Abby's Blog

Congrats to Laura Dekker!

2012-01-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

Laura Dekker on board her boat 'Guppy'

Laura Dekker finished her solo-circumnavigation today in St Martin Island in the Carribean.

Congratualtions Laura!!

Keep Sailing!

Abby

Wild Eyes: The Abby Sunderland Story on DVD

Film Festivals

2011-09-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

It's been a long weekend and unfortunately school doesn't take into consideration my busy life so I'm just now getting around to writing about it. It's been quite exciting really and overall I can say it has been a very good past few days. I think I'm beginning to realize its not just the ocean that has you learning new things everyday. Life seems to be throwing out a lot of unexpected stuff lately.Friday night my dad, Bill and I were at the Silent River Film Festival award ceremony. Wild Eyes was nominated for Best Documentary. My dad won for Best New Director and I got the Silent River Film Festival Achievement award. After that we hopped into Bill's plane and flew up to Big Bear Lake for the Big Bear International FIlm Festival.

Mom, Dad and I at the Silent River Film Festival

Photo courtesy Bill Bennett, ASC

We had a little cabin up there for the whole family and it really was great to get away with everyone for a bit. I think we all needed a break from the craziness of home, and what better a place than quiet, laid back Big Bear.

Riding a wild bear with my brother Toby

Photo courtesy Bill Bennett, ASC

The film festival there was great. It was the first time the second part of Zac's documentary has been screened and it went very well. (For those of you that have already ordered part two of Intrepid, have hope, it's coming soon!! And it is awesome!)

Zac, Jordan Romero and I were part of the Young Adventurers Side Bar at the festival. After our doc's were shown, Zac, Jordan and I were up for questioning. It was good to see Jordan again. You may remember that Jordan is the youngest person to climb Mount Everest. He has actually climbed 6 of the 7 highest peaks in the world. He is hoping to conquer number 7, Mt. Vinson in Antarctica, this winter. Check out his web site and follow his adventures at www.jordanromero.com.

Jordan Romero, me and Zac

Photo courtesy Bill Bennett, ASC

I swear Jordan has grown a foot since the last time we saw him last summer. Later on in the afternoon came the awards. Jordan, Zac, Me, and a few other guys were presenting them and it all was just a lot of fun. We were taking our turns presenting awards and I thought we were finished and was heading out of the room when all of a sudden someone said "Wait Abby you're back up!" So out I was on stage with an award and a microphone in my hand... probably should have been paying closer attention to what they were dong on stage! Lucky for me the guy left his notes on the stand!! So it turned out that Wild Eyes won the Peoples' Choice for Best Documentary!

Life really seemed to be falling back into an actually normal normal. I mean not just my kinda normal, but a typical 17 year olds' normal. Everything that happened on my circumnavigation attempt is so long ago now that I barely even think about it anymore. I'm just a 17 year old girl, going to college, hanging out with friends, doing everything that I should be.

I was sitting out in the lobby and watching as everyone came out of the theater. It seemed like everyone was teary eyed; old guys, young guys, grandmas and moms. Then a little old lady came up to me crying. She hugged me and said that her husband froze to death a year ago. She said that that was her rouge wave and went on to say how my story had inspired her and that she knew that she could make it through this.

At that point I think my eyes started to water a bit, and it takes a lot for that to happen. To me, my story might seem like old news, but to some people it's a story of hope, and courage, and to see how many people were moved by it made me do a double take on me and my normal life. Maybe it shouldn't be normal, because if my story was able to encourage that sweet little old lady then I want to make sure everyone that needs to hear it does.

And as if just to confirm that, back at school on Monday, just sitting outside waiting for my class I ran into a guy waiting for his ride. A perfectly normal guy, you never would have guessed he was a basketball player with 50 scholarships who recently dislocated his shoulder, losing all of them, and moving out here just four weeks ago because of his dad's work.

So that's life; rough times come, rough times go. As long as I'm around I'm going to do my best to give people hope that things will get better because, you know, they always do even if they have to get a little worse first.

Now, back to the math homework!

Abby

Recent Travels

2011-09-12T16:14:00.000-07:00

Things have been going well over here with the book and documentary. Wild Eyes, The Abby Sunderland Story (the name of my doc) has been accepted into a few different film festivals and was nominated as best documentary in the Silent River Film Festival. We'll find out if it won anything next week. You can watch the trailer for my doc and buy a copy at my web site at www.abbysunderland.com.

We'll also be out in Big Bear at the Big Bear Film Festival this coming weekend. I'm really looking forward to that one because they have a whole side bar of young adventurers, including my brother Zac Sunderland, Jordan Romero and me. Jordan is the guy that climbed Mount Everest when he was 13 and of course my brother sailed around the world the year before me.

You might remember awhile ago Zac, Jordan, Joseph Machado, and I all got together in Big Bear and hung out for the day. It will be good to see them all again. So, if you're out around Big Bear this weekend, stop by and you can see all of our docs, meet some awesome people and have a fun time hanging out in the beautiful mountains there. The Young Adventurers Sidebar Showcase is on Sunday.

Go to http://www.bigbearlakefilmfestival.com/page.php?13 for more info.

My dad, Kalpna, me and mom at the Silent River Film Fest

Photo courtesy of Bill Bennett, ASC

Me, Jordan Romero, Zac and Joey Machado - Big Bear 2010

Tonight I am speaking at the Pacific Singlehanded Sailing Association in Marina del Rey. It should be a great time taliking to sailors and ones that know a lot about what my trip was about.

Next weekend I will be at the Norwalk Boat Show in Norwalk, Connecticut on Saturday and Sunday. Then it is back to California and back to school. Life has been busy but I am loving it!

Abby

Off to School!

2011-08-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

It has been quite awhile since my last blog. Quite a lot has happened since then. I've been back to the East Coast to talk at summer camps, been to boat shows, done more speaking, kept up my flying, sailing, and trying to keep finding exciting things to do.

The east coast was great. I headed over there knowing I would be speaking, speaking to kids, but that was about it. When I showed up there and walked into my first room of kids, it was pretty small, and the kids were pretty young, probably around 5 or 6 up to 10. Now, my talking had improved a lot by then, in fact I was getting pretty good at it, but I guess its somewhat like the ocean, right when you think you've got it figured out, you get thrown into a whole new game, and you realize just how far you still have to go.

Now, if you want to perfect your public speaking skills, just try holding the attention of a room full of chatting squirming 5 year olds for more then 5 minutes! My week there went well, with the help of some awesome guys from the Coast Guard who were traveling around with me to help out. We managed to do a pretty good job entertaining just about every school and camp we went to.

Just the day after i got back I was off to speak at the Ventura City Council meeting. Having just gotten off a speaking trip where I had to explain everything, wave my arms around and ask loads of questions to keep the kids listening, I caught myself a few times explaining things like the equator, doldrums, what is an albatross, and other such things! All in all, overlooking a few of my kiddy explanations, it was one heck of a 15 minute speech, even if i do say so myself :)

So, my next big adventure is starting tomorrow, college. Pretty scary thought, huh? Kinda sad, it feels a little like all of a sudden the next four years or so of my life are planned out, and it's all college. There's not much one can do to get around that. I'm hoping there will be room for some adventures and I suppose I'll have the summers to go off and find new dreams to follow and shake up the world a bit.

For those of you following Laura Dekker, it looks like she's dong great! Congrats to her for making it through the Torres Strait in northern Australia!! Laura, keep up the great work, you're doing amazing, and making me insanely jealous with all those pictures of where you've been! Couldn't help smiling at her excitement at making it through the Torres Strait. It reminded me of the feeling of just accomplished something huge to you, crossing another ocean, rounding Cape Horn, that feeling of being on top of the world, like nothing can stop you. They're the best times, the times you live for. :)

Well, I hope you're all doing well. I'll be back again soon, if i survive my first day back at school that is...

Abby

One Year Ago Today...

2011-06-13T14:33:00.000-07:00

A year ago today I was standing on the bridge of the french fishing ship Ile de la Reunion staring out into the pitch black night, mind spinning out of control. Everything that had happened...I just couldn't believe it. I wasn't sure where the ship was taking me, but at the time it was the least of my worries.

Earlier in the day I had sent a blog home to my mom to post. It started off with a bad attempt at humor, saying "its been a crazy few days out here, the long and the short of it is, one long wave and one short, meaning a two inch stub of a mast." It wasn't funny, but at the time my choices were pretty limited, cry, or cry, or make a lame joke and pretend its funny. I went with the third option.

On board the ship of scruffy fishermen, I was left to myself mostly. Several of them spoke pretty good English, but I didn't want to talk. My mind was drifting through all the memories of my trip, my team, my boat, my family... standing there in the dark for hours, thinking back to the terror of tying myself onto a broken stanchion with my saw in hand and working on sawing away my mast hoping I didn't fall off the pitching deck.

Thinking about being below deck, I remember all the water inside, it was a wreck. My head was throbbing, a constant reminder of the night Wild Eyes rolled. I couldn't close my eyes at night because everytime I did it took me right back there and all I could feel was myself falling up the side of my boat. All I could see was black, and all I could hear was silence...

When I had been on Wild Eyes, I worked hard to control my thoughts, never let them go too far, but now I didn't care. Zoning out as I stared into the dark, my mind was so far from where I was. I think I was worrying about what the fishermen on board were thinking as they probably weren't quite sure what I was doing just standing and staring. It wasn't just the bad things I kept going back to, in fact, it was almost more so the great times. All those amazing days racing along surfing down giant swells making record speeds. Sitting on deck with Charlie my stuffed pelican, watching the sun set, icy wind hitting you in the face, feet and hands numb from the cold, but an amazing sight that I got to see almost every night.

The worst thing to think about was all those great times, they were all gone now and my trip was over, no more sunsets on Wild Eyes, no more surfing, no more world adventures. It was hard. But then again, just a day before I had sat wondering if I would be rescued... I didn't think I would be. I had come so close to death more than once during my trip.

The fact that I was rescued from the middle of nowhere... it was crazy really. Just last week, I learned about a friend of mine that I met in Rhode Island when we bought Wild Eyes. He left on a solo sail, got into a storm along the way, and no one has heard from him since... ocean sailing is a dangerous thing, but so is life. With all the prayer and expert SAR crews, I have been given something that not everyone gets, a second chance.

I could have easily died out there, just like so many others have, but I didn't. In one of the most remote places on earth I was rescued. Something through all of this that I learned, is that we all get hit by our own rogue waves in life. It's what we do with them that matters. You can take something that looks like a disaster and turn it into something great.

You may support me, you may not, but as long as I live, I know I am going to take every opportunity that comes my way, chase every dream, and do all that I can to help others follow their dreams.

Abby

Book Signing Today in Westlake Village California

2011-05-21T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to make sure you all knew that I will be signing my new book Unsinkable today Saturday May 21st at 2:00pm at the Barnes and Noble in Westlake Village, California.

The address is:

160 South Westlake Boulevard

Thousand Oaks, CA 91362

I hope to see you there!

Abby

Speaking and Book Signings

2011-05-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Book Signing at Barnes & Noble in Annapolis

Hey Guys,
I'm over in Annapolis, talking at schools and doinga few book signings. My life has been busy as usual. I'm kinda feeling like I did after being out at sea for a few weeks when all of asudden you realize that there is a new sort of "normal" to life.

Flying around, speaking at schools, signing books, it all used to feel a little odd, but now it's just part of life. And as crazy as it's been, I'm having fun, lots of fun. I mean why not? Well, other then that I'm still terrified of public speaking and sometimes I just wish I could be out in the middle of the ocean alone again... But for the most part I'm just glad to see how well everyone has been responding to my talks.

We got into Philadelphia Sunday night about 12:00am, but of course, being me, I ended up staying up till 4:30 finishing up notes and slides for my presentations the next day. I'm not sure there was much point in actually going to sleep as I woke up just half an hour later at 5... but at least I had everything ready to go.

I spoke at three middle schools today, 6th-8th grade. Then did a book signing at Barnes and Noble. The kids were adorable, super excited about everything, and had tons of great questions afterwards. Kinda funny thing, a lot of the things that these young 12 and 13 year olds were asking were much better questions then I've gotten from big time reporters. What's that show called? Are You Smarter Than a Fith Grader? Well, I had to have a bit of a chuckle to myself thinking about that. All in all it was a great day and I'm looking forward to tomorrow!

I'll be speaking at two high schools and then having another book signing at Borders in Waldorf, Maryland tonight at 7:00pm.

Talk to you all again soon!
Abby

Home at Last!

2011-04-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

My new friend. Photo courtesy Bill Bennett ASC

I am finally home from the crazy week of media last week.It feels like I've been gone for more like month than just a week, we covered sooo much in such a short period of time! But it's not over yet! Back home, yes, but also just as busy as before.

Both my little kitties are sitting in my lap all cuddled up and dozing off,

cutest little things ever, and seeing as there is no way I could get up right

now without waking them up, I've got a bit of time to write another blog.

Forgot where I left off in the last blog, but ill just start back with leaving New York.

I've got a bit of ground to cover in this blog here. After four days of whirlwind

media and little sleep, we were all looking forward to having one relatively

uneventful day. We packed our bags and headed over to the ABC Studio,

where we spent three hours doing 17 radio interviews! Pretty impressive, aye?

