I have been following Abby Sunderland's blog for the last few months, she is 16 and is sailing solo around the world... she is currently in the middle of the Indian Ocean and her boat has been lost, she set off her emergency beacons this morning and a rescue boat is trying to find her.
Pray for her!
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A 16-year-old California girl who was feared lost at sea while sailing solo around the world has been found alive and well, adrift in the southern Indian Ocean with rescue boats headed toward her, officials said.
ReplyDeleteAfter a tense 20 hours of silence, a Qantas Airbus A330 search plane made contact with Abby Sunderland late Thursday in the south Indian Ocean where her boat was knocked down repeatedly by huge waves and she lost satellite phone contact.
Qantas Airline spokesman Tom Woodward said the teenager was spotted half way between Australia and Africa and the plane crew spoke with her by radio.
"Abby's in an OK condition; the yacht's damaged but its seaworthy," Woodward told The Associated Press. "She's aware that there are other boats on the way to her location."
Sunderland told searchers she was doing fine with a space heater and at least two weeks worth of food, family spokesman William Bennett said.
Support team member Jeff Casher said the boat had gotten knocked on its side several times and the mast had broken.
The French regional administration on the island of Reunion also confirmed contact, which occurred Friday in that region of the Indian Ocean, and said it had sent three boats in her direction, the first expected to reach her on Saturday.
The communication with Sunderland was the first since satellite phone communications were lost and her emergency beacons began signaling early Thursday.
She had made several broken calls to her family in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and reported her yacht was being tossed by 30-foot (9-meter) waves.
The 11 observers aboard the plane, which left the western Australian city of Perth early Friday, spoke with her by close-range VHF marine radio, western Australia state police spokesman Senior Sgt. Graham Clifford said, adding that the crew couldn't drop her anything.
Story Continues →
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...on-st-maarten/