Round-the-world teen sailor feared lost at sea

[Amazon 7]

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37618875/ns/sports-other_sports/

Rescuers searched Thursday for a 16-year-old Southern California girl who was attempting a solo sail around the world.

Family spokesman Christian Pinkston said the search began for Abby Sunderland somewhere between Africa and Australia. He says emergency beacons activated overnight and there has been a loss of communication.

She was feared in trouble in the southern Indian Ocean.

[davjohns 1]

Damn.

I know it just wouldnt be right to kill all the stupid people that we meet..

But do you think it would be appropriate to just remove all of the warning labels and let nature take its course.

[quade 3]

This is the flip side of the kid that climbed Everest a few weeks ago. I said it then and I'll say it again; records for "youngest person to do so-and-so" are stupid.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[NickDG 23]

She's in the middle of nowhere too. About 2000 NM from Perth in Southern Ocean. I've been following her on another forum and what they know so far is two of her three EPIRBs were activated (those are emergency locater beacons similar to the ELTs you might be more familiar with on aircraft.)

One EPIRB that activated was her personal one, the other a hand held. The third one is connected to the boat and needs to be submerged to activate. and so far it hasn't so there is some hope the boat is still afloat. A aircraft has been charted from Quantis and will do a fly over at first light, which actually should be anytime about now.

The WX and sea state in her area is not good.

I'll not comment on how I feel about these types of endeavors involving young children and just hope to hell they find her safe.

The nearest ships (two of them) are 40 and 48 hours away from her position.

NickD

[guppie01 0]

Been reading and watching the updates on this closely. Australian Coast Guard is going to try a fly over at day break... Praying that they sight her / boat.

Hang on Abby!

g

"Let's do something romantic this Saturday... how bout we bust out the restraints?"
Raddest Ho this side of Jersey #1 - MISS YOU
OMG, is she okay?

[Shotgun 1]

Quote

This is the flip side of the kid that climbed Everest a few weeks ago. I said it then and I'll say it again; records for "youngest person to do so-and-so" are stupid.

I think this is why the World Speed Sailing Record Council won't officially recognize records for anyone under 18. They don't want to encourage kids to attempt dangerous records.

Anyhow, I hope she will be found safe.

[theonlyski 3]

Hopefully some nice seamen find their way to her and get her safe.

"I may be a dirty pirate hooker...but I'm not about to go stand on the corner." iluvtofly
DPH -7, TDS 578, Muff 5153, SCR 14890
I'm an asshole, and I approve this message

[turtlespeed 212]

So who is the first to say - I told you so?

This sucks!

But what did they think would happen?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[johnmatrix 21]

In Australia when Jessica Watson went there was much debate about it, with the expectation that something like this would happen.
When she got back a couple of weeks ago there was a mass media orgy involving the fucking prime minister and all manner of stupidity celebrating 'brave Jessica's return.

At least if this unfortunate girl never makes it back the world will never again be subjected to weeks upon weeks of PR-driven media overkill when they finally ban this inane foolery.

All we can hope for now is that they don't send Tony Bullimore out to get her....

[mnealtx 0]

While young, it's not like the only experience she had was sailing around a local lake. From what I've been reading online, she was well-prepared for the journey (at least, as well-prepared as anyone that hasn't made the voyage can be).

Hopefully this is a case of damage to the boat and not an overboard situation.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[kallend 1,647]

Quote

This is the flip side of the kid that climbed Everest a few weeks ago. I said it then and I'll say it again; records for "youngest person to do so-and-so" are stupid.

Remember [url "http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/e/a/1996/04/12/EDITORIAL15677.dtl"]Jessica Dubross.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[murrays 0]

She is about as far from land and help as you can be on this planet, in the South Ocean with raging winds and towering seas. Trying to find her in those conditions will be very difficult. We can only hope for the best.

Several of the Vendee Globe sailors have survived similar situations in past years. The rescue of Raphael Dinelli by Pete Goss being the most fantastic. Dinelli clung to his upturned boat for two days in a wild storm until Goss managed to reach him and bring him aboard his boat.

I hope that she can hang on until help can reach her. It has been done before.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[NickDG 23]

Here's the latest: I didn't figure the time right in my first post so the Qantas jet (an A330) has just taken off and will be over her position in 4 to 5 hours.

Her two EPIRB signals are showing a 1 knot drift. If her boat was upright (in the current WX conditions) she'd be going faster. If she was in her inflatable lifeboat she'd be going faster. If she was in the water (she has a full on survival suit) she'd be going faster. The thinking is she has lost the keel and the boat is laying on it's side with its mast and sails in the water. Or she's completely inverted. It's the only thing that accounts for the one knot speed.