It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be, although by the last few I was having

trouble keeping track of what I had said in each interview and half way

through telling a story I would start to wonder if I had already talked

about it or if that was one of the other interviews...

Well, we got through all that and headed back to the hotel to get our bags and

head over to the airport. We flew out of NYC in a little puddle jumper plane, with a very talkative bunch of people on board, but managed to doze off for a bit. Woke up with a bit of a sore neck, but Virginia was gorgeous! It was warm and sunny out and we got picked up and driven over to a hotel right by the 700 Club.

Virginia Beach is probably one of the nicest places I have ever seen. Anyways, we spent the day swimming in the indoor pool and wandering around, then slept all night long. Next day we went over to the 700 Club studio. It was incredibly nice, much bigger than I had expected it to be. Everything there went well, and then we

were off to the airport again. We said good bye to Jason from Thomas Nelson there and headed to our separate flights.

We had such a great time working with Jason for the few days we were together.

It's a little weird to think that until I write another book, we'll probably not see him again.

After about an hour or two flight into Phoenix, I said good bye to Lisa Gizara. Lisa was heading home to LAX and I was going on to Houston. Lisa was great to travel with, looking forward to the next trip I get to go on with her!

On the plane heading to Houston, I shut my eyes for a second, and next thing I knew we were landing! Gotta love when flights go like that. Got to the hotel there in the marina pretty late, wandered around looking at the boats for a bit, then headed back to get some sleep. Next morning I headed over to the South West International Boat Show tomeet the people from Texas Coast Yachts who had sponsored me to come out there.

It was a lot of fun, met some great people, and got to see a little bit of Texas.

After about four hours of signing books and meeting people, I was off to the airport again. On to the Stricly Sail Pacific Boat Show in Oakland, California.

Hanging out with my brother Zac! Photo courtesy Bill Bennett ASC.

That was a lot of fun, I was a little dazed from meeting so many people by the end, but it was great to see my brother and a bunch of the guys from my team who had come up to check out some of the gear.

Jeff and his wife Gail are working on getting their boat ready to sail around the world again, so they were up there walking all around and even came to see me speak which was great! I had forgotten that I was going to be speaking there until the night before, so kinda ended up just winging it, but it went better then I thought it would! In fact, it went really well! Funny thing, I do better the less I prepare for these talks, and I even have more fun giving them if I prepare less!

Well, we decided it would be too late to fly home that night, since we were going to fly home in my friend's little plane. So we spent another night there and headed back home the next morning. It was a good flight home, though a bit of a blur. We landed in Burbank and headed off to meet up with my parents and friend who was visiting from Cape Town, South Africa.

From there I was finally headed home. It was a long but fun week. Good times and memories aren't so much created by what you do or where you go, but who you do it with. I'm lucky to have some of the best people ever around me, both helping and watching out for me.

Well, gotta run, going to my prom tonight! Bit of a shocking toss back into life as a teenage girl... but I suppose this is just one of those things that you have to do as a senior in high school.

Talk to you all soon!
Abby

Good Bye New York

2011-04-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hey Guys!
Well, we survived New York! The TodayShow, Fox & Friends, CNN, The View, InsideEdition, and three hours straight of radio; 17 interviews in just three hours! I may besuffering a bit of trauma from that, but afterarriving in Virginia Beach this afternoonand spending a few amazing hours wandering around here, I'm glad to say I'm back happy and normal and not feeling like a robot so much any more.

Meeting all the girls from The View was

great. Back stage after I got off, I got to chat a bit with them all and while of course they didn't all agree with me and my trip, sevral did say that after having me on the show and talking to me they had changed their minds. I had never watched the view before, but it was a really fun show. New York was tons of fun. It was probably my best trip there so far and I definitely want to go back again sometime.

I've got the 700 Club tomorrow morning, and so I should probably get going. Dont want to be up too late again. I'll let you all know how things go tomorrow!
Abby

New York - Day 2

2011-04-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!One show down, five (or so) more to go! This Morning went really well.Of course it was pretty short, only about five minutes long but they did a really good job with the story. I think we're all happy with how things went. Just had breakfast and we're back in our hotel now. We're staying on the 46th floor. You know how you jump up when you're in an elevator sometimes? Well when you do that in these elevators,you've gotta be careful your head doesn'thit the roof!

Okay, not really, but almost. It moves pretty fast, and you have to yawn to unplug your ears at least once on the way up to the top. We have a pretty awesome view and are right next to Times Square. So far we have been having a pretty fun time, we have the rest of the day to mess around, so thinking of going to see a Broadway show.

Well, I'll write again soon, and try and get the link to this mornings show up soon!

Tomorrow morning, I will be on two shows, Fox and Friends and CNN American Morning.

Abby

New York

2011-04-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,
So I'm over in New York right now.I was up at three this morning to get to the airport and fly over with good friend and photographer, Lisa Gizara. We had a good flight and a nice evening here with Lisa and Jason, the publicist for Thomas Nelson who is here to get me around town to my different interviews. We went and got dinner and talked over everything that's happening this week.

Jason keeps insisting that I "don't need to worry, its only going to be 20 million or so people watching you over the next few days." Not sure why, but somehow that wasn't the biggest help. Guess it's a good thing I'm not as scared of cameras as I used to be any more!!

The next four days are packed with interviews and shows, but there is an afternoon or two that we'll get to run around and have some fun here. Well, I'll be up around 5 tomorrow and on the today show sometime between 7-8 (local time in New York) so that should be fun, hopefully it all goes well.

Talk to you all again soon!
Abby

Lots of News!

2011-04-07T11:15:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone!

Lots has happened recently, and it seems like I haven't had a down moment in awhile now. Well, I have some good news, actually, there is quite a bit of good news, so I'll try and organize it in order of importance. Number one on the list - kittens!

Any of you that followed my trip from the start probably remember that I was contemplating picking up a kitten in Cape Town, South Africa, but in the end decided it would be best for the cat, and myself, if I just waited till I got home. Well, I got home, and still no kitten.... till about two weeks ago. Now this is where the flame thrower fights come in and the story starts to get interesting, no kidding, there was really a flame throwing fight involved in the discovery of the kittens, but maybe I should start from the beginning and try to make it a little more clear.

I actually spent the morning in jail because I was asked to speak to the workers at Lompoc Federal Prison. That went relatively well. I went from the prison on to a film set where I was working as the still photographer. It was amazing! It was one of the first somewhat big sets that I have worked on and it was so much fun! The short story they were filming was for Dolby, for the convention in Las Vegas. The story involved lots of fire, and some pretty crazy stunts, such as the girl dancing with her legs on fire, breathing fire, a fire heart, and yes the very second to last shot, but quite likely the most awesome, was the flame thrower fight.

Now in case your mind is starting to wonder, let me just reassure you that despite the talk floating around the room about if we could find a way to work the little kitties into the story, or set them on fire, they were not set on fire, they were in fact, found at the other end of the large wherehouse that we were shooting, in the corner in the bathroom. Of course, everyone was falling over the kittens the minute they were found. I got lucky and ended up getting to bring them both home. They are really the most adorable little kitties ever, two little girls, both black with white paws and blue eyes. We named them Dolly and Bebe, kinda like Dolby :)

Okay on to number two. Well, this actually kinda clumps a lot of stuff together, books and documentaries, Tennessee and tornadoes. The book is done!! You can buy it on Amazon now, but it will officially be out on April 12th along with the documentary. There has been a lot of hard work put in by so many people, its gonna be great to have it all completely finished.

My websites been updated with more info on both the book and the doc with links to buy both of them. Check that out if you want: www.abbysunderland.com.

Another exciting thing, I got to go to Nashville, Tennessee. Just got back last night. That's where Thomas Nelson, my publisher is, and it was great to finally meet everyone behind getting the book published. So much hard work was put into it by so many people there, it was great to be able to talk to them in person finally! I flew intoNashville Sunday, spent the night in a hotel, then started up with media training the next morning. After six hours of that we headed over to Thomas Nelson. Inside, all the lights were off and everyone was on the way to the basement. Okay, so the weather wasn't the best during my little visit, but I can now say I've been into the basement along with everyone else at Thomas Nelson Not sure that's anything to brag about, but I can also say that I know for a fact that tornadoes do exist.

After signing a hundred or so books I headed back to the airport. Waiting at the gate with the lights flickering on and off while watching as the flight departure time was pushed back further and further was slightly disconcerting. Needless to say, the flight was not canceled nor was it hit by a tornado and I am safely back in California where all we have to watch out for is earthquakes.

Now onto planes! I have decided to learn to fly. I had originally not been all that excited about the idea. I prefer being on a slow boat where when everything starts falling apart you get a good few minutes to try and sort things out, rather than in a plane where you're going 100kts or so, you wouldn't really have much of a chance at sorting anything out. I have to say I am having more and more fun with it. It will never by quite as amazing as sailing, but it does come scarily close. I've only had about two or three lessons, but I have a secret little hope that I might be able to get my pilots license before my driving license - how awesome would that be!

Well, there is so much more I could write about right now, but I'm off to New York in a few days and have so much going on between now and when I leave that I really have to pack today so I'm ready. I'll be in New York Sunday and am going to be a on a bunch of shows, The Today Show, Fox and Friends, CNN America and The View. If you want to watch, my Facebook page will be updated with the time that I am going to be on. I'll try and get a blog up with the exact times for anyone who doesn't have Facebook.

I've gotta run, I'll try and get another blog up soon!

Abby

A Busy Week

2011-03-09T14:54:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Been a little while since my last blog but just wait till you hear about my week! I flew to Buffalo, New York on Wednesday, and drove from there to Kitchener in Toronto on Thursday to give a talk at the TEDxWaterloo conference there. The next morning I went into the Crossroads Studio in Burlington to do a few interviews, then drove back to Buffalo where I was staying with my mom's aunt and uncle.

I spent the next day with my cousin Heidi and her hyperactive lab puppy Sophia :) The next day I spent with my other cousin, Gretchen and drove back over to Canada to see Niagara Falls. Next day I hopped on a plane and headed back home, got in that night and the next day headed off to Santa Paula where I was working as the still photographer on a shoot for a Dolby commercial. I went to bed around 1:00am and was back up at 3:00am that morning to get over to the tiny Santa Paula Airport and get started. I was picked up before the end of that though because I had to go to school!

Yep, at the end of it all I still have to do my schoolwork. I'm back home now taking a break from studying for some pretty gnarly tests I've got next week so that I can write a blog :) So I really haven't forgotten about you all! Its taken quite a bit of caffeine to get through the past week, but it has all been really fun.

The TEDxWaterloo conference was pretty much amazing. I've done a few different conferences but this one really didn't sound like anything I had done before so I didn't know what to expect. There were about 900 people there, definitely the largest amount of people I have ever spoken in front of before. For the most part things went well, all the speakers were interesting, I met a lot of neat people and my talk went pretty well. I think my talk could have been better which is bugging me a bit... oh well, practice makes perfect, and I'm definitely getting some good practice in.

The two interviews I did went well. They won't be airing until April 18th though, and just in Canada. Seeing Niagara Falls was pretty cool. Of course it was pouring rain, there was quite a bit of snow around, and it was all of 20 degrees out... but still, it was amazing seeing that. I managed to forget my camera there though, so sorry bout the phone camera pictures.

The morning I left to fly home it started snowing! It snowed a few inches by the time I left for the airport, too bad there wasn't enough to build a snowman... Anyway, my flight ended up getting delayed for about an hour, and it was looking like I might not make it to my connecting flight in Detroit, but luckily they held the plane and so back to sunny, warm California (or so I thought). I got off the plane here and it was raining.

The day after I got home, Monday, I spent most of the day trying to finish up homework, but I started researching for a paper I was writing and it was so interesting I ended up working on that until I got picked up to go to the airport where the commercial was going to be filmed. In general, I dread flying, but I suppose thats because up to this point I've mainly flown in big planes where I'm forced to sit relatively still for the upside of 5 hours, not the most fun thing ever. But the son of the lady who's hanger was being used for the shoot offered to take me up in his little Piper Cub and that was seriously fun. I mean I didn't think there was anything that could ever come close to sailing, but that got scarily close.

We all got to bed pretty late, but call time the next morning was 3:00am so all had to be out there starting on setting things up. It was a fun day, there were a lot of neat people all working on it, and getting to photograph the whole thing was a lot of fun. I've always liked photography, and its pretty cool getting opportunities like this to really work on it.

Around 12:00 my mom came and picked me up, and I headed off to class... I had hoped that I would get to stay through the whole thing, but I guess graduating from high school is pretty important, as painful as it might be right now. I have standardized testing coming up next week, so that should be fun... (note sarcasm) but all in all it has been a very fun and eventful past week, and a half. Now its time to get back into the books.

Abby

Book Progress & Sailing!

2011-02-26T09:00:00.000-08:00

Hey Guys,

It's been a fun but busy few weeks here. I've so far survived two months with my permit (I thought that was pretty impressive). Driving isn't so bad anymore, but I still would rather be driving a boat.Remember when I told you about O Canada, the Open 60 inMarina del Rey? I got to go sailing on her twice :) The first day there wasn't a whole lot of wind, but the second day there was 15-20kts and that was fun! Of course these boats don't go well to weather so it was a bit painful on the tack out, but then we headed down wind, we were surfing along at 20kts in just 16kts of wind. Now that was fun! :D
It was great to meet all the crew and get to spend those two days with them. They're really great sailors, and it was neat to see how they worked together. Although, I think I'll stick to single-handing - not sure I could ever get used to sailing with a crew.

