got to experience the joy of her high school graduation or a prom.
If this young girl has died, and I hope to God she hasn't, the blame rests entirely on her self absorbed parents whose only thought was to put their 16 year old daughter in the history books.
Living with the fact that they were responsible for her death is not enough, they should be prosecuted for stupidity if nothing else........
There is nothing wrong with being adventurous but when your adventure starts costing me money or a loved one then I have a problem.
Pirates like to hang out along shipping lanes, that are close to some land where they can hide and sell what they steal. Mauritius, that far South, ain't it. It's getting into Winter, there, with 30 foot seas.
Consider, that she was running downwind, had already been knocked down twice, (Sail touched the water), and still has 2700 nautical miles to Freemantle. The closest ship is a Croatian cargo, the Atlantik Frigo, and it's 500 miles west, headed for Singapore.
http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/ is a really interesting site.
What parents in their right mind would let their daughter do something like this? If she wanted to do it when she was eighteen, thats a different story but she is still a minor. People have lost their mind today.
What do people think was going to happen?
“I was on the MIDWAY (remember that old girl?)”
My dad did 2 tours in Vietnam on the Midway. Said the same thing— tossed like a cork.
Do you know this family? Because you post as if you have insider information about them.
Better to live as a vegetable and be safe. Or at least think you are."
"And we wonder why so many of our children are infantalized? The answer is people like you."
Odd response considering you were the one recommending the sheltered life.
The ability to recognize sarcasm if a function of IQ, so we know where that leaves you.
Yep. Funny how those on here who are usually complaining about the money government spends for stupid things won’t have a problem with this because they support a 16 year old being adventurous.
Advice: Never work contract jobs to support your family. I was gone too much.
Specious, and hardly comparable.
“Died at 16 pursuing her dream” I hope that gives her parents solace, it wouldn’t me.
I hope she’s well, and I think her parents are in-freakin-sane for letting her do this.
But I wouldn’t prosecute them for it as some suggest. Their child, their lookout, their decision, their conscience.
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