The crews in the A330 are going to have a tough time spotting her, as visibility (looking downward) would be inadequate and they will have to stand off to really see anything. But there is also a low solid cloud deck in the area. The do have marine VHF radio aboard so they may be able to make contact with her.

The nearest ship is now reported to be a French fishing vessel which is steaming towards her position. But it is 30 hours away. If she's laying on her side, or inverted, in the current winds and sea state it will be absolute hell on earth inside that boat for the next 30 hours. And over the roar of the conditions there's a good chance she'd never even hear the aircraft fly over.

Whoever thought tackling the Roaring 40s in June was a good idea is out of their minds. One saving grace is she's on a good boat, an Open 40. It's got plenty of flotation built in and it would seriously have to almost disintegrate before it would sink.

But its cold too. If the boat's not upright it's going to be watering, and even in a survival suit hypothermia is really a matter of time not temperature.

If I figured it right we should hear something from the aircraft tonight about midnight pacific time . . .

NickD

[murrays 0]

Thanks for that Nick. The last known position really puts things into perspective. I hope she's hanging in there but she has a long wait ahead of her.

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[johnmatrix 21]

Update - not found yet, Qantas plane still on its way. Comments in story not encouraging.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/11/2924732.htm?section=justin

[JohnMitchell 14]

Interesting comments about her choice of boat.

I've got my fingers crossed for her. I wouldn't want to live in a world without adventure, without a chance to test our limits and to tread where others fear to go. But life comes with risks. I hope for the best for her.

[rhys 0]

Quote

This is the flip side of the kid that climbed Everest a few weeks ago. I said it then and I'll say it again; records for "youngest person to do so-and-so" are stupid.

Is climbing everest stupid?

Going into space?

Jessica Watson just pulled it off, and grown adults have been lost at sea too.

Half empty attitudes never accomplish much.

Not taking a stab at you, but plenty of people told Jessica she couldn't do it, but she did.

Plenty of people told my wife she couldn't do tandems, but she did, and did better than many.

I sure hope this young sailor is OK but if not that is no reason to say it is a stupid thing to do. shit happens!

Why jump out of a plane? Is that stupid?

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[NickDG 23]

In this case that argument doesn't work. You're in Nzed so you know it's winter in the southern hemisphere. Hell, not even the U.S. Navy sends capital ships into those waters this time of year. And sure, you jump, you like the adventure, but when the wind is blowing like stink you're on the ground drinking Black Mac like everyone else . . .

NickD

[rhys 0]

Jessica Watson just pulled into Sydney harbour a few weeks ago after circumnavigating the globe solo, she is 16 years old!

I was jumping in Wollongong on that day and the seas were very rough indeed, I would have thought Cape Horn would have the roughest waters?

If you plan on sailing around the world you would have to plan for the worst case scenario.

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix

[murrays 0]

The South Ocean ... The winds blow over thousands of miles with no obstructions, the waves build to enormous heights.

From the Amazon write-up of Godforsaken Sea...

From Amazon.com
The Southern Ocean is the sailor's Everest. These are unquestionably the most dangerous waters in the world: hurricane infested, frigid, wholly unpredictable, and so remote, according to Derek Lundy, that "only a few astronauts have ever been further from land than a person on a vessel in that position." Encircling Antarctica, this fearsome body of water has terrorized sailors and wrecked the ablest of ships throughout maritime history. Imagine, then, a round-the-world, single-handed sailing race of the most extreme kind--no stopping, no assistance--requiring each lone sailor to spend half the total race distance (roughly 13,000 miles) fighting this nightmarish, merciless sea.
The race is the Vendee Globe, and The Godforsaken Sea is the story of the 1996-1997 competition. Fourteen men and two women began the race in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. Six officially finished; three were wrecked and rescued; one sailor performed emergency surgery on himself mid-race; one perished. This is high adventure of the most gripping, perilous sort, demanding a tightly controlled, suspenseful narrative: "Visualize a never-ending series of five- or six-story buildings, with sloping sides of various angles ... moving towards [the sailors] at forty miles an hour. Some of the time, the top one or two stories will collapse on top of them." But Lundy delivers more, weaving a superior fabric of psychology and physics, action and reflection. Even the utter novice will emerge understanding the architecture of racing vessels, the evolution of storms, the physical and psychological courage required to survive five-and-a half months battling the ocean alone.