The Owner of O Canada produced a really awesome documentary about the 2008-2009 Vendee Globe. I've watched it more than once. I've never seen so much good footage of really any boat race. Its called Racing Around the World Alone. Their website is www.windathletes.ca and is definitely worth checking out, I loved it.
We've also just about finished with writing my book! In fact, its at the printer now which is really exciting. Its nice to finally bedone with all the editing. We were all getting a little tired of it but it will be great to finally get the whole story out there for everyone.

Abby

Driving at Last!

2011-02-04T16:23:00.000-08:00

Hey guys!
Sorry its been so long since I last wrote, it has been a crazy month. I got home a few days ago from the Educational Policy Conference in St Louis where I spoke twice: once to the adults and once to the kids. It was a fun though cold weekend. The conference there was pretty interesting and I got to meet a lot of great people. I also got to build a snowman while I was there :) just a small one, but still, being from California I was pretty excited with the snow. Luckily, we flew out just before a big storm hit. Had we been there another day we might have gotten stuck there! Snow is fun, but I do like living in sunny, warm Cali.

I have a few more speaking engagements coming up over the next few months. I really like public speaking, up until the point where I'm up on stage... then my mind kinda goes blank! I'm working hard on improving my public speaking skills, and the more and more I do it the easier it gets. Seems to be how most things are in life, something that terrifies you now might be no big deal a year or two down the line. I know that's happened to me so much over the past year.

I don't remember if I wrote about this yet, but its finally happened... I have my permit! Took long enough didn't it? I am not sure I like driving... its a bit frightening and I can't help wishing cars had tillers - it gets too confusing going back and forth between steering with a wheel and a tiller. But I have to say I have had more near death experiences in the past month of having my permit than I have had in my whole entire lifetime of sailing (granted my "life time" hasn't been all that long at this point).

Makes me laugh at the thought that 16 is too young to take on a big sailing trip but not too young to drive... I for one feel much safer on a boat!

Well, I have to run. I'll be back soon with some pictures of the conference!

Abby

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

2010-12-29T10:05:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Hope you all had a great Christmas! I had planned on writing a Christmas blog, but with my leaving Christmas shopping till the last minute, and also having to be working on the book right up until a few days before, I didn't get around to it. Seeing as I didn't get out a Christmas blog, I'm going to have to make this one extra good. :)

I was down in the marina the other day, don't worry, I wasn't looking for a boat, I'll make sure to let you know if that happens. But there does happen to be a shiny new red and white Open 60 sitting in the yard over in Marina del Rey and I have to say I'm a little (little is a bit of an understatement) jealous of the people who are going to be sailing her. The Open 60, O Canada, is a very different design from Wild Eyes, but none the less, I have to say that all open style boats are absolutely amazing!

O Canada just got off the ship last month and she's over here for the Transpac, of course that's not for a while so her crew won't be over here till February... maybe I could stow away on board before they leave! Well, it was quite exciting to see a boat like that in Marina del Rey. We don't often get to see boats like that around there. Alright, well enough about the boat now.

We all had a great Christmas over here. A bit smaller then previous Christmases, but a great day all the same. I'm sad to say I did not get a boat for Christmas, but there is always next year! I did, however, get a new water-proof camera, a little bit rinky dinky compared to my big 7D Cannon, but I cant wait to get it rigged up on the bow of the next boat I'm on, or get down to the beach with it.

So, now that the first manuscript is in to the publishers I have quite a bit of free time on my hands lately, a little too much in fact, enough to come up with the idea to get a bagpipe... Yep, I am proud owner of a "practice Chanter". Its what you learn to play before moving on to a real bagpipe. You may wonder how such an odd idea came about. Well, I was sitting in church one day thinking about something new I could do, something that would be fun and take up some of my free time, and the most off the wall, oddest thing I could possibly think up was learning to play the bagpipe, and so that is how it all began.

I also have some plans in the works for possibly getting into smaller boat sailing. At first I laughed at the very thought of me sailing a small boat, but as time went on the idea seemed more and more like something that could be a lot of fun. Of course, there is that ever-present problem of not having a boat, but a friend and I are working on that and are hoping to be able to get one by summer.

And so there you have the happenings of the past week of my life, definitely a bit more exciting than the week before this one! Well, hope you all have a great New Years! As Paul Wellstone said, "The future will not belong to those who sit on the sidelines. The future will not belong to the cynics. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."

A new year is coming and we're all going to make New Years resolutions, and I have to say, when I think of a New Years resolution, I think more of wishes, it seems that so many people want to do things but just don't get around to it (like me writing my blog). Lets do something different this year, don't be afraid to make some big goals, and to have big dreams, but lets be the people who believe in our dreams. The people who make their future their own.

Dreams are great, but they're no good unless you're going to fight to make them come true. Happy New Year to you all!!

Yours always,

<3>

A Normal Life

2010-12-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

Not a whole lot has happened around here lately. I'm working on school, and planning to take my driving permit test next week. Can you believe its taken this long for me to get around to going to get my permit!? I have to say that life at home isn't all that exciting. I miss sailing and wish that I still had a boat to get away every now and then.

I am working hard on my book right now. Its been a lot of fun having that to work on. Its going to be out in mid April and once the books out I'll probably be out doing a lot more public speaking and things like that which I'm really looking forward to. My first few speaking engagements were a little rough, which was to be expected as a slightly shy 16 year old just winging it. But I've done a bit of work and got a good collection of tips going from everyone around me so I'm really looking forward to getting back out and into public speaking a little more.

My baby brother, Paul-Louis (aka. Chuck, Charlie, Louie, or whatever else comes to mind, whether or not it can be related to his name at all) is five months old now. Its hard to imagine I have been home for that long, almost half a year! Watching Charlie grow up has been a good reminder of how long I have been home.

I keep thinking about what to do now. Of course I have planned on finishing high school before setting out on any new trips or adventures. But its been too long, and I've got that feeling you get as a sailor when you've been on land too long - life with all the easiness of being on land becomes uncomfortable and you feel almost trapped.

I know its not long before I'll have finished high school and I'll have found something new to stir up the lives of those around me.

Until then, I'd like to thank all you guys reading this for following my blog, and for continuing to support me. It means the world to know I've got you guys still faithfully following and supporting me!

Abby

NASA Visit

2010-11-09T07:46:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone,

Sorry I didn't finish up writing about my last trip sooner! Things have a been a little busy at home lately. We got out on the Chesapeake Saturday, the day after visiting NOAA, and we all had a lot of fun. There wasn't much wind, but it did pick on later on in the day. It was good to get out on the water, even if it was just in a Cal 22 for a few hours. We sailed around for four hours or so and then headed home.

Sailing on the Chesepeake

We didn't have anything planned for the next day, so we decided to go out to Patrick Henry College in Virginia and visit one of my friends that goes to school there. The campus there looked a bit like the University of Maryland, just way smaller. The college hasn't been

around all that long and it was neat to see how much its grown over the years and everything that the students there have done to help make it what it is today.

Patrick Henry College

Visiting friends at Patrick Henry College

It didn't take long to get a tour of the small campus, then we spent awhile just chatting with some of the students from there. We then headed off to get a late lunch and head back to the hotel. It was also my little brother, Toby's, birthday. So we went out to dinner later that night. They didn't have any birthday candles at the restaurant so Scott downloaded a candle app on his iPhone.

Toby's digital birthday candle

Next day was NASA. We spent the whole day there being shown all around.

I gave a short presentation to a room full of congressional staffers. The presentation

went well, even though at first the slides on the computer wouldn't work. It was a good day there, but rather then writing all about it, I'll post a bunch of pictures from that day.

Toby, the astronaut.

Search and Rescue Mission Team with David Affens, George Theodorakos and Dr. Chen

Tuesday was the day we were flying home, but we weren't flying home till later so we decided to head over to the Annapolis Yacht Club and look around down there. While we were over there we walked over to the the Naval Academy. That was a pretty cool to see. I wish we had had a little more time but it was getting late so we headed off to the airport. It had been a good, but long week and Toby and I were both looking forward to going home.

Abby

The NASA Visitor's Center

Day 2 in Washington DC

2010-10-30T11:50:00.000-07:00

We got up early and headed over to NOAA. Visiting NOAA was great. They showed us all the records of when I activated my Epirbs and showed how right after I set them off two satellites went over me, got my position and then remembered it and passed it down to the first earth receiving station that came in their range which was in Pakistan of all places.

They gave a talk on how the satellite system works. It was great to meet all the people that worked there and I was surprised to learn how often they had signals coming in. We got to walk all through the building, go up on the roof and see where they first get in the signals and everything.

Outside the NOAA Building

After we finished at NOAA, we headed over to the air and space museum where we spent a good part of the rest of the day. It was pretty cool place; one of the few places I hadn't been to already with all the times I've been back there recently!

Toby, me Apollo 11 and an X-15

So all in all it was a good, long day. On the ride home, Scott called around and found a place to go and rent little sailboats, so we had some fun plans for the next day. We went to sleep that night hoping the wind would pick up a little bit for our sail around the Chesapeake!

Abby

Amelia Earhart's Plane

A Week In Maryland

2010-10-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Its been a busy past week with me back on the east coast again. I was invited by the University of Maryland to speak at a symposium on satellite technology. There

were a handful of speakers talking about the significant things being done through satellite technology. I was there to talk a bit about my trip andhow the system worked for me, putting a bit of a personal touch on rescue technology.

U of Maryland Engineering Students

We spent the day walking around the campus there. It was so big! I've seen some big college campuses, but I think that was the biggest so far. I really liked it there and while we spent most of our time with the engineering students, I wish I had time to check out their psychology program, since that's what I would like to major in. The people there were all great and even though engineering isn't one of my strong interests, I had a great time meeting the friendly people there.

The first night that we flew in I had dinner with a bunch of young women engineering students at the University. The next day we spent touring as much of the campus as we could in the few hours we had, and then set up for the symposium that was going to be later that night. I was getting a little nervous as the room started to fill up. I only had to talk for

20 minutes and I had definitely spoken in front of more people before, but I guess stage fright isn't an easy thing to get over.

Anyway, after talking for a little bit it got easier and fun, as always, and the night went pretty well.

After everyone spoke we went and had dinner with a bunch of people from the school. It really turned out great! Thanks to everybody there for showing us around!

I traveled this time with Bill Bennett and Scott Lurie from my technical team and my brother Toby, who turned 13 while we were out there. We covered a lot in the week we were there, but that's it for now, gonna save the rest of the trip for my next few blogs! :)

Abby

Back on the Water

2010-10-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

I'm back out on the water! I’d tell you all about the wind direction and all of that, but seeing as I'm in a 97ft power boat, none of that matters much. We left from Newport yesterday afternoon, and are on our way up to Portland, Oregon. Its been a smooth trip so far, got a little choppy last night but everything has been going well. As nice as it is to be down in a warm boat where you never have to change sails, there is something somewhat enjoyable about the discomfort and rough parts of sailing. I am little sad to say that if things keep up this way, I won't have to pull on my foul weather gear or get soaked or even crawl into any small dark spaces to repair anything. I have spent a good amount of time on power boats, but not much since I've been back. I would have to say that I think I like them even a little less than before. For a whole day straight now we have been listening to the constant roaring of the engine and I think this is driving me a little more crazy than cold lonely nights on a little sail boat.

Needless to say, I'm missing Wild Eyes and endless days on the ocean. Once we get this big boat to Oregon we’ll hop on a plane and fly back home and get back to school again. I did actually bring a few school books along with me... in fact I have a backpack filled with books. I should probably go get them out and get to work. I also remembered to bring a hairbrush this time! Although, had I not, there is a good supply of forks on board, so no big deal if it goes missing during this little trip!

Well, I wrote the last part of the blog hoping to find some WiFi during one of our fuel stops to post it, but that didn't happen, and then things on board took a bit of a turn.

The trip started out great. We were all a little tired after the first night, you know how it is the first few nights, even with a few crew you don't sleep too well. The first day and night passed uneventfully which I suppose was a good thing. All that didn't last long though.

The second day we started to have trouble with the auto pilot. I managed to fix it as it turned out to just be a problem with the settings. Later that night, I was off watch trying to get some sleep in the cabin down below when I felt the boat turning in circles. It felt so familiar I was almost happy jumping up to go take a look and see what had happened. Up on the bridge, my dad was on watch and he was hand steering. I messed around with the auto pilot settings some hoping that it was the same problem as before. It wasn't the same problem as before and after a good half hour I was out of ideas (This auto pilot could have belonged in an antique shop I might add. It was so old, I had never seen one of them before!)

Looked like we were going to be hand steering, at least until the morning when we could get a better look at the thing. Luckily, there was myself, my dad and Peter, so hand steering wasn't all that bad a thing as we had plenty of people to take turns. The weather was picking up, it had been all day and we had 6-10 foot swells coming right from behind us. Now normally this would be great, especially considering that we were going north. But in this boat, it wasn't great, in fact, it was down right awful. A ten foot swell isn't much to complain about, but Travoto wasn't exactly designed for any type of weather. The swells would catch up with us and Travoto would go sliding down the front sending us down sliding all over the place. We were surfing down so fast that the boat was plowing into the swells in front of us one after the other. You had to steer hard either way to gain any control of the boat as she went flying down.

