Keep up your prayers

[Drailey]

For the little sixteen girl lost in the Indian Ocean. It's winter there and she was battling 60' seas in a small sailboat. I'm not sure I would allow that as a parent! Hope they find her!

Edited June 11, 2010 by His-Sea-Fit

[fireboat]

Yeah, a lot of people are going to argue whether she should have gone, personally I feel it was their family decision and she is a competent sailor so I don't have a problem with it (yeah I admit I would not let my daughter go at that age). Her brother completed a circum-navigaton last year when he was 17 so Abby Sunderland and her family knew what was to be expected.

The mistake that I see is that she started the voyage at the wrong time which placed her in the Indian Ocean at the worst time of the year. I guess they did it because they were trying to break the record for the youngest sailor to sail around the world, so they didn't wait for spring time in the Southern Hemisphere, possibly a tragic mistake.

She might be okay though as she manually activated her EPIRB, which implies she is conscious. Also, her automatic EPIRB has not activated which suggests her boat is still afloat. I think that probably her boat pitch-poled or rolled and since it is a self-righting design, it is floating but is dismasted.

Her problem is that she is in the middle-of-nowhere with help thousands of miles away. So indeed, some prayers would help.

[Drailey]

Yeah, a lot of people are going to argue whether she should have gone, personally I feel it was their family decision and she is a competent sailor so I don't have a problem with it (yeah I admit I would not let my daughter go at that age). Her brother completed a circum-navigaton last year when he was 17 so Abby Sunderland and her family knew what was to be expected.

The mistake that I see is that she started the voyage at the wrong time which placed her in the Indian Ocean at the worst time of the year. I guess they did it because they were trying to break the record for the youngest sailor to sail around the world, so they didn't wait for spring time in the Southern Hemisphere, possibly a tragic mistake.

She might be okay though as she manually activated her EPIRB, which implies she is conscious. Also, her automatic EPIRB has not activated which suggests her boat is still afloat. I think that probably her boat pitch-poled or rolled and since it is a self-righting design, it is floating but is dismasted.

Her problem is that she is in the middle-of-nowhere with help thousands of miles away. So indeed, some prayers would help.

The time of year she sailed was not the optium time to cross over some of the most dangerous seas in the world. My thought is exatly as you stated. Why not at least consider a little better planning? Nearest ship as of today was 400 miles away. I hope she is at least in the survival suit, and hopefully in the raft also!