Young sailor Abby Sunderland has been reported lost at sea while on her voyage around the world. While navigating through the Indian Ocean, strong winds and high seas forced her to activate her beacons and she has been out of communication since 6 a.m. on June 10. Rescuers are currently searching between Africa and Australia to find her. One of the beacons is supposed to only activate when a life jacket or life raft is in use.
Abby’s father, Laurence, said he didn’t know if his daughter was in a life raft or aboard the boat, or whether the boat was upside down. They had been in communication when suddenly everything stopped.
“Everything seemed to be under control but then our call dropped and a hour later the coast guard called.”
During her last communications she reported that there were 25-30 foot waves and a strong wind of 35 knots and that she activated her beacons because winds and waves were causing her sail to hit the water. At that point she was in the Indian Ocean near the island of Reunion, near Madagascar and 400 miles away from the nearest ship.
She set sail out of Marina del Rey, CA on Jan. 23 but was forced to abandon her quest for the record in April when she ran into troubles and had to stop for repairs. She wanted to at least complete the journey she set out on and so she continued on. She kept a video diary and blog of her journey and the last few entries talk of high seas and rough winds.
The Sunderlands are asking people to pray for their daughter, a high school junior from Thousand Oaks, CA. Visit AbbySunderland.com for more up to date information.
Within the past year a few teenagers have made the solo journey, each breaking the previous record. The most recent completed voyage was Australian Jessica Watson but the World Speed Sailing Record Council had previously discontinued it’s Youngest category so the actual record holder is 18-year-old Australian Jesse Martin.
Update: Abby has been found alive and help is on the way.