After four hours on the helm I was pretty exhausted and good and ready for a break. The next morning we pulled into Crescent City to fuel up. A bit tired and worn out, we got a weather report, fueled and had a mechanic come out to take a look at the auto pilot and the steering. It's still under debate between the three of us why the steering was so bad. Anyway, the mechanic wasn't able to sort out the auto pilot, and didn't have much to offer on our steering problem either. We considered staying there a little longer, but we had a short weather window, and we weren't going to be finding any more help in Crescent City. We headed out again.

The day went on, the conditions picked up more and more. We decided to take one hour shifts during the night, and to keep two people on watch all night. We were in for a rough night and none of us planned on getting much sleep. It got later and the chit chat and joking around stopped as the night dragged on. We were all up through the night taking our shifts. My watch was for an hour, but things seemed to be dying down some and I was pretty wide awake so decided not to hand over the wheel quite yet. About two hours later, I handed the wheel over to my dad. He had just gotten off the phone with the Coast Guard to check on the conditions in the Columbia River.

We planned to reach the Columbia River around three in the morning, we had timed it to be with the tide so we could make it in over the sand bar. But the Coast Guard had closed down the bar due to a small craft advisory. There wasn't a whole lot we could do about that. The Coast Guard reported 14 foot swells going over the bar, not much, we had had a few swells at least that big out at sea. It was just managing to keep enough control of the boat through the narrow channel.

We started to turn around, planning to just head into it until day light. The Coast Guard called us again saying that they had a small boat out there and if we wanted to give it a try they would lead us in. It would definitely be easier having the other boat to follow in as part of our steering problem was that there was no compass on the boat. We were going off a computer hooked up to a GPS that had about a 40 second delay.

Well, we decided to go for it. We all pulled out our foulies, and headed out into the pouring rain to the bridge. It was too wet outside to bring out the computer with the chart of the marina on it, so Peter and I ran back and fourth yelling which direction my dad needed to go to stay in the channel. Surfing along, we made it over the bar and on into the marina. It was an intense few hours as we wound our way up the river. About six in the morning, we came to an anchorage where we dropped the hook planning to wait until daylight to continue on up the river.

After the engines had been turned off we all sat down below, tired, wet, cold and somewhat dazed. We eventually all made our way down below and slept for a little bit. We woke up around 9 the next morning all feeling a little better after getting some sleep. We had some breakfast and made a few phone calls and then around 11 we headed off up the river. We had a good six hours to go!

Those six hours passed by somewhat uneventfully. The steering had improved quite a bit with being on the flat river. We got up river to where the boat was going to be kept and at first we couldn't see where we were going to have to put the boat. It was like putting this huge boat through the eye of a needle. We looked at the tiny space that the owner wanted my dad to wind the boat into. I thought it was impossible, in fact, I thought it would be slightly crazy to even try and get it in. My dad did it though. Not only did he get the boat in, but he decided to back it in, and did so without Peter or I needing to fend off the other boats and docks even once. I was thoroughly impressed by that docking job. I don't know any one else that would have been able to pull that off.

It was over. We gathered up our stuff and headed off to the airport. Sitting in the airport all pretty much exhausted from all that had happened in the past few days. As Peter said, it was like living a lifetime in just four days. It was true, we had been through so much, yet we all somehow managed to bring away only the good from the challenges we experienced. Even sitting in the airport not yet recovered, we were all looking forward to the next trip.

So, that's what I’ve been up to lately. Now that I'm home for a bit I'll be back on the school books and looking forward to the next adventure, even if it is only four days long.

Abby

Amsterdam

2010-09-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Outside a shopping mall in Amsterdam - photo copyright Bill Bennett ASC

I've moved on from Detroit and am now in Amsterdam. The past few days have been great. We are here with the IBC Convention. We have hooked up with Jannie van Wyk from South Africa. Jannie was one of the guys who helped us out tons in Cape Town. He and his wife Tracey let us stay with them the whole time and helped with just about everything else as well. Well Jannie works in the film industry and because of the big film convention going on over here he and a bunch of his guys were all here. It was great to see them. I had been so busy in Cape Town and it was nice to just go out and spend some time with everyone. They all flew back yesterday afternoon and so now we're on to museums and boat tours, all of which have been very fun.

At the IBC Conference - photo copyright Bill Bennett ASC

It's a really amazing place here. I've had a lot of fun just walking around looking at all the crooked buildings. I have been wondering what will happen, most of the buildings here lean one way or the other. What will happen in a few more years if they keep tipping?!

Photo copyright Bill Bennett ASC

Anyways, I know this is a really short blog, but there are tons of pictures and I slept in a bit this morning... gotta get going and make up for lost time!

Abby

Outside the Rijksmuseum - the Rembrandt museum - photo copyright Bill Bennett ASC

Another Day, Another Trip

2010-09-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

Another day, another trip. This time I am in Detroit. I've spent the past two days racing on the Lake Huron in Michigan and talking at the Port Huron Yacht Club. It has been much more fun then I was expecting it to be. As an offshore sailor, I wasn't sure what to expect racing on a lake. I had never raced before and I wasn't sure I liked the idea.

The first day was an all women's race - a race they do once a year. I sailed on Hope, a Bristol 33, a nice and very fast little boat. On board was myself, the first time skipper, Carol McMillan, and four others who had never crewed all together before. Now I have always wondered how on earth six people can all be on board such a small boat all working without tripping over each other and just making a mess out of it. I'm still not sure how, but I now know that it does work, and it works well.

When I was sailing Wild Eyes single handedly, something as simple as a tack could take a while because things can get messy when you're sailing solo and you have to be very careful. When you've got six people on board who all know what they're doing everything happens at once. It is so much fun! I do still feel a little awkward on other peoples' boats. I miss having a boat that I know backwards and forwards and I'm used to doing everything myself. While being with a a good crew is a lot of fun, it makes me miss my boat even more.

Well, we ended up coming in first place, due to having an amazing crew who all did great considering that we had never sailed all together before and it being our skipper's first time. That night I got to meet Katie Pettibone. Katie is an amazing sailor. She has done three America's Cups and it was great to meet her and talk to her a little bit about everything that she has done.

Next day came around and I was on board the boat Liberty, a Beneteau 42 - a fast boat with a great crew. They had all sailed together before and so I wasn't needed much but jumped in to help out where ever I could. Liberty came in first in the two races we did that day, and I think it's safe to say I have had a very good first experience with racing.

A few hours after getting in, it was time for me to talk. I've done press conferences and question and answer things, but this was my first real time talking. Needless to say, I was a bit nervous. I have that terrible problem where when I get in front of a large crowd of people my mind goes blank. It was looking like there wasn't going to be too many people there and it was maybe five or ten minutes before starting. There were maybe a whole ten people there, so I wasn't too nervous. As that short five minutes passed, more and more people began to pile in. All of the seats filled up and then they pulled out even more chairs. Before long, the room was filled, including people standing along the back wall because there just wasn't room for more chairs. So now I was thoroughly scared and about ready to duck out the back door and make a run for it!

I didn't run though, I stayed there. It was a little hard to get started. I was shaking all over and suffering from having my mind go blank. I managed to get through the first few minutes, showed a little slide show of my trip, and introduced Charlie, who had come with me. After that, I launched into the story. I had a great audience. They all seemed happy which helped a lot. I had prepared a speech last week but instead of going with that, I decided just to wing it. I covered my whole trip, right from when I first decided I wanted to go, up until the end of the voyage of Wild Eyes.

I talked for maybe an hour and a half or so, and then answered questions and it was all over. It all went pretty well. I had been worried that I wouldn't talk long enough, but I ended up talking longer than had been planned. I was a little worried then that I had rambled on and bored everybody in the room, but everyone either really did like it or they were just super polite. Either way, I was finished and not feeling so bad about things.

This is my last day here. I'll be flying out at 7 tonight. It was a good stay here and while it does feel a little weird to be splashed in the face while sailing and not get a mouth full of salty water, I did still have a really good time with everybody here!

Abby

City Mouse and Country Mouse

2010-09-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

Sunset on the back porch in St Michaels

I have been traveling around a bit more since I last wrote. I just got back from Maryland and Washington DC. I flew out to visit my great aunt and uncle for a few days. It was a lot of fun there kayaking along the river, boating with my uncle and seeing the sights in the small local towns. I also got to meet two of my second cousins once removed and their parents.

Monoprint of the southern ocean made in my aunt's studio

I did my first little talk at the Tred Avon Yacht Club there and it went very well. I started out a little bit terrified and kind of shaky, but by the end even I was having fun! All the members of the yacht club were extremely nice and they had some pretty good questions. It was a really good place to do my first talk.

At the Tred Avon Yacht Club in Oxford

After awhile in St Michael's, Maryland we went into Washington DC where my aunt and uncle have an apartment. It was another great time walking around there. I also got to go talk to the Georgetown University sailing team. I was surprised by what a big sailing team they had and while a lot of them haven't sailed much other then small racing boats, it was pretty fun answering all of their questions and seeing the

beautiful campus.

I wish I could write a big, long blog with all the little details of my last trip, but I've got to go now. I'm leaving for Detroit tomorrow to speak at the Port Huron Yacht Club and try my hand at a little racing.

I'll try to post more photos and such from the airport.

Abby

New York and Catalina

2010-08-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Tons to write about. Just last week I took a trip to New York. We spent about 5 days there. It was a lot of fun. We got there pretty late the first day after a long 5 hour plane ride. I know its not all that long a ride, but I was having trouble sitting still. Of course I was supposed to be up at 4:15am ready to go to the airport... but around 4am, when my alarm went off, just hit the snooze botton and dozed back off. Beeping clocks do not have the same affect as an auto pilot alarm or the wind. I need to find a

n alarm that sounds like my Watch Commander or auto pilot alarm, then maybe I'll get up when it goes off!!

Anyways, I did make it to the Burbank Airpo

rt in time and even ended up having to wait around for a little while. It was an interesting airport, one I had never flown out of before. There were people sleeping all over the fl

oor... it appeared they had spent the whole night there as I was pretty much the first person to walk in the door when they opened. After landing in New York, I took a taxi to go and drop my stuff at the hotel. There wasn't too much time after that with getting out of the airport and the traffic on our way to the hotel. We just walked around a bit, went to get some dinner and then headed back to the hotel to download all the hundreds of pictures that had

been taken in our short walk and then get to sleep.

Next morning we were up early and off to see the Statue of Liberty! Turned out when we got there, there was about a three hour wait... we decided against waiting around for three hours in the awfully hot weather and reserved tickets for the next day. We moved on to what we had origonally planed to do the next day.

We ended up going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was a huge museum! It turned out to be way more intresting than I was expecting. We spent almost six hours walking around in there. Somehow even with my slightly short attention span, I

enj

oyed every hour of it. Though by the end I was good and ready to move on.

Next, we headed over to the Guggenheim Museum. It was interesting. The art there was a little bit odd, I mean, I know that there are all sorts of art and people all express themselves differently, but a video of somebody scrubing a skeleton with a sponge? Somehow I didn't see what the

artist was trying to portray in that, but hey, at least the guy used soap! The building, on the other hand was amazing, a bit hard to describe so I'll just post some pictures of it. Only spent about an hour or two there and then went out and walked around Central Park for a bit. Then we hopped on a train and went to see Grand Central Station. Tired out from

everything that day we headed back with loads more pictures, to get changed and go

to dinner.

Day number three we went out to go see the Statue of Liberty again. This time with our reserved tickets it only took a few minutes to get

through the line even though I had to go through more security than at the airport! I was pretty amazed by the size of the Statue of Liberty. This was my second time to New York, but my first time to the Statue of Liberty and it was really great to see. We then headed over to see the Twin Towers site. I was too young t

o rem

ember when it happend, but it was very neat to see. Most of the day was over by then. It was quite a good day. We saw a lot and had a good time.

Day number four. We didn't really have any plan for this day yet, but it turned out to be my favorite day of the whole trip. Got started a little later than the past few days and headed over to the Museum of Modern Art. While some modern art I have a little trouble understanding, there was a

lot of really

cool stuff in this museum. After that we walked around in Central Park a bit and

then headed over to the top of the Rock. I went there last time I was in New York, but that last trip was all a bit of a blur, so it was nice to get up there again.

The next day was also a very good day. With no real plan but that ever present need to be around marinas and if not sailing at least being able to see boats, we headed down to the marina. I was very suprised by how small the marina we saw was, but I guess there was probably more then one. While we were down looking at the America II, an older America's Cup boat, a few guys came down and after chatting for a bit and taking a picture in front of the America II with her skipper we learned that the other two guys we were talking to worked at the USMMA Sailing Foundation in NY. They were working hard on recruiting me for their sailing team at the school and offered to take me on a tour of the bay. It was a nice ride until one of the engines broke down... I swear I had

nothing to do with it, though it seems to be that I am a bad luck charm around boats! We pulled up to a boat next to two tall ships that belonged to the school. I would have loved to look around, but had a plane to catch, and so, we said good bye, reassured the guys that I would check out the college online and were off to the airport.

It had been a crazy few days and I slept most of the plane ride home. I spent one day at home and then was off again. Lisa Gizara, from Gizara Arts got married on the beach at Catalina Island. Lisa has done so much for my trip and for my brother's trip as well. She started way back with the very beginings of Zac's trip and stuck with us right to the end of mine. Now after all we've been through together, she has become a very good family friend. She is an amazing photographer and many of the pictures you see of my trip and of Zac's were taken by her. It was great to be able to be there at her wedding. It was really the most beautiful spot in a bay just a little ways down from Avalon.

