Abby Sunderland's EPRIB's have set off meaning she needs recue in the middle of the Indian Ocean

[denbot]

Source: Grind TV .com

A rescue effort has been launched in hope of finding Abby Sunderland, 16, who set off her emergency beacon locating devices from the southern Indian Ocean early this morning.

Sunderland, who had been attempting to sail around the world alone, endured multiple knockdowns in 60-knot winds yesterday (Thursday local time) before conditions briefly abated.

However, her parents lost satellite phone contact early this morning and an hour later were notified by the Coast Guard at French-controlled Reunion Islands that both of Sunderland's EPIRB satellite devices had been activated.

Read more: http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/17943/emergency+rescue+effort+is+launched+for+teen+sailor+abby+sunderland/

---

I have contacts in the Marina Del Rey's sailing community. I don't know the Sunderland's but the Father is well know to most of my Sailing buddies. Vibes for her and her family.

[cbayer]

1. I am so sorry to hear this and thank you for bringing it here.

My thoughts are with her and her family. They are really good people.

:hi:

[mikelgb]

2. hope they find her safe

[MineralMan]

3. I hope they locate her soon.

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Here's more information....

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

[edbermac]

5. Read about EPIRBs in the book The Perfect Storm

If I recall they're armed to emit a distress signal when a boat sinks and they're in contact with the water.
Or the crew could manually set off the distress signal and hang on to it in order to be located.

This doesn't look good.

[FightingIrish]

6. I have been following her voyage since she left Marina del Rey.

She's doing what most people can only dream of doing. Tracking her progress and reading her blog has been a way of living her adventure vicariously. She's overcome some real challenges on this journey. Let's pray for her safety. Her last reported position was in a very remote part of he Indian Ocean. The nearest island, 500 miles to the south, doesn't even appear to have an airfield. The weather in that area looks pretty bad.

[Bonhomme Richard]

7. Wishing her the best. n/t

[Arctic Dave]

8. 50-60 foot waves. That is insane.

It is even hard to describe the size of these things when your in seas this large.

[Brother Buzz]

20. Size of the waves matters less than the period, or how close the waves are together

If the period is short, you do a lot of crashing down the face, and that is dangerous, but it they are far apart, you can actually sail down the face, and that can be dangerous. The big danger in both situations is the self steering systems can't respond fast enough and you must remain, vigilant, at the helm. Exhaustion sets in and mistakes are made; broaching and pitch poling are the deal makers that break things.

I've been in 40-50 foot waves and found it exhilarating, but I was sailing double-handed and had regular relief. I also found it humbling and amazing to look up through the face of a wave to see dolphin swimming under the surface.

[FightingIrish]

9. The tracking feature on her web site seems to have been taken down.

Her last blog entry ended with this:

"The wind is beginning to pick up. It is back up to 20 knots and I am expecting that by midnight tonight I could have 35-50 knots with gusts to 60 so I am off to sleep before it really picks up."

http://soloround.blogspot.com/

Her last reported position: 41°13'50.13"S 71°22'33.07"E

[bongbong]

10. These are the times that test sailors

I hope she is OK. The EPIRB turning on is, basically, a signal that she is in bad trouble. Her boat sank or was knocked down. I can only hope she made it into her liferaft, but that is not very easy in the big seas she was facing.

The most likely thing that happened is that her boat turned beam ends to the swell or pitchpoled. In the first case, the probability of getting to the raft is about 25%. In the second case, close to zero.

:cry:

[Ian David]

11. This is sad. I thought we'd learned our lesson after Jessica Dubroff

Jessica Dubroff
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

Jessica Whitney Dubroff (May 5, 1988 – April 11, 1996) was a 7-year-old pilot trainee who was attempting to become the youngest person to fly an airplane across the United States when, 24 hours into her attempt, her general aviation aircraft crashed after takeoff from Cheyenne Regional Airport in Cheyenne, Wyoming.<1>

More:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Dubroff

I hope Ms. Sunderland will be alright.

[BrightKnight]

42. I doubt that her age had anything to do with it.

In any case there is a huge difference between a 7 year old pilot and an experienced sailor pushing 17. A number of teenage sailors have done what she was trying to do.

[Ian David]

50. Good point. n/t

[The Backlash Cometh]

12. Emergency rescue effort is launched for teen sailor Abby Sunderland

Source: The GrindTV Blog

A rescue effort has been launched in hope of finding Abby Sunderland, 16, who set off her emergency beacon locating devices from the southern Indian Ocean early this morning.

