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Lost Boat Reappears After Eight Years – Where Was It?

Lost Boat Reappears After Eight Years – Where Was It? July 31, 2020Leave a comment

There have been less than 200 people that had circumnavigated the globe, and unfortunately, a lot more lives have been lost while pursuing this goal. When Abby Sunderland decided to break the record in 2010, she had no idea disaster would strike. For years, her family had tried to recover the lost boat, but it was all in vain. However, its story was just beginning!

A Love for the Sea

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

Laurence Sunderland grew up in England on the southern coast and his parents’ love of seafaring was passed down to his eight children. With all the family living by the sea, he and his wife Marianne would take long journeys on their 51-foot boat. That’s how it all started…

Taking the Crown

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The Sunderlands toured through the Channel Islands, Baja California and then in 2009, their son Zac, who was 17 years old, became the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe. Little did she know that her wish to take the crown would have a disastrous outcome!

Breaking the Record

YouTube/TedxConejo

Abby knew that spending almost her entire life on the boat would help her become the youngest person to sail around the world at 16 years old. Their father actually tried to convince them not to go on that adventure, he explained in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. He took them sailing in rough waters and that fact encouraged them even more…

Incredible Strength

YouTube / ABC News

One day, Laurence took Abby out on the sea and they found themselves in the middle of the storm. Although they had been through a 20-hour day of handling the ship, Abby kept them afloat. However, nothing could prepare her for the biggest journey of her life.

Breaking the Guinness World Record

YouTube / ABC News

Abby convinced her father that she was ready to break the Guinness World Record. They took a trip to Rhode Island to buy a boat. She decided to get a 40-foot sloop made from fiber glass and Kevlar, called Wild Eyes. Recently, she won an open ocean race, and this boat was a great choice. All they had to do was to test it…

Across the Ocean

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

To test Wild Eyes, Abby went with her father and her brother Zac into the Atlantic and headed to Southern California. This way, she would learn all about the boat and how to handle it. But as they were all returning back home, while the Sunderlands were excited about her trip, there were some people that didn’t want her to go on this journey.

Some Said The Sunderlands Were Irresponsible Parents

NASA

Since Abby was only 16 years old, many people believed that the Sunderlands were irresponsible for letting their kid go on such crazy journey. Her decision of breaking the record earned the family a huge media attention, and one of the voices that were against Abby’s journey was of the first American woman that sailed around the world!

Karen Thorndike

NASA

At 63 years old, Karen Thorndike had achieved her goal after she sailed around the world. Her journey began in 1998 and the long journey had suffered through bad weather and equipment failure. Looking back at the hardships she encountered, she said a sixteen-year-old wouldn’t be able to handle that much exhaustion and fatigue.

Trying to Break the Record

U.S. Coast Guard

Every year, people try to break world records, and this is why the Guinness committee had to come up with special rules, such as the route and direction of travel, as well as the total distance. Abby’s route was going to begin in Marina del Rey, then she had to sail to Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and back to Marina del Rey. She had to complete the journey in ten legs, alone and without assistance. Soon, her journey would begin…

A Very Long Journey Awaits

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

Abby left Marina Del Rey harbor on January 23, 2010. In six months, she had to complete the journey across the globe. After a few days of smooth sailing, Abby faced problems with the fueling systems, and her boat couldn’t get enough power. This meant she had to stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. However, that meant she had to make up for the lost time, so she set out to sea once again.

New Issues Arise

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

After she left Mexico, Abby was going to break one record. She became the youngest person in the world to round Cape Horn. Abby was lucky to get good weather when passing by the “Roaring Forties,” an area known for intense currents and winds. However, she’d soon get into trouble…

Heavy Rainstorms Put a Stop to Her Journey

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

Three months later, Abby’s Wild Eyes boat had some serious issues due to the many rainstorms she had been through. Some of the systems failed, and her autopilots were also in need of maintenance. Her engine nearly failed as she pulled into Cape Town, South Africa. In two weeks, Abby’s boat was ready to sail once again after her family flew there to see her and help with repairs. But then disaster stroke!