We spent several days at Catalina. My brother Toby and I flew over with Bill from Team Abby. Zac sailed over in Intrepid, and Dad and my sister, Jessie, sailed over with Pieter from Team Abby (and Team Zac). I would have loved to sail, but because of the New York trip, I wasn't back in time to catch a ride with any friends that were sailing over.

On the second day at Catalina, Bill and I flew out over Zac in his boat to get some air footage of him. It was a tough job, keeping the camera focused in the shaky little plane. Being zoomed right in so I could see a little detail didnt help much, and after an hour of looking through the camera lens while circling pretty sharply around Zac's boat, I wasn't

feeling so good. I figure it's all good experience. Since Bill is a camera guy he has been taking me along on a few jobs and I have been learning a lot about all that lately. I

am going to be helping out again on a job tomorrow, so that should be fun.

Anyways, back to Lisa and her wedding. To Lisa, we love you Lisa; thank you so much for everything you have done for me and my family!

Well, that about wraps up my blog for today. Don't have too much going on in the next couple of weeks. I'll be speaking here and there at Yacht Clubs and schools, working hard on the book, and starting up school. Since I won't be doing too much, I'll make an effort to blog a bit more.

Abby

Young Adventurers

2010-08-17T07:37:00.000-07:00

Me, Joey Machado, Zac and Jordan Romero

Hey everyone,

I'm sitting in the airport right now about to head out to New York for a few days. Zac and I had a pretty awesome weekend. We went up to Lake Arrowhead and met with Jordan Romero and Joseph Machado. Jordan is the youngest person to climb Mount Everest and Joe rode his bike 3,000 miles across America to raise money for under privileged youth. They were great people and we had a good time out there.

I'm really glad I got the chance to meet both of them.

Life has been pretty busy here. We have been working hard on the book and are hoping to have it finished and in print before Christmas. More info to come!

Abby

Adventures in San Francisco

2010-08-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone! Its been awhile since I last posted, been pretty busy over here. But I've got a ton of pictures from the past few trips. These are some of the pictures from San Francisco. We had a great time there seeing everything there is to see in just two days!

Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park

USS Pampanito Submarine

Awesome little sailing demonstration at the Exploratorium Museum

Little Sail boat in San Francisco Bay

Fisherman's Wharf

San Francisco houses

The Golden Gate Bridge

Another shot of the Golden Gate Bridge

Cable Car

Riding on the Cable Car

Went kitty shopping at the shelter across the road when we got back to Camarillo Airport

Lots of cute kittens, but I didn't end up getting one, yet :)

San Francisco roads

My next boat! :) The Balclutha Launched 1886

"No one who has not been there can imagine the strain on the captain in trying to get around Cape Horn... This passage in the Balclutha was about my hardest time..."

Captain Alfred Durkee, Master 1894-1899

Good Luck Laura

2010-07-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
I've got a ton of great photos from the past few days! Been to the beach a few times, had a small party for the guys on my team, and got to fly down to San Diego to check out some repairs on a friend of a friend's boat! It's been a lot of fun but, I'm sorry to say I don't have the pictures ready yet, but I will do soon!!

The main reason for this blog today is Laura Dekker. Most of you have probably heard about the young 14 year old Dutch girl that wanted to sail around the world alone. She's been through a lot lately with the Dutch courts keeping her from going. I heard this morning that they are now allowing her to go.

I admire Laura's spirit - it would be hard not to for anyone who has followed her story. I'd just like to wish Laura the best of luck and a word of advice from a sixteen year old sailor(though I doubt she needs it) have fun! Live life the best you can. There's no time like now so take all the opportunities you get.

Abby

Congrats Allesandro di Benedetto

2010-07-24T10:19:00.000-07:00

I just heard this morning that Alessandro di Benedetto has finished his circumnavigation! He and I emailed back and forth a little bit while I was out on the water. I'd like to send a BIG congratulations to him. He has set the record for the smallest boat to sail non-stop around the world. More than once I was surfing down waves bigger than his whole boat and wondering how he managed in his tiny 21ft boat. I can only imagine how great it must be for him to have completed his goal and I'm very happy for him!

Well, on to everything back home. Things have been going well over here. We're having a BBQ at the house for my support team which will be great. I went from talking to them most days to not speaking to them at all and I miss them all quite a bit. I'm really looking forward to seeing them tonight. I'll post some pictures of it later.

I'm working on getting my permit and occasionally thinking about school. So nothing too exciting is going on - just normal life.

Abby

More News from Home

2010-07-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

I went down to the marina today with my dad and Zac. It felt good to be up early and to be by the water all day. It's been hard at times for me to be home. I need some sort of goal. While things like writing a book and speaking here and there are great it's so different from what I have been doing for so long. I'm sure I'll come up with some new project. I have been taking a look at some of the classes that I need to graduate and believe it or not I've even been thinking a bit about college. It pretty exciting to think about, but a little daunting as well. High school and college are a far cry from sailing.

Zac took his boat up to Channel Islands Harbor today. http://www.ci-boatshow.com/ There is a boat show there this weekend and it happens to be right around the one year anniversary of Zac's trip. It is called the Ventura County Boat Show. So, we're all pretty excited about that.

The collaborator for my book is here to meet the family and me and to discuss some things about the book so we can get started soon. They are planning to have us finish the book quickly. I may even be able to get it done before school starts which will be nice because I am going to have to take a few extra classes to catch up.

My friend and team member, Bill Bennett, flew my little brother, Toby, and I up to Monterey a few days ago. A lot of people say that flying is like sailing. I don't really see much of a similarity. I did get some good pictures and have a fun time.

We had lunch, checked out the Monterey Bay Aquarium before heading home. It was a nice flight, but of course my camera memory card was full right as the sun started to go down. All in all it was a very fun day.

Abby

Settling In

2010-07-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a little while since I last wrote. It feels a like there isn't much to write about - no weather to report, no new sail plans or big course changes, no auto pilot problems either. There are some things coming up that I am really looking forward to. I had been planning to talk at a local mall and am still going to be doing that. I don't have all of the details yet, but I have to say that I'm even more excited about a new project that has come up. There were two ladies that came by yesterday from our church. They work in a jail ministry with young women, girls even younger then me, all the way up to 20 or so. They mentioned that it might be a good place for me to talk. I guess I'm so excited about it because I feel like I could really help. None of the details have been ironed out yet, but I really can't wait and hope I'm able to do some good there.

Now, I thought every body knew, but it seems a few of you haven't heard. My new brother, little Paul-Louis Charles Sunderland, was named after the captain of the Ile de la Reunion, the French fishing vessel that picked me up off of Wild Eyes. It was getting close to his due date and still no name had been decided on. Everybody called him Charlie - my family always comes up with some sort of interesting nickname for everyone. That is the story behind little Paul's name. My parents really liked the name, and under the circumstances it didn't seem a bad idea at all. So, to Paul-Louis La Moigne of the Ile de la Reunion, thanks for giving us a hand naming our newest edition!

A lot of people have been asking about Wild Eyes. She was still afloat when I boarded the Ile de la Reunion. She could end up on a beach in Western Australia at some point, but it's just a guess, we don't know for sure. She would have to be very lucky to wash up on a beach, and not get smashed on the rocks or something like that. While I do wish that she would be found and fixed up, its not all that likely she will be found.

Well, I think that's all for today, thank you all for your continued support, and a very, very late happy 4th of July to you all!

Abby

CORRECTION:

Abby's father, Laurence Sunderland, told the Today show on Monday June 28th that the recent Newport Bermuda Race had lost a boat, he was relying on an erroneous USCG report. The USCG has now issued a retraction at http://uscgsar-onscene.blogspot.com/

The Bermuda Race Organizing Committee has asked Laurence to correct his statement.

From the the Journal of US Coast Guard Search & Rescue:

08 July 2010
CORRECTIONS & AMPLIFICATIONS
The Newport Bermuda Race 2010 commenced on June 18, 2010 and On Scene is happy to report that all race participants successfully completed the race without incident. The On Scene Weekly SARSAT Rescue Report dated Wednesday June 23, 2010 incorrectly stated that the sailing vessel associated with the June 15th SARSAT Rescue was participating in the Newport Bermuda Race 2010 when high winds caused the vessel to lose its mast. Many thanks to the On Scene subscribers who pointed out this inaccuracy.

Home is the Sailor

2010-07-05T12:25:00.001-07:00

Hi guys,

Sorry I haven't written in so long. As you can imagine, things have been pretty crazy over the past week or two. I would have posted more but on the second boat I was on, the Osiris, I was having some trouble with the email. This blog is going to be like a short novel, but I figured you guys wouldn't mind.

I'm back home now with no more plans to go anywhere too soon. Before I get going with all the happenings of the past weeks, I want to just let you all know how grateful I, and my whole family are for your support. It has really helped us recently. It's tough to be in the spot light of the media. While not all the media support me there have been a lot that have been kind and done a great job and I would just like to thank them for that. Things have already begun to calm down and before long there will be a new story for everyone to start following.

It feels weird to be sitting at home in the office writing a blog. It feels like years since I've been here, and only days since I was wedging myself into my chart desk seat with my lap top writing in about weather conditions, getting excited over big blows and complaining about calm weather and the cold.

Well, I'm not sure how long ago my last blog was

so Ill just go over it all. I spent about three days on the French fishing boat, Ile de la Reunion. It was a nice boat and there were a few people that spoke English pretty well. There wasn't much to do on board for an English speaking young girl, but all the crew were nice and I enjoyed my time while I was on board. We got to Kerguelen Island around 4 in the morning. It was still dark so I couldn't see the island but the Osiris was right by us. They lowered their dinghy into the water and came over to pick me up. Almost everyone spoke a little English, but no one quite as good as on board the Ile de la Reunion.

The first few days on board the weather wasn't all that great. We pounded along making painfully slow speed, but I didn't feel in a rush to get to land. Everybody on board was great. At first it was pretty cold and rough so pretty much everybody stayed down below. After awhile it started to get warmer out. We had a couple of BBQs on deck and brought out a bunch of lines and started playing around tying a bunch of knots and splicing lines, it was a lot of fun. The last few days were a lot like being back on the equator, plus 13 French men and a BBQ.

The rough weather didn't last long and soon it was dead calm out and we were racing along making up for lost time. All too soon, there was land out the window. I was excited to see it but at the same time not sure of what to expect. It wasn't as bad as I had thought it might be. There was a bit of media waiting at the dock when we pulled in. I was glad to have Zac and a few other members of my team there because even with the help of the police, it was hard to walk down the dock! We held a press conference there and it went really well. I hadn't spoken a long stream of English in so long that by the end of my statement I wasn't sure I wanted to stop talking! After that was all over we headed back to the hotel.

The next day we were going to try and go Hobie sailing, but almost everything is closed on the weekends in La Reunion. We did find one open place, and went jet skiing instead of sailing. It was fun, but a far cry from saili

ng. We got on a plane that night and got to Paris the next day. We had about a 4-6 hour layover there and decided that we should make the most of our time and go see the Eiffel Tower. We took a few trains to get there and got to spend about half an hour there and then took a few different trains to get back. It wasn't exactly leisurely site seeing, but it was fun, and now I have really been to Paris, not just through the airport.

We got back in time to hop on our next plane which would take us all back to LA. It felt strange to think that in 12 hours I would be home. It had taken me months to get where I was and only hours to get back. When we arrived in LA we learned that our flight details had been posted on the internet. Because there was so much media waiting and there were concerns about security, the authorities helped us avoid the main entrance. While I would have been happy to talk to the press, we were all relieved we wouldn't have to fight our way through a bunch of

cameras after such a tiring few days and long trip.

Back home there were a few people over; my team, a few friends and some of our neighbors. It was a nice homecoming - small, but nice. Eventually people started to leave, and I went to bed in my old bed. After a couple hours sleep Zac and I were up and on our way to the LA press conference. My mom had gone into labor earlier that morning and so she and my dad had to stay home.

The press conference there went just as well as in La Reunion, though when I was asked about the movie, Twilight, I was a little puzzled.... After the press conference there, we gave home a call to see

if we had a new brother yet. We did! Paul-Louis Charles Sunderland - big name for a little guy.

From the press conference there Zac and I went to the airport where we hopped on a plane to head to New York for the Today Show. We got there pretty late, got to sleep a few hours and then went in for the show. It was a lot of fun and we met lots of interesting people. All the people at NBC were really nice. Zac and I spent the day walking around New York which was quite a bit of fun, but by the end of the day I had a pretty bad cold and was ready to go back home.

The plane ride was somewhat miserable but at least it was short. We got home late but little Paul was awake. It was the first time Zac or I had seen the little guy. I couldnt touch him because I was sick, but I was able to view from a distance.

So, we're all back here now with no plans to go anywhere soon. Every time I leave the house Katherine gets a little worried and asks when I'll be home. Well, that's all for now. I'll be back soon with some pictures and more news.

Abby

Hi everyone - I'm back!

2010-07-03T13:24:00.000-07:00

It's Abby here. So much has happened over the past few weeks. From tomorrow I'll be updating my blog more often as I settle back in and plan the future. I really appreciate your support and all the emails and comments have really helped my family and I. Check back soon - I'll have a new blog up with the latest news.