Sailing aficionados may already believe that the Vendee Globe is the pinnacle of extreme sports. With Lundy's help, armchair adventurers can dig in and hang on for the ride. --Svenja Soldovieri

From Publishers Weekly
On November 3, 1996, the 16 solo sailboat racers of the third Vende Globe contest left the little French port of Les Sables dOlonne for a four-month round trip whose most trying feature would be a circumnavigation of Antarctica. Lundy, an experienced amateur sailor, followed the race on its Web site, on which the race organizers provided regular updates and on which some of the sailors posted bulletins. From the beginning, its obvious that the competitors are a bit more committed than your average weekend sailor. They hire sleep specialists to determine their personal best-sleep periods so theyll know when to put their boats on automatic pilot for a quick catnap. One sailor, Pete Goss, took a scalpel to his inflamed elbow, following a doctors faxed instructions while his boat heeled and all his instruments slid off their tray (so now Im frothing at the mouth, and it was quite funny, really). As Lundy describes these sailors encounters with the raging southern ocean and waves like a never-ending series of five- or six-story buildings... moving towards [the boat] at about forty miles an hour, readers will get caught up in the race and in the fates of the 16 racers. Despite all the excitement, the book has a buffered feel. Quite simply, Lundy wasnt there. Its a measure of his skill, then, that he manages to make the action as palpable as he does, lacing his report of the race with a little maritime history, ocean science and allusions to the likes of Conrad and Joyce. This literate adventure book was a bestseller in Canada. $50,000 ad/promo; BOMC selection; author tour.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Product Description

--
Murray

"No tyranny is so irksome as petty tyranny: the officious demands of policemen, government clerks, and electromechanical gadgets." - Edward Abbey

[LongWayToFall 0]

GOOD NEWS! She is fine.


We have just heard from the Australian Search and Rescue. The plane arrived on the scene moments ago. Wild Eyes is upright but her rigging is down. The weather conditions are abating. Radio communication was made and Abby reports that she is fine!

We don't know much else right now. The French fishing vessel that was diverted to her location will be there in a little over 24 hours. Where they will take her or how long it will take we don't know.

More updates as news comes in.

Updates from her blog here:

http://soloround.blogspot.com/

[Amazon 7]

Quote

GOOD NEWS! She is fine.


We have just heard from the Australian Search and Rescue. The plane arrived on the scene moments ago. Wild Eyes is upright but her rigging is down. The weather conditions are abating. Radio communication was made and Abby reports that she is fine!

We don't know much else right now. The French fishing vessel that was diverted to her location will be there in a little over 24 hours. Where they will take her or how long it will take we don't know.

More updates as news comes in.

Updates from her blog here:

http://soloround.blogspot.com/

What a huge relief.....
I grew up in a sailing family with a long tradition of going to sea in small boats. Most of the time the sea is very cathartic to me and I can dump all of my troubles into that seemingly endless ocean. There really is no equal to setting your sails and running before the wind for days on end thru tranquil deep blue seas with the sun shining bright. Some of my most memorable experiences have come at sea with whales pacing and watching me or dolphins cruising along side the hull in endless play or small blue phosphorescent fish swimming along the decks that are awash just inches away from me outside the cockpit coaming. On a moonless night with a phosphorescent trail extending behind the boat glowing with the life of the sea you truly feel you are alive and part of life...............BUT in a short time that can change. In just a few minutes tranquility can morph into some of the scariest.
I can’t really think of any situation where I have been as terrified for as long a period of time KNOWING that the very next moment could be my last on Earth. When that moment goes on and on for several days you reach a point where all you can do is just collapse in exhaustion from the overload of adrenaline and stress. All I could do is go on and fight for my life because for me giving up was not an option.
Being in a small boat in a very LARGE ocean in the midst of a storm a thousand miles from any land with little to no possibility of help is not something very many people are really prepared for. Being knocked down over and over and over day and far worse, at night when you cannot see what is coming to get you from out of the dark....a dark that has no equal on earth with the greatest monsters of all welling up to 50 ft or more and seeking to swallow you and your little boat ............................still gives me the shivers 27 years later.

I hope she fulfills her dreams and I hope her experience and emergency equipment and training come thru for her…. “The winds and the tides always favor the ablest mariner."

[377 21]

Quote

This is the flip side of the kid that climbed Everest a few weeks ago. I said it then and I'll say it again; records for "youngest person to do so-and-so" are stupid.

What Quade said. Remember that little girl who died flying cross country with her instructor observing. They were under time pressure, got into really bad WX and crashed.

Kids cant fly planes or sail transoceanic boats without adult money. Thee are always adults funding and pushing these record attempts.

Let kids just be kids rather than mini adults. If they cant pay for it with their allowance, they probably shouldn't be doing it.

Really glad Abby is safe.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[piisfish 135]

Quote

GOOD NEWS! She is fine.

very good news. We will have a couple of drinks for her tomorrow during the THE BOL D'OR which is the biggest inner-water regatta.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM

[piisfish 135]

Quote

. The French fishing vessel that was diverted to her location will be there in a little over 24 hours.

and then the real trouble will begin

Glad she is safe.

scissors beat paper, paper beat rock, rock beat wingsuit - KarlM