Sunderland, who had been attempting to sail around the world alone, endured multiple knockdowns in 60-knot winds Thursday before conditions briefly abated.

However, her parents lost satellite phone contact early this morning and an hour later were notified by the Australian Coast Guard that both of Sunderland's EPIRB satellite devices had been activated.

One is apparently is attached to a survival suit or a life raft and meant to be used when a person is in the water or aboard a life raft.

Read more: http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/17943/emergency+rescue+effort+is+launched+for+teen+sailor+abby+sunderland/

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. Mods, this is a duplicate.

It's already on Greatest Page.

[FLPanhandle]

14. There was no excuse for letting a 16 year old do that.

Her parents should be arrested for child endangerment. 16 is not even considered old enough to consent to sex, how can a 16 year old be considered old enough to do this?

I sail and plan on retiring onto a sailboat. What she was trying to do is incredibly difficult for even an adult.

[pnwmom]

27. I couldn't agree more. The Guinness Book of World Records should stop recording

records of minors doing dangerous things.

[cbayer]

28. Not the time for this, IMO. Her parents are wonderful and she was extraordinarily

well prepared for this. You would have to know her to understand that.

[wordpix]

34. Sorry, but she's 16. Nuff said

[VermeerLives]

35. Yes

I'm so glad to see support for this girl, who was no amateur. So many people are criticizing her and her parents. My first thought when I heard this story was that this is a young girl with big dreams. She and her family are very experienced sailors. She knew what she was doing.

It's hard for people to understand why a 16-year-old would be allowed to venture out like this, but on the other hand maybe we have low expectations for teenagers. 70 or so years ago, you were either a child or an adult; there was no such thing as a "teenager." George Washington was the chief surveyor of Culpepper County, VA, at 16 years of age. At 14, Clara Barton showed so much skill in nursing that the doctor turned over care of her ill brother to her. And then there was the 12-year-old boy who was put in charge of a ship. His name was David G. Farragut. Farragut entered the United States Navy as a midshipman in 1810. At 12 years old -- yes, 12 years old -- while serving in the War of 1812 (!) he received his first command, a captured British whaling ship. When the British captain came up on deck and demanded to stay, 12-year-old Farragut took his gun and told him to get back down below or he would shoot him on the spot. Later Farragut became Admiral of the US Navy. Five US Navy destroyers have been named USS Farragut. There's a metro stop here in D.C. named after him, and many more monuments in his honor.

I hope this young lady is found alive. If not, at least she died pursuing her very big dream. I wonder how many parents are encouraging their children to pursue such big dreams and "do hard things"?

[cbayer]

40. Nicely said

:toast: to Abby

[Codeine]

33. I sincerely doubt there is anything this young woman

did differently than any experienced sailor would have done. She's grown up in this sort of environment.

I would also note that for almost the entirety of human history - and even now in much of the world - a 16-year-old is an adult.

Please do not infantilize this brave woman.

[happygoluckytoyou]

15. Brave young lady.... idiot parents.... pray for her safe return

[Xithras]

16. ABC says that the immersion beacon has NOT gone off.

They have lost contact with the boat, and the two beacons that have been activated are models that must be activated manually. The boat is equipped with a third beacon that automatically activates if it's immersed in water (boat rolls or sinks), and that beacon has NOT been activated.

There's still a very good chance that she's OK and on the boat, but her voyage is probably over at this point. Her blog has been suggesting recently that her boat hasn't held up well to the constant pounding of the high seas, so my guess is that she's suffered some kind of serious failure with the boat itself.

[hayu_lol]

17. Good thoughts for the family and for Abby...

her two delays opened her up to some pretty violent southern storm periods. Haven't been following her trip since she had to pull into Capetown.

As long as these challenges remain, people will dream of and finally end up doing them. I highly respect them for following their dreams--whether they win or lose isn't important--at least they tried.

Abby is no quitter.

[Aslanspal]

18. I think she is with the boat , but boat is damaged

I hope those storms that knocked her ship down have abated but logic says she was able to manually activate the beacons which means she had time, how much time?? Now the immersion beacon has not gone off. So hopefully her boat is up but cannot sail because mast is broken or something other.

Hoping for the best

[FightingIrish]

19. I'm hoping that too.

This was the first time she got knocked over. A few days ago her boat heeled over in high winds while sailing on autopilot and took on some water. That messed up her diesel heater and some electronics. The boat is self righting but the EPIRBS may be the only electronics she has left. Jessica Watson got knocked over several times in her recently completed circumnavigation.