Abby

Abby Arrives in La Reunion

2010-06-26T09:36:00.000-07:00

Abby is met by her brother Zac. Photo Lionel Cironneau / AP

Abby arrived safely on La Reunion yesterday evening (PDT). She met with Zac who brought her a backpack with some clothes, a hairbrush (!), and a few personal belongings. She was thrilled to see some familiar faces and have met another milestone in her long voyage home.

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/37919780

Abby still has a long trip ahead of her and will blog again as soon as possible.

Once Abby arrives back in Southern California, there will be a press conference on Tuesday June 29 at 10am. Press accreditation is required for members of the media. This will be given by email and you will be required to show identification with company logo at the door.To obtain accreditation please email info@mercerpr.com with details of your organisation.

For more information please phone (USA) 310.776.7557.

Australian media enquiries please call 0413.749.830.

Abby to Arrive at Reunion Island

2010-06-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

At approximately 8am on Saturday, June 26 (9pm Friday June 25 Los Angeles) Abby will arrive in Reunion Island where Zac and some of the support team are waiting. International media will be there to greet her and she will do a short press conference on arrival.

We’ve spoken to her briefly over the past week and she is looking forward to seeing everyone again. She is looking forward to blogging again and is already looking to future plans and goals.

She will then travel back to LA where she will do a press conference on Tuesday June 29 at 10am. Press accreditation is required for members of the media. This will be given by email and you will be required to show identification with company logo at the door.

To obtain accreditation please email info@mercerpr.com with details of your organisation. For more information please phone (USA) 310.776.7557.
Australian media enquiries please call 0413.749.830.

Thank you again for the many messages of support we have received.

Abby is Almost Here

2010-06-20T08:45:00.000-07:00

Many people have been asking where Abby is and we are excited to report that she is expected to arrive at Reunion Island sometime around June 24-25. She should be back in the USA a few days later. We have spoken to Abby and she is in good health and spirits. She is so thankful to everyone who has expressed concern for her safety and humbled by the great support from all over the world. Abby has asked us to again pass on her gratitude to all those who played a part in assisting her and she is looking forward to doing this personally very soon.

We’ll let you know further updates as we know more information. Stay tuned.

Media / publicity enquiries – Please contact Lyall Mercer:
USA: 310-776-7557 (Int: 1-310-776-7557)
Australia: 0413-749-830 (Int: 61-413-749-830)
Email: info@mercerpr.com

Family Post

2010-06-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Our family would like to thank everyone for their wonderful support and encouragement over the past week. As you can imagine it has been an exhausting time with so many mixed emotions and we are now eagerly looking forward to Abby’s return.

We will not be issuing any further public or private statements. To assist us to manage the publicity Abby’s trip has created we have appointed a public relations consultant / manager to act on our behalf and request that from this point, all media enquiries be directed to him. This will enable us to return to our primary role – parents to our children and in particular at this moment, a supportive mom and dad to Abby.

We would ask that you respect our family’s request for privacy at this time. Our focus is on both Abby and our new baby who is expected to arrive into the world at anytime. The next couple of weeks will be very exciting for us.

We will continue to update our blog with Abby’s progress and in due course Abby will be available to tell her story.

Thank You,
Laurence & Marianne Sunderland

Media / publicity enquiries – Please contact Lyall Mercer:
USA: 310-776-7557 (Int: 1-310-776-7557)
Australia: 0413-749-830 (Int: 61-413-749-830)
Email: info@mercerpr.com

Clarifying Misinformation

2010-06-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

There has been so much written in the media that is either incorrect or out of context. We’d like to clear up a few points:

AUSTRALIAN SEARCH AND RESCUE COSTS:
The Australian government has never asked us to contribute anything towards the recovery costs and has no intention of doing so. Australia – like the USA and other countries with significant coastlines, are part of the international agreement to assist those who need help within their search and rescue territories. All of these nations do this for citizens of all countries and this is funded by the respective governments. Australia has a robust media and each time there is a rescue – irrespective of the nationality of the person concerned – the media alone tends to make this an issue which in turn stirs up some emotions. We value and appreciate the Australian government and volunteer organisations – as we do the French authorities - who assisted Abby.

REALITY SHOW
We were approached by Magnetic Entertainment last year before Abby departed to shop a reality TV show based on our family. Abby's trip was already sponsored. Their idea was to do an inspiring show about Zac and Abby’s adventures, what our family was like and what made them as strong and independent as they are. The show was shopped and not sold. All rights were returned to us. There is no reality TV show or documentary in the works and we are not pursuing one. It is sad and ironic that some of the media - who are sensationalizing and twisting Abby’s story for profit - accuse us of doing the same thing. We can assure you that our priority is the protection of our children, something all parents will understand.

Aboard the Ile de la Reunion

2010-06-13T12:57:00.000-07:00

Everything is going well out here. I'm still getting used to walking around on board and it takes both hands to keep myself from falling up and down the narrow halls. I'm still having trouble typing on this key pad but I've got a few more days to get the hang of it.

Everyone on board has been really friendly. They have come a long way out of their way to help me and I am so thankful that they did. My mom has told me about all that the different rescue groups did to help find me. So thank you to all of you. I had only hoped that a ship would pass by me within a few weeks. I am really in awe. Thank you to everyone involved.

The captain is a big, friendly, bald guy with a big beard. He speaks English pretty well and he says, "Is no good to worry about the boat. Is just a boat, you is safe. You should not think about the past." Which is true, but its hard to keep my mind off everything that's happened.

Everyone in the bridge has been fending off the press and I'm very grateful for that. I really don't want to start doing interviews quite yet.

I have started writing. At first I decided that I wasn't going to write a book. But then I started to think about all the good times Wild Eyes and I have had together. All that's left of the voyage of Wild Eyes are my memories, eventually they will get fuzzy and I won't remember all the details. I don't want that to happen. Wild Eyes and my trip have been the best thing I have ever done or been through and I don't ever want to forget all the great times we have had together, or the bad ones for that matter.

The story of Wild Eyes is over, but my story is still going. I'm still out on the ocean headed to a little island called Kerguelen and then will be on another boat for ten days up to an island near Madagascar. From there I will eventually make it home.

So, on goes my adventure!

Abby

A note from our blog moderator: Please be patient with as we go through over 12,000 comments that have come in during the last 3 days. We are getting through them as quickly as we can.

A Note from Abby

2010-06-12T07:09:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Sorry I haven't written in so long as you probably already know I had a pretty rough couple of days. I can't write much now as I am typing on a french key pad as well as trying to stay seated in a bouncy fishing boat.

The long and the short of it is, well, one long wave, and one short mast (short meaning two inch stub.) I'll write a more detailed blog later, just wanted to let every one know I am safe and sound on a great big fishing boat headed I am not exactly sure where.

Crazy is the word that really describes everything that has happened best.

Within a few minutes of being on board the fishing boat, I was already getting calls from the press. I don't know how they got the number but it seems everybody is eager to pounce on my story now that something bad has happened.

There are plenty of things people can think of to blame for my situation; my age, the time of year and many more. The truth is, I was in a storm and you don't sail through the Indian Ocean without getting in at least one storm. It wasn't the time of year it was just a Southern Ocean storm. Storms are part of the deal when you set out to sail around the world.

As for age, since when does age create gigantic waves and storms?

I keep hitting the wrong keys and am still trying to get over the fact that I will never see my Wild Eyes again. So Ill write more later.

Abby

Abby Safe on Board Ile de la Reunion

2010-06-12T04:29:00.000-07:00

Abby was safely transferred to the French fishing vessel Ile de la Reunion in the early hours of our morning. Fortunately, the weather had calmed down enough that a dinghy was able to be dispatched for Abby to climb into and to bring her close to the 100' steel vessel.

We were able to speak to Abby very briefly once the transfer was complete. She sounded tired but good. She had a good sense of humor but was clearly in the early stages of coming to grips with everything.

We don't have much more info at this time. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Center is working with other ships in the area to determine another transfer to a vessel that will either bring her north of Mauritius to the island of La Reunion or east to Perth, Australia. Either way, it will likely be several weeks before Abby is back home in California.

We would like to give our immeasurable thanks to all of those involved in Abby's successful rescue. Especially to the authorities, both national and international, that have worked together to successfully conduct this rescue. These include MAMSA RCC Australia, Maritime RCC La Reunion, Qantas, WA Police, Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia, Defence and the three ships which are responding. Their professionalism and the great value that they placed on Abby's life has been a gift to us that we can never repay. Thank you for caring for our daughter as if she were your own, for answering all of our many questions cheerfully and completely and for going above and beyond our wildest expectations to keep Abby safe. Thanks also to Congressman Elton Gallegly! Congressman Gallegly had offered his help to us some time ago. Thursday, when things looked bleak, a call to Congressman Gallegly resulted in his staff engaging three agencies in minutes. In less than 5 minutes the State Department, with location coordinates in hand, was in full swing with our country’s friends. Thank you Mr. Gallegly! Your concern for Abby is greatly appreciated.

We are not certain what will happen to Wild Eyes at this time. It is highly unlikely that she will be able to be saved. As we told Abby this morning, she is the most valuable piece of 'equipment' on that boat. The loss of Wild Eyes will be felt deeply by Abby who poured so much blood, sweat and tears into her and who has been, in a sense, one with her for many months now.

Godspeed Abby as you make your way home! We love you!!!

Mom, Dad, kids and the rest of Team Abby

Photo and Flyover Update

2010-06-11T10:06:00.001-07:00

Wild Eyes dismasted in the Southern Indian Ocean

Photo courtesy of Australian Search & Rescue

'Abby Sunderland was in great spirits after being spotted' say rescue members.

SEARCH and rescue crew members have described how stricken 16-year-old yachtswoman Abby Sunderland remained “in good spirits” after being spotted from the air yesterday.

A crew of 11 SES and FESA volunteers that were on board the 'spotter' airbus returned to Perth just after 7:30pm last night after successfully locating the troubled vessel in the Indian Ocean.

FESA taskforce leader Will Blackshaw said the crew had a very brief period of contact with the young sailor, but said she remained positive despite the setback.

"Abby is in very good spirits," he said.

"She's obviously keen to have some assistance, but she is in very good spirits.

"The window of opportunity to speak to her was very short, so we had very brief, direct conversations about her health, the condition of the vessel, and her communications.

"The seas are very rough indeed, and there is a lot of wind, and she is obviously going to have a very uncomfortable night of sleep.

"He said the plane was conducting its first pass of the area and had been searching for Abby for only 10 minutes when she was spotted from the air.

"It was a very happy moment for all of the people on board the plane," he said.

"However, it was a very serious moment as well, and we were all concentrating on the job at task which was to make contact with Abby.

"The crew then made radio contact with the young sailor, with the first words conveyed being "This is Abby".

Mr Blackshaw said the crew instructed Abby to activate two further EPIRB devices tomorrow afternoon to ensure a continuous signal for rescue crews to spot her.

FESA spokesman Chris Lawson confirmed a second, smaller plane would leave Perth Airport early this morning to conduct another sighting and ensure Abby was okay.SES volunteer Michael Wood, who spotted Abby's vessel from the airbus, said he had been excited to locate the boat.

"Because I was at the front of the plane, I just happened to spot Abby as she came into the field of view," he said.

"It was very nervy at first, but very exciting that positive contact had been made."

We're all mindful that Abby's got a number of hours left so we've all got our fingers crossed."

Sgt Mike Wear, from WA Water Police, said Abby sounded "very upbeat and very strong" during the brief contact.

"It certainly was a very emotional event to be able to speak to the young girl Abby today and see her in that predicament out there," he said.

"It was just a very small dot on the ocean – she was on the back deck (and) she was very hard to see.

Earlier today, Qantas refused to comment on how much the trip had cost the company or whether they would seek reimbursement for the flight.

Abby is Fine!

2010-06-10T23:27:00.000-07:00

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.

Laurence & Marianne

Update on Abby

2010-06-10T10:23:00.000-07:00

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. The wind had subsided to around 35 knots which she and Wild Eyes are quite comfortable with.

We were helping her troubleshoot her engine that she was trying to start to charge her systems. Satellite phone reception was patchy. She was able to get the water out of the engine and start her up. We were waiting to hear back from her when American Search & Rescue authorities called to report having received a signal from her emergency beacon (EPIRB). 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. We are actively seeking out some sort of air rescue but this is difficult due to the remoteness of her location. Australian Search & Rescue have arranged to have a Quantas Airbus fly over her location at first light (she is 11 hours later). They will not be able to help her other than to talk via marine radio if they are able to get close enough. Hopefully, they will be able to assess her situation and report back to us.

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.

Thank you for all of your kind emails and calls. We appreciate your prayers and support.

We will update as soon as there is some news.

Laurence, Marianne and Team Abby

A Rough Few Days

2010-06-09T09:49:00.000-07:00

The last few days have pretty busy out here. I've been in some rough weather for awhile with winds steady at 40-45 knots with higher gusts. With that front passing, the conditions were lighter today. It was a nice day today with some lighter winds which gave me a chance to patch everything up. Wild Eyes was great through everything but after a day with over 50 knots at times, I had quite a bit of work to do.

