Parents of teen sailor face sea of criticism

As a 16-year-old girl sat adrift and alone in the frigid southern Indian Ocean, her ship's mast dashed along with her around-the-world sailing effort, many people were asking “what were her parents thinking?”

Abby Sunderland's ship was rolling in 20- to 30-foot waves as she waited to be rescued by a boat that was expected to arrive early Saturday morning Pacific time.

She set off a distress signal Thursday after rough seas disabled her ship and her satellite phone reception. There were 20 hours of tense silence before a search plane launched from Australia's west coast made brief radio contact with Sunderland and found her alive and well.

Wild Eyes 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.

More here.

Photo above shows Abby leaving Marina del Ray for her nonstop round-the-world trip aboard her sailboat Wild Eyes.



The photos below show Abby’s parents Marianne and Laurence Sunderland on the left and Abby sailing Wild Eyes on the right.