The nearest land from her last reported position is the Kerguelen Islands, ranked fifth among the most remote places on the earth.

[FightingIrish]

21. Her family just updated her blog. It sounds encouraging.

http://soloround.blogspot.com/

[aquart]

22. So how many people get to risk their lives for this entitled teen's ego trip?

[Dreamer Tatum]

24. One too few if you're still here. nt

[pnwmom]

26. "Entitled teen's ego trip"? I think the problem

was with the parents, who encouraged both their children to try to set these records. First their son and now their daughter.

A 16 year old does not have a fully developed brain but her parents should have.

[aquart]

36. Oh, I am happy to blame the parents.

But the child they raised felt entitled to the world's attention. Felt confident that, should anything go wrong, money and time and people would be spent in pursuit of her special self. Which is exactly what is happening.

Some parents actually set an example of doing right for right's sake with no accolades or rewards. Those are the children we can't afford to lose.

[cbayer]

29. Have you met her? Do you know anything about her personally or about her family?

Entitled teen's ego trip is about the least apt language anyone that knows Abby would say about this.

[BrightKnight]

43. I cary a beacon and I don't have an ego trip! - n/t

[NYC Liberal]

44. Stay in your house, lock the doors and don't take any risks.

:sarcasm:

[denbot]

48. Regardless of who or what you think of Abby.

Fellow mariners will go to the aid of anyone in trouble at sea. From a swamped "bum-boat", to a multi-million dollar yacht, aid will be rendered if possible.

[chrisa]

23. I hope she's alright.

The two dangers are of course, the weather, as well as interception by pirates.

I'll be watching this story. :(

[KamaAina]

31. Pirates?

This is hundreds if not thousands of miles from any major shipping lane, which is where you'd find pirates.

[Baclava]

25. Doesn't sound good....the sea is unforgiving

2027hrs GMT - Statement from Abby Sunderland's parents Laurence and Marianne Sunderland:

"We spoke with Abby early this morning and learned that she had had a very rough day with winds up to 60 knots and seas 20-25 feet. She had been knocked down several times but was handling things well. We initially thought that the signal was sent automatically from her water-activated EPIRB and that it had been activated during one of her knockdowns. As we pulled the paperwork from her EPIRB registration, we learned that the signal had come from her manually activated EPIRB.

We were referred to Australian Search & Rescue and while we were on the phone with them another signal came in from her handheld PLB (Personal Locator Beacon). Her water-activated EPIRB has not been activated so we are hopeful that the boat is still upright.

We are working closely with American, French and Australian Search & Rescue authorities to coordinate several ships in the area to divert to her location. There are several ships in her area, the earliest possible contact is 40 hours.

Abby has all of the equipment on board to survive a crisis situation like this. She has a dry suit, survival suit, life raft, and ditch bag with emergency supplies. If she can keep warm and hang on, help will be there as soon as possible. Wild Eyes is designed for travel in the Southern Ocean and is equipped with 5 air-tight bulkheads to keep her buoyant in the event of major hull damage. It is built to Category 0 standards and is designed to self-right in the event of capsize."

http://yachtpals.com/boating/news

[alp227]

30. Sad sad sad.

I don't wanna hear about her body being found underwater! :cry:

[RamboLiberal]

32. Boats won't reach Abby Sunderland for almost two days, but brother is optimistic

Two boats are headed toward Abby Sunderland's vessel but won't be there for another 40 to 48 hours, said her brother Zac Sunderland, speaking briefly to reporters from the doorway of the family's Thousand Oaks house. At first light, the Australian Coast Guard also intends to fly over the area, he said.

Zac Sunderland said his sister had three emergency beacons. Two are on the boat and one is on her life vest. Two of the beacons have been manually set off.

The third is a deep-water automatic beacon that is triggered by salt water and goes off when the boat has reached a depth of about 15 feet. That beacon has not gone off. The boat is built with water-tight compartments and his sister could be huddled safely in one of those, even if the vessel has capsized, Zac Sunderland said.

The family was huddled inside the house in a room equipped with a navigation station and computers. His parents were on the phone with the Coast Guard. Zac Sunderland was making calls to Mauritius, an island off the coast of Africa, to start an emergency rescue effort from there. Zac Sunderland said he has a personal relationship with people there because he stopped there during his solo sail around the world when he was 17.