For most of the day today I had about 20 knots. I had been hoping to get some lighter winds so I could patch up one of my sails. It was still a bit windy out but with more rough weather tomorrow I wasn't sure when my next chance to fix it would be. I managed to take it down, take care of the tear and get it back up in a couple of hours. It wasn't the most fun job I have done out here. With the seas still huge, Wild Eyes was rolling around like crazy. Of course not even half and hour after I got the sail back up the wind dropped from 20 to 10 knots!

My Thrane & Thrane (Internet) system is down again so I am not able to send in my blog. The problem seems a bit more serious than the last few times I have had trouble with it. There is something wrong with the terminal at the back. It is possible that water got inside of it because it has a rough ride back there the past few days with waves crashing right over it. Unfortunately, if that is the problem I probably won't be able to fix it. At least I still have my Iridium phones so I can still call in to my mom and read her my bog for her to post.

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.

Update from the Middle of the Indian Ocean

2010-06-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

I meant to blog yesterday, but I was having some problems with my Thrane & Thrane again. As you can tell from this blog, I was able to play around with it and get it going again.

Everything has been going well out here. I have been enjoying some nice moderate 20-25 knot winds out of the SW. Surfing down 20 foot waves has been very nice really. The wind is beginning to die down tonight, it will probably be pretty uncomfortable for a little while. After the wind dies, the waves stay pretty big for awhile and without the wind you end up just rolling gunwal to gunwal. It definitely makes for a bad night of sleep, but the wind won't be down for long.

I'm almost half way across the Indian Ocean! It really doesn't feel like it. I keep looking at my charts and there never seems to be a big difference from the last time I checked, but I am ticking off the miles slowly but surely. The weather looks like it could pick up a lot in the next few days. I could have winds up to 60 knots, so I'm getting things all tied down and ready for some big winds.

Well, it's getting late over here so I should go, but I'll try and write again tomorrow.

Repairs Going Well and the Heater!

2010-06-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

The calm before the storm

I've had another quiet day out here with no more then 12 knots all day. I'm still managing to make decent speeds, around 6-7 knots. I've been able to get my heater working today and though I haven't gotten very far, I'm beginning to sort out everything in the back that got wet.

The wind should be picking up over the night and I am looking forward to another biggish blow soon. Wild Eyes is doing very well and I am finally getting ahead with all the repairs. My two auto pilots seem to be working well - it's such a relief to have reliable pilots.

I am having a little trouble writing my book. It's so hard to start a story when so much has already happened. But now that things are working better I will have a lot more time to work on it. Well, today's blog inst much of a thriller, but that's all that's going on aboard the good ship Wild Eyes at the moment.

I meant to get some new pictures today but got kinda busy working on things so I'll try and get some more up soon.

A little bit of the sun

Drying Out

2010-06-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

Things have been going pretty well out here recently. I've had some lighter weather lately and though moving slowly can be a pain, I have quite a bit of work to do so having some calm weather is a big help. Everything down below is wet. It's hard enough to dry things soaked in salt water at the best of times, but when it's cold, grey and windy it's pretty much impossible.

It's been a little warmer now that I am out of the last cold front and it looks like I will be able to get my heater working again. The condensation is really bad down below, so bad that it's like it's raining down here. I keep drying off the walls and cabin roof but it comes back up pretty fast.

At the moment almost all of my equipment is working. Things have been a little dryer outside, other then the occasional shower so I have been able to repair the leak under the throttle. The weather should be picking up again soon so I'll see how well it works! I love lots of wind and big seas, but it is very nice to have a day every now and then to get things all back together.

There will be a short story on ABC tonight on the 2020 show. ABC has been great to work with both with Good Morning America and now 20/20. It is scheduled to be on at 10pm Eastern time.

Also, we should have a link up on the homepage of my web site tonight to buy a commemorative T-shirt of my trip. We are trying to raise some money to cover my communication costs. Sat West has been great by offering us my Iridium sat phone minutes at a lower rate and GMPCS has given us a partial sponsorship of my Inmarsat minutes but it is still adding up fast!

Abby

A Drastic Change

2010-06-02T10:17:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what a drastic change has taken place in such a short time out here. By night time the same day I posted all the pictures of flat seas and sun, I had 20 knots and was racing along. By the next morning I had 25-30 knots and some pretty big seas. By last night I had 35 knots gusting up to 45knots, some pretty gnarly squalls, and 25 foot seas.

It's been a great ride out here, though not all fun and easy. Last night I had quite a bit of sail up (triple reefed main and full genoa), the auto pilot was handling it very well and I was pretty happy with how things were going. Wild Eyes was heeled over pretty far but the wind seemed steady and so I finished up my work and went to bed. I could feel the wind building a little, but as the auto pilot was still doing very well I didn't get overly worried about it.

Well, I got into my first squall of the night not long after I went to bed. The pilot went into standby and I went to jump out the companionway, but right as I was at the door I heard rushing water. Not water rushing along the hull but water rushing into the boat. I had water pouring into the back compartment and I had no idea where it was coming from. I grabbed a flash light and dived into the back getting soaked in the icy water. It was pouring in from the cock pit, but I still couldn't tell where exactly.

I climbed over to where it seemed the main stream was coming from and got a closer look. It was coming through at the throttle mounting - the throttle that is mounted on the wall of the cockpit was under water because of how heeled over I was when I gybed. Having found the leak, I shut off the hatches to the back compartment. I was extremely relieved to have found that the leak was above the water line and as long as I could get the boat back under control I could sort it out.

I think when things like this happen you go into mild shock. After the initial horror of seeing water pouring into your boat, your mind just goes into a survival mode and you don't give fear or any new problems a thought. It's so important to be focused on dealing with the problem at hand that fear becomes dangerous, it makes you hesitant to deal with things and knocks your confidence.

Back outside, it was pouring buckets of rain. I hadn't bothered to get my foul weather gear on. I didn't have time to. I didn't notice the cold. Wild Eyes was nearly flat on her side and the running back stay was stuck the wrong side of the boom. I clipped onto the boom and climbed onto the end. I would rather not have done that, but under the circumstances there was no other choice. I just hoped that things would stay stable enough while I was out there. At the end of the boom I was holding on as the big swells rolled the boat all over the place. It was steady for a minute and I let go and grabbed the back stay and worked it loose. I got off the boom as quickly as possible and hurried to get things sorted out.

Once I was back on track with less sail up, things seemed to be going better. I had the boat under control and didn't hear the water in the back any more. I was still dreading going back there to see what damage had been done, but extremely glad to have it stopped temporarily.

There was quite a bit of water back there and in a hurry to get it all out before it reached any electronics higher up I got back there with a bucket to give my little bilge pump a hand. My diesel heater was soaked, the water had been spraying almost directly on it. Luckily nothing else seemed to be damaged and I have plenty of warm clothes!

I must say I wasn't the happiest person in the world at that moment. I was soaked and beginning to really feel cold, in fact, I couldn't stop shivering. I made my way up front and pulled out some dry clothes. Still shivering pretty badly I came back out and gave everything a good look over. Pretty much every thing down below is wet. I was thinking of going back to bed, but the sun was just beginning to come up and I was able to get my first glimpse of the swells that had been building over night - they were amazing!

Forgetting about the cold, I went back outside with my foul weather gear on this time. It's really an amazing sight these walls of water that look like they're just going to dump on you and then all of a sudden you pick up some speed and you go racing down at thrilling speeds.

Well that just about made up for the trouble during the night. Later when I was talking to my mom, I was told I did 237 miles is one day! Okay, so I am shooting for 250 miles but 237 is close enough for now and I can safely say that after hearing that, my day went from ranking pretty low with some of the least pleasant times I have had at sea, to one of the better times of my trip!

Photos from the Indian Ocean

2010-05-31T08:03:00.000-07:00

Today was a very quiet day windless day. It has been a long time since I've jumped up and down over a 5 knot gust! It should be picking up soon though and in a few days I'll have 30-40 knots. Really looking forward to that! For now it is rest and prepare...

No wind - but sun!

The sun!

My gigantic main sail is a real pain getting that thing all the way up but I love it in light wind

I don't get to see the sun very often down here so it is quite a big deal when there is a clear day

Thrane & Thrane: the wonderful people that make it possible for me to send blogs and photos from sea!

A nice night, not much wind but good weather for getting some deck work done

Me at the nav station

Sunrise - first morning out of Cape Town

All is Well

2010-05-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Things have been going well since my last blog. I've had some lighter wind most of today but it's picked up some now. I've got about 30 knots and am moving along very nicely. My gear has all held up well so far - a few small auto pilot problems and a pretty small leak in the water ballast are all I've had to deal with recently.

There was so much to put in my last blog that I completely forgot about some very important news. I caught my first fish!! I'm still a little puzzled as to how because I was going pretty fast when I caught it. I was down below and just looked out the door and saw it jump out of the water. It looked pretty big, but unfortunately he got away :/ so it took me half the world to catch a fish. I've never been into fishing much myself because it requires way too much patience. I will continue to keep a line out and maybe I'll have a some better luck down here.

After my last blog, this one doesn't seem to interesting, but check back tomorrow. I've figured out how to take lower resolution pictures with my camera and I'll post some tomorrow!

A Tale from the Sea

2010-05-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Sorry it has been so long since I wrote. There were some problems with one of the Inmarsat satellites and so I wasn't able to get online. That's all sorted out now though and hopefully won't happen again.

I have had a pretty busy past few days. Things went well getting out of Cape Town - everything was working well and I was having a lot of fun with my new auto pilot. I've been able to carry a lot more sail with the working auto pilot and making some pretty good speeds.

A few days ago (I'm sorry I don't know exactly how long - the days started to blur together after awhile). I was sailing along nicely doing about 12-15 knots in perfect conditions. The wind started to pick up just as it was getting dark and was a bit too much for the sail I had up, so I went out to reef, but the sail wouldn't come down. After a while I realized it was stuck on the top spreaders.

There was a line on the top of the sail meant to help when pulling it down so I don't have to climb all over the boom. While I was in Cape Town I think someone may have messed around with it a bit. I had never had trouble with it before. The wind was starting to pick up even more and it seemed like the only thing to fix it was go up the mast. I called one of the guys from my team just to run everything by him. Well, nobody was too excited about the idea of me going up the mast in over 30 knots but there was no doubt that it would have to be done to free that line. While the team went to check the weather forecast for a break in the conditions I went down below and dug out my boson's chair, helmet, padded suit and all the gear I needed to pull myself up the mast.

Back out on deck it was dark out now and Wild Eyes was almost heeled all the way over on her side with the auto pilot struggling to keep her on course. Eventually, the autopilot couldn't handle it though. I had to get Wild Eyes hove to. It was too dark to see anything and my little flashlight wasn't much help. With Wild Eyes headed just off the wind and riding the waves it was still a pretty wild ride. The seas seemed to have no backs to them and Wild Eyes would plow up and through the waves and seemed to fly through the air before crashing back into the sea.

It wasn't all that easy keeping myself on board while trying to get the spinnaker halyard down and get my bosun's chair hooked up. I was trying to think positively. In general things like this wouldn't have scared me, but I couldn't help thinking how I was going to get myself almost to the top of the mast when I couldn't see what I was doing and was having a difficult time just standing on deck. I kept telling myself worrying wasn't going to do any good. I had enough to focus on in front of me without getting bent out of shape over going up a mast I had been up hundreds of times before.

As I pulled up the halyard it kept getting stuck on everything because of the wild motions of the boat. If I couldn't get it up with out it getting stuck then it would definitely get stuck when I was trying to let myself down and this was not a good night to get stuck at the top of a mast, not that any night is.

I like going up the mast and I like heavy wind, but going up the mast when it is pitch black, when it's gusting well over 30 knots and wave after wave is breaking over the whole boat, well, that's just a bit much. I wasn't going to be going up the mast, at least not that way. I still had the back up main halyard so I went out to the end of the boom were it was clipped on and started getting that ready. It was wrapped around something but I couldn't see what. I tried to get it untangled, but not being able to see what it was tangled around I was just getting it tangled even worse. That was the only other way for me to get up the mast. I needed to get it untangled. I couldn't see that high up with my flashlight no matter how hard I tried. It was maddening.

I needed to get up there but I couldn't. I had done just about everything I possibly could, but I was at a dead end. I was completely out of ideas and beginning to get more scared that I couldn't do anything about it than I had been about going up the mast in the first place.

I called Jeff from my team again and told him I was stuck for ideas. He said that the weather was going to get better the next day and that I should wait until daylight to take a better look at things. I spent the night sitting up at the chart desk. There was no point in trying to sleep. I knew that I wouldn't have been able to.

The next day the wind started to lighten, not much but enough that I could sail with my main where it was. It was still a bit rough out but if I could sail I could get somewhere with lighter wind and get up the mast safely. I was just headed out to set things up outside when I heard something hit the hull. I jumped outside to see what it was. My bowsprit was hanging in the water attached by one line on the bottom of the boat. Hanging down off the front of the boat, I could almost reach the line, waiting for the boat to rock so I could pull it up. The boat did rock, a little more then I had hoped for and I had to pull myself back up to keep from falling in. I dug out my boat hook and gave that a try. It was still almost impossible to get the line up high enough that I didn't have to hang down off the side. It seemed like everytime I got the line up on deck a wave would hit and I would have to hold on, dropping the line of course, then having to start all over again on cutting the line. It took a good long time, but eventually I was able to cut through the line. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get it back on board. Fortunately, I only use it with my Code Zero that I only use in very light wind so the loss wasn't too serious.

