Teen Sailor Abby Sunderland Is On Rescue Boat For Long Voyage Home
Posted on Jun 12, 2010 @ 10:13AM - 14 comments
The aptly named French fishing vessel Ile de la Reunion has plucked Abby Sunderland from her damaged sailboat in the Indian Ocean, RadarOnline.com has learned.
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"We had a great answer to our prayers today," Abby's dad Laurence Sunderland told reporters outside his home Saturday, a day after she was spotted by a search plane.
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Abby, 16, was attempting an around-the-world solo voyage when 25 ft. waves knocked her 40-ft. sailboat out of commission. "One long wave and one short mast," was the way Abby explained what happened on her blog.
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She'll be calling the French ship her home for the next week. That's how long it will take them to make land. They're headed to an island called Reunion -- it's a French possession -- off the African coast.
Missing Teen Sailor Abby Sunderland "OK" After Rescue
Posted on Jun 11, 2010 @ 04:13AM - 7 comments
Abby Sunderland, the Thousand Oaks, California, teenager attempting to become the youngest person to sail around the world solo, was located late Thursday. There was a fear she was missing at sea since she sent of a distress signal earlier in the day.
EXCLUSIVE: Family Of Missing Teen Sailor "Quite A Bit Distressed"
"She was fine," Abby's mother MaryAnne Sunderland told CNN. "She is running her heater and keeping warm" and "seems to be in good spirits."
EXCLUSIVE: Family Of Missing Teen Sailor "Quite A Bit Distressed"
Posted on Jun 10, 2010 @ 03:30PM - 37 comments
Abby Sunderland, the 16-year-old trying to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world, is feared missing at sea near the Antarctic.
Abby was last heard from just before 6am PDT.
Her father Laurence Sunderland told RadarOnline.com he was “doing well,” despite the ordeal.
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The family spokesperson, Pastor Joe Schimmel of the Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California, told RadarOnline.com that a search and rescue team would be looking for Abby starting at dawn her time, which is 10pm PTD.
“The family is quite a bit distressed,” Schimmel said.
“There has not been a word from Abby... the family is trying to establish communication with their daughter.”
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Abby set off her person distress signal, which Pastor Schimmel said was a good sign.
“It means that she was able to try and help herself,” he said.
French and Australian authorities are going to spearhead the search and rescue effort, according to Schimmel.
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Abby set sail Jan. 23 from Marina del Rey, California. She is approximately 500 miles north of the Antarctic Islands on her bid to become the youngest to circumnavigate the globe in a sailboat, solo.
The family is praying for her safety and is asking others to join them in prayer for their daughter, said Pastor Schimmel.