Stormy Sea Ahead

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

Abby was now heading towards the Indian Ocean and soon enough, she came across so many storms that she had to try and keep her boat afloat 24 hours a day! She had no time to repair her boat because storms kept rolling through. At one point, her autopilots started failing and Abby had to stay awake and navigate the boat all on her own. Then, she decided to drop the sail, but it was snagged on the top line.

Climbing the Mast

YouTube/TedxConejo

Abby climbed the mast in the middle of the stormy night, as waves crashed into her boat. It was a suicidal task, but she knew she had to do it. She called her family before that to listen to their voices, probably for the last time…

A Little Good Luck

Facebook / Coast Guard Compass

After sixteen hours of hard storm and rain, the weather seemed to get better. But as Abby thought she was going to have a few minutes of break, a rogue wave hit her boat from one side and that’s when everything went black!

Abby Was Lost at Sea

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

Immediately, all headlines around the worlds said Abby was lost at sea and everyone feared the worst. Thankfully, one June 12, 2010, a search plane from Australia found Wild Eyes. The boat was missing a hatch and its sail and mast were already sunken. There was no sign of Abby…

They Found Abby

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

Abby was helplessly drifting off the coast of Australia, at 4,700 miles away from the shore. La Réunion, a French fishing vessel found Abby and took her on board. They had no idea whether her health had been marked by this long and rough journey.

Rescue Was on Its Way

Instagram / WildEyes16

Abby had been in the sea for a night and half a day. Aside from physical and emotional exhaustion from all the months on the sea, and nearly drowning, she was healthy. But this was not the end of her story!

The Old Debate…

YouTube / 9News

Once again, the media sparked the debate about her parents letting her start the journey at that age, accompanied with critics that said the boat Abby chose was wrong, and so was the location and the time of year. But Abby went through more than emotional turmoil…

An Expensive Adventure

YouTube/TedxConejo

Abby’s journey didn’t just have a physical and emotional impact on her. Her equipment cost her a thousands of dollars and the rescue effort cost $300,000. The lost boat was also left to sink in the bottom of the ocean since it wasn’t a threat to other ships.

They Couldn’t Pay the Bills

Pexels

The money for the rescue mission came from crowd-source funds, but the Sunderlands still had to pay a lot of bills. Even more, rescuing Abby risked the crew members’ lifes of La Réunion. Her ship was helplessly lost, until 2019!

Wild Eyes Resurfaces

Facebook / SA Police

It was New Year’s Eve in 2019 when tourists discovered a shipwreck just off the coast of Kangaroo Island, in southwest Australia. Covered in barnacles, Wild Eyes showed up after nearly nine years of floating on the sea!

A Trip Down Memory Lane

YouTube/CNN

As soon as Abby heard the news, she said her heart skipped a beat as she recalled that hourney. With both good and bad memories, she and her father admitted they would have loved to see the boat once again.

Saying Goodbye

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

However, the Sunderlands announced they wouldn’t get Wild Eyes and refurbish. Did the news about the boat make Abby think about trying again? The media was interested in her answer…

Speaking About Her Adventures

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Abby’s adventure was known all over the world. Students in Southern California even had homework assignments with her story! Abby even spoke in TEDx conferences and co-wrote , Unsinkable: A Young Woman’s Courageous Battle on the High Sea.

A Documentary Film

Facebook / SA Police

The young adventurer even has her own documentary film and for a very grief moment, the Sunderland family almost had their own reality TV show. Abby’s adventure is now embedded in history for a lot of reasons.

Taking Risks

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

What made Abby’s story so viral around the world was that she took a huge risk when she embarked on that challenging journey. What is Abby doing now?

No More Adventures

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

Abby’s thirst for adventures on the sea has been quenched in the last nine years. She is now married with a former Navy sailor and they had expecting their fourth child when Wild Eyes resurfaced in Australia!

A Second Chance

Blogspot / Abby Sunderland

After being rescued, Abby said she wanted a second chance to break the record. However, she hadn’t tried it to date. Nonetheless, she still has an unbreakable record.

The Youngest Sailor

NASA

Abby is still the youngest sailor in the world that has made it round Cape Horn unassisted. Her story inspires everyone around the world.