This blog is starting to get pretty long so I'll hurry things up a bit. I spent that day and night sailing towards a spot where there was some lighter wind, still not ideal for going up the mast alone, but out here you can't be too picky about that sort of thing.

I was on the phone with my mom the next morning, just giving her my position and letting her know what was going on. The Iridium phone had been having awful reception down here and so I went outside hoping to get a better signal. I was looking around at things out there and saw that the line didn't look like it was stuck any more. I set the phone down and went to let the main down. It came sliding right down just as fast as it usually does. I picked the phone back up, told my mom and quickly got off so I could get the line off the sail before it got stuck on something else. I got the line off and my main back up and changed course heading back south into the stronger winds.

It was an incredible relief. I just sat on the side of the boat watching as the sun started to come up. It had been an interesting past few days. I would have been very happy if none of that had happened, but, it's gonna make a great chapter in the book!!

Today, I have a good 25-30 knots with the auto pilot working perfectly and making a steady 10 knots on course eastward. I have had a good night's sleep and am feeling happy again to be out here doing what I love!

A Quick Update

2010-05-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

It has been an eventful few days. Abby’s Thrane & Thrane Sailor 250 Fleet broadband system has been unable to connect for the past few days due to a problem with a processor on the EMEA satellite that services her area. This is the system that she uses to send and receive email and also as a back up phone to her 2 Iridium sat phones. The Inmarsat satellite trouble has nothing to do with her equipment and it has been repaired so we are hoping that she will have time to blog soon.

She is well though busy. She has had a series of cold fronts followed by a low pressure system arriving today. Nothing too serious but keeping her busy as she readjusts to life at sea 24/7.

If Abby is unable to blog for us today we will update for her.

Another Cape - Agulhas

2010-05-23T11:37:00.000-07:00

Things are still going well out here. The new auto pilot is amazing. I can carry way more sail now without him going into standby. The wind is dying down a little right now, but earlier I was making about 12-15 knots so that was pretty fun. Things are pretty much perfect right now - it really helps settling back into life at sea having nice weather and equipment working. I have a few gauges I still need to play around with a little but other than that things are good.

I'm pretty far offshore now so there aren't any ships around me which is really nice. Getting out of Cape Town was pretty crazy with so many ships around. I caught my first fish yesterday! But unfortunately, by the time I got outside it was gone. Really! I was surprised I caught anything since I had been going pretty fast at the time.

The route page will be up hopefully later today. The way it was set up we were only allowed 103 waypoints so the format needed to be changed. I am now directly south of Cape Agulhas (about 200 miles offshore) which is actually the southern most point of South Africa - not Cape of Good Hope.

The team will be putting together a report of the repairs and faults that they discovered while in Cape Town once they recover from their jetlag.

That's about all there is for now. I'm playing around with my cameras so I can lower the resolution enough to send some over. So I'll try and get some up tomorrow!

Good Bye Cape Town!

2010-05-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Going past the Cape Grace Hotel and under the bridge

Photo Courtesy of Correne Coetzer

Heading out: Correne Coetzer

Photo of Wild Eyes outside Table Bay: Scott Lurie

Wild Eyes and I have made it back out to sea today!

We weren't sure if I would be able to leave this morning. Just the night before, the bridge broke down and the engineer was away working on another bridge. The marina was determined to get me out that morning as planned so they arranged to have the part they needed flown down and had the guys working all night long. As it turned out, they couldn't get the part flown out until 8 o'clock that morning, so they ended up raising half of the bridge by hand, giving me just enough room to get out with out leaving my mast behind.

It was great of them. Everyone at the marina was so helpful and did a lot to get me out on schedule. So far the auto pilot is working great. I only have 20 knots but I should be getting some heavier wind soon enough!

I haven't slept much the past few nights so I'm beginning to get a little tired. With all of the local shipping it will be a few nights till it will be safe to sleep in my bed. It's great to be back out here, I really missed it so much.

Thanks so much to Erik Bjerring from Cape Town for all your help - who knows how much we would have been able to get done without all your help! To Wiltel Marine: you guys have all been great and we are all grateful for everything you have done; for your support and for helping to get Wild Eyes and I out this morning.

Jannie, Tracy, James, Anna, Sanazo, Sisanda, and Trish: thank you for opening your house to us, putting up with all of our odd comings and goings and really making my stay in Cape Town special.

Thanks to the Cape Grace Hotel for putting us up for our first night. I have never been to a nicer hotel! I felt a little strange walking in barefoot and dripping wet in my foul weather gear that first night but, man, that was a great place to spend your first night on land! There was always something to hold onto when the ground started to spin! And there was a big enough bed that you didn't fall on the floor every time a wave hit!

And, of course, thanks to all of my faithful bloggers for your continued support!

Another great video from Jeff Ayliffe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2dH3_GbPZQ

Good bye Cape Town!

Cape Town - Final Days

2010-05-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Repairs are going well. The new auto pilots are working very well and this time they are the type that can have two heads attached, one inside and one outside. It will help a lot not needing to run up and down everytime I set it. We also put the auto pilot brain boxes in a place a little easier to get to so I won't have to crawl into the depths of what has affectionately become known as hell, or should I say unaffectionately? (the small compartment in the back under the cockpit) Even if I do have to pull them apart, put them together, switch everything back and forth, re wire, or whatever problem might occur with the new two pilots, at least I will be able to see what I am doing.

Erik Bjerring, Me and Scott

There are new DC lights everywhere so I should have better lighting for the times I am up at night. Of course now that I know how to do just about everything with my auto pilots and now that things are set up a little easier to get to they will probably work fine.

Fiberglass repair to water ballast!

The wind generators are both on the back and are working well. They are a little different from my last ones, they put out better amperage in lighter wind, and from the looks of things the blades are a little bit stronger. They don't get so thin at the end so I hopefully won't have to worry about the blades breaking so easily.

Wild Eyes gets a new eye

I'm sorry I haven't written much while I have been here. As nice as it is to be on land for the time being, it's not at all a vacation. We're all pulling hard to get things together and get me back on the water. I had planned to leave this morning, but as things turned out, my dad and Scott had a 20 hour lay over in Johannesburg, so they just changed there plans and are now leaving late Friday. Now I will be leaving early Friday.

Yes, I do know all the superstitions and about how you're not supposed to leave on a Friday, but as things are right now waiting a day or two to get out of here could bring a whole new set of troubles weather wise. I know that a lot of people have been worrying about my next leg with how late it is in the season.

But hey, people said I wouldn't be able to get around Cape Horn because it was getting late in the season. It is about picking weather windows and knowing ahead of time about fronts that are forming so that I can alter my route to avoid them. I may not be able to avoid everything but with my weather router and Wild Eyes' speed I should be able to avoid the majority of really bad weather.

I will stop again if I need to but I'm not racing out here. I'm taking things slowly and if I can avoid bad weather, I will. Wild Eyes has been around the world before, she's been in 60 knots, she's been knocked down, she's a great boat and as safe as they get. As long as I stay on her, I'll be safe as well. The next leg is probably going to be harder then any thing I have done so far in my trip, but I am ready for it and so is Wild Eyes.

More Photos and Departure Update

2010-05-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Lots of long days and nights on the boat as the team readies Wild Eyes for departure. Looking like a Thursday morning departure. Here are some shots of another sea trial in Table Bay. Many thanks to Jeff Ayliffe!

Abby at the helm

Laurence enjoying the ride

Abby in front of Table Mountain

In the slip

A well-used life jacket

A view from above

Sea Trial Video

2010-05-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Photos and video thanks to Jeff Ayliffe:

This is a short video of Wild Eyes and the team on her first sea trial in Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooTXs_m7uGE

Congrats Jesse and Still Working!

2010-05-16T13:40:00.000-07:00

Work is going well here today. We had planned to go for a test sail today but ran into a few small problems, should be able to get those fixed up soon and maybe get out on the water this afternoon.

Before I go into everything we've done today, I'd just like to send a BIG congratulations to Jesse Watson! She has done an absolutely amazing job and while to be perfectly honest, I am a little envious, she deserves the record. She sailed around the world, alone, non-stop, and unassisted. I know how difficult that is to achieve. I can understand that you need to be fair to the last person to break the record and respect the fact that they followed certain guide lines. But in my book, Jessica Watson is the youngest person to ever sail around the world, and she should be given the credit she is due. It is hard to watch someone else accomplish what you have dreamed of for years and to be thinking, if I had only done this or that things may have turned out differently. But things are the way they are. Records, whether they are on paper or not, are made to be broken and it most likely will be one day, but Jesse is amazing, what she did is amazing, and that will never change no matter who holds the record.

Well, back to the work down on the dock today. I went up the mast earlier this morning to take some pictures but when I got down I found that it hadn't been working right so a friend went up with his camera and took a few. I'll try to get them up later. I'll probably go up the mast again later today. I keep looking for excuses to go up and taking pictures seems to be a good one, so I will get you guys some pictures!

I will describe the autopilot repairs in a few days. They have been installed in a new location but still need a few test sails to calibrate them. There are so many different variables with them that I will wait until the job is finished to explain everything.

I have gone through all the gear on the boat and cleaned it all up. And I now have two new water proof cameras so you guys shouldn't have to go with out pictures again! :)

Well, back to the dock!

More From Cape Town

2010-05-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

On the Docks

Work has been going well today. The diver found a scratch on the forward hull while she was looking at the bottom. We weren't sure how bad or deep it was but wanted to haul Wild Eyes to be safe and just check on it anyway. The problem was that with Wild Eyes' 10ft draft there wasn't a cradle big enough at the boat yard that wasn't already being used. We asked if they could just lift us out of the water as their last boat of the day, leave us there in the straps over night and then put her back first thing in the morning.

They said they couldn't do that so we settled on another way to get her far enough out of the water. We looped a line around her keel and ran a halyard from the mast to a cleat on the boat next to us. We filled up the water ballast and then I ran back and forth winching in the halyard and the line on the keel. We got Wild Eyes tipped right over far enough so that we could get a closer look at the damage.

After a good close look it was obvious it wasn't too serious. The scratch wasn't that big or very deep. We filled it in anyway just to be safe. We were getting a lot of strange looks from people walking by, and there were quite a few people standing by the windows of the Cape Grace Hotel next to us watching. Wild Eyes did look a little like she was sinking, but surprisingly it's not uncommon for boats like Wild Eyes to be tipped over like that. It saves so much time and money and is just as good as pulling her all the way out. So, all of that made for an interesting day yesterday.

Today is Zac's last day with us as he's flying back tomorrow. The work is almost done and we are keeping our eyes out for a weather window for me to get out in. It's looking like Tuesday is probably my best bet on getting out as the weather has been pretty stormy recently. We have been in good communication with my weather routers who have been routing all kinds of boats around the world for more than 30 years. We have a plan for my next legs and feel confident that I can make these passages safely with their professional guidance. I am very fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and experienced team of meteorologists on my team.

Scott Lurie: Team Abby

Val Carsten from Environ Skin Care with a Gift Basket

Cape Town Update II

2010-05-10T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,

Sorry it's been so long since I've written. Its been pretty busy here. We've finished a lot of the work on Wild Eyes and things are moving along nicely. We have found a few more problems, but nothing too big, so we should be able to keep on schedule.

The V&A Waterfront Marina and the Cape Grace Hotel from the air.

Photo: Abby Sunderland

We have been staying at a friend's house, my parents met them when they were in LA. Jannie and Tracy van Wyk have been great, a really big help. Yesterday, Jannie, his son James and I flew out in his little plane to his cabin pretty far out. It was a great day.

The van Wyk's cottage from the air. Photo Jannie van Wyk

View of the South Atlantic from the air. Photo: Abby Sunderland

Jannie and I in front of his ariplane. Photo James van Wyk

We had breakfast at Kersefontein farm near where Jannie's weekend cottage. Kersefontein farm has been owned for 8 generations by the same family since 1770! http://www.kersefontein.co.za/

We went quad running, and got his little power boat out of the river.

Me with James van Wyk. Photo: Jannie van Wyk

Then we flew to a nearby airport for an airshow.

Then we flew back got home and went to the album launch for an African band called Freshly Ground.

I would write more, but I should really get back down to the boat and get back to work.

Table Mountain from the air. Photo: Abby Sunderland

Cape Town Update

2010-05-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

From Team Abby:

Work is progressing nicely in Cape Town. A diver inspected Wild Eyes' hull today and found a large clump of seaweed on the prop. Everyone hoping that that is the cause of the engine trouble on Abby's arrival as the engine runs fine out of gear.

Everyone had an incredible night at the Cape Grace Hotel there at the V&A Waterfront. They are being hosted by a local family now who have been great company and a super support.

Abby was going to visit an all-girls school today and perhaps speak.

Rigging was inspected and besides a few tweeks and line changes - everything looks great.

Another video from Jeff Ayliffe - Primedia Broadcasting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZdAlE7gsDs

Video of Cape Town Arrival

2010-05-06T09:42:00.000-07:00

Nice video of Abby's Cape Town arrival with thanks to Jeff Ayliffe:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih64okvGVnQ

Cape Town Photos II

2010-05-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

These photos were sent over from South African photographer Eben Human:

Many thanks to the Cape Grace Hotel for a special delivery of fresh food - cheesebruger, fries and an ice cold soda!!