Abby Sunderland leaves for her world record attempting journey at the Del Rey Yacht Club in Marina del Rey, California. Searchers flying over the Indian Ocean made contact early this morning with the teenage American girl who was feared lost at sea attempting a solo sail around the world in a 40-foot boat.
AP
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Abby Sunderland, miraculously, was alive and well.
They spotted the 16-year-old’s boat in an upright position in a remote and treacherous section of the ocean off Madagascar and spoke to her by radio.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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The intrepid young sailor told them she was inside her disabled boat and doing fine, with a space heater and enough food to last her at least two weeks.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Family spokesman William Bennett, speaking outside the family’s Thousand Oaks, Cal., home, said the mast had broken off her sailboat, the “Wild Eyes.”
“The plane arrived on the scene moments ago,” her joyful parents wrote on their blog just after 2:30 a.m. New York time.
“Wild Eyes is upright, but her rigging is down. The weather conditions are abating.
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The Airbus 330, carrying an experienced team of spotters, had flown from Perth, Australia, to spot where the intrepid young adventurer had last been heard from.
The drama that captivated the world began when Abby set off two emergency rescue beacons east of Madagascar at around 10 a.m., sparking a massive air-and-sea rescue effort.
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Abby Sunderland sits ontop of food stuffs stacked in her front yard in this photograph taken shortly before she began her around the world sailing attempt.
ZUMApress.com
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Abby Sunderland on her sailboat in Marina Del Rey, California.
Rescuers tracked the beacons, one of which was attached to Abby’s survival suit, which is water-tight and provides flotation.
Another was on her lifeboat.
EPA
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Abby’s brother, Zac Sunderland, told KNX radio in Los Angeles earlier in the day that his sister was probably “banged up” by the rough seas but added, “The boat is most likely not completely submerged because there’s another alarm that sends off a signal if it goes 15 feet underwater,”
Happily, he was right.
EPA
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“Wild Eyes” is upright, but her rigging is down. Image posted on Abby’s blog by the rescue team.