Two ships are about 400 miles – and two days – away from her location.

A voluntary international merchant ship rescue network, known as AMVER, is expected to join the search effort, Thorsson said

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/06/abby-sunderland-rescue.html

A QANTAS plane will join in the search today for a 16-year-old girl, attempting to sail around the world solo, whose emergency beacons began signalling in the southern Indian Ocean

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/teen-solo-sailor-feared-lost/story-e6frf7jx-1225878270127
Hope she is okay.

[LisaL]

37. I am not at all surprised at the idea that the 16 year old alone in the boat

in the middle of the ocean might not end very well. Not at all.

[Baclava]

38. there was a bit a of a race going on, you see

Jessica vs. Abby

The battle for the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world

[cbayer]

39. Great pix! Jessica had already won this competition, if indeed there was one.

Jessica completed last month. Abby had to pull into Cape Town a few weeks ago for repairs, so the race was most definitely off.

Abby decided to continue despite having no record to set. The only goals left were her personal ones.

:toast: to Abby.

[JI7]

41. i think they do it more for personal goal and love of it than just setting some record

if it was just setting some record there are many other things.

but this is something you have to love. and i think they do.

i hope Abby is ok

[Baclava]

45. Teen sailor Abby Sunderland found alive

found her!

THOUSAND OAKS, CALIF. —
A family spokesman says searchers have contacted a 16-year-old Southern California girl who was feared lost at sea and she is alive and well.

William Bennett with "Team Abby" said Thursday that searchers aboard an Airbus A330 spotted her boat in an upright position and made contact with her via radio. Bennett said Sunderland said she was doing fine and had plenty of food.

He says a fishing vessel is en route to pick her up.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-mew-abby-sunderland-20100611,0,1016455.story

[denbot]

46. Good news.

She was de-masted and that's the end of her adventure.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

47. WOW!!! HAPPY NEWS!!!

Thanks!

:)

[Matilda]

49. Latests update from ABC (Australia)

A spokesman for Qantas says an Airbus aircraft has found the teenage sailor in an area about 2,000 nautical miles off the West Australian coast.

Abby's father, Laurence Sunderland, has told ABC Local 702 Sydney the search and rescue vessel has made contact with the 16-year-old.

"They've verified she's not injured. The boat is not upside down," Mr Sunderland said.

"They made contact with her by VHF radio from the aeroplane down to her.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/11/2925046.htm


Local yachties say her mistake was in leaving too late – it's mid-winter here, and the seas are heavy. Also, her boat is apparently too light for this kind of weather.

[HooptieWagon]

51. Several thoughts here.

I don't know either girl (Abby or Jessica), and can't be a judge of their maturity or sailing skill. However, I am an experienced sailor, and attempting such a feat (sailing around the world non-stop) requires a high degree of skill to do safely... skills that take thousands of miles of sailing and many years to acquire. Most adult sailors don't have those skills, and I doubt that a teenager (of either sex) can acquire them in a short time.

That said, Jessica's advisors have appeared to have put much more thought and preparation into her voyage. The boat selected was a proven, solid, and safe workhorse that was easily handled by a solo sailor. The time of year selected meant the southern ocean was sailed in the summer months. There wasn't an over-reliance on electrical gadgetry (electronics and saltwater are a troublesome mix)... Jessica's self-steering was a tried and proven, easily repaired, mechanical unit.

Abby's trip has appeared from the start to be a rush job. Jessica's departure forced the Sunderland's to move up the timetable (in order to beat the "record"), and rush to acquire and prepare Abby's boat. Also, the boat they purchased, while much faster than Jessica's, was also a much more difficult and demanding boat to sail for any sailor. There was little time to practice in the boat (and those "practices" appeared to be more like photo-ops). As a consequence, Abby's voyage was plagued by equipment problems (mostly with her electrical system and electrically-powered auto-pilots) and slow progress from the beginning, which also forced her into a stormy winter passage in the southern hemisphere - not a good decision by ANY skipper in ANY boat.

I assume there was pressure to continue the voyage (despite the problems) from the commercial sponsors (much like National Geographic did with Robin Lee Graham back in the 60s)... even if Abby was 100% capable of handling the boat at her age, was she also capable of judging the risks and making a decision to continue without outside pressure? Did her parents? Questions that will probably be debated for some time. I am glad that the records people have now eliminated the "youngest" categories - I don't think that was a healthy path to take.