ShareThisVENTURA, Calif. - A plane search for California teen sailor Abby Sunderland will begin Friday morning in the Indian Ocean, after two of her emergency beacons went off about 6 a.m. Thursday.
She is currently halfway between Africa and Australia, and the plane won't be able to search for the Thousand Oaks girl until daybreak on Friday.
Abby's mother, Marianne Sunderland, said she was talking to Abby about 5:30 Thursday morning when the satellite phone connection died. Abby, 16, had said she had a particularly hard day as waves were coming from all directions, winds were gusting to 60 knots and her boat dipped sideways into the water several times.
But Sunderland said her daughter seemed OK when she talked to her and thought the worst was over.
Abby Sunderland, 16, is trying to become the youngest girl to circumnavigate the globe.
About 30 minutes after talking to her mother, Abby set off two of her emergency beacons that sent signals to rescue crews. The two beacons are close together, which likely means she is still on the boat, Marianne Sunderland said. A third beacon in the cockpit that automatically goes off when submerged, has not engaged, which Sunderland believes means the boat has not capsized.
"We are just perplexed," Sunderland said. "We can't figure out what happened. Maybe it was some rogue wave."
The nearest boat that will check on Abby is about 40 hours away and another is 2 1/2 days away, Sunderland said.
One of the main fears is that Abby could be wet in the cold and dark. Hypothermia is a possibility, Sunderland said.
"It's very cold down there," Sunderland said. "She does have survival gear but we'd rather she didn't have to wait 40 hours."
Sunderland said she's trying to stay calm by keeping busy and hates that her daughter is alone in the dark.
On Monday, Abby posted on her blog that the weather was looking bad.
"The weather looks like it could pick up a lot in the next few days," she wrote in the post titled 'Update from the Middle of the Indian Ocean.' "I could have winds up to 60 knots, so I'm getting things all tied down and ready for some big winds."
On Wednesday, she wrote under 'A rough few days,' "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."
Abby is following the track of her brother, Zac, who also tried to go down in sailing history as the youngest person to sail around the world nonstop. Although he did set a record, about two months after he was finished, a 17-year old Brit bested Zac's feat.
"It's weird not being able to help because we are at such a distance," Zac said Thursday.
Abby set sail from Marina del Rey, Calif. in January on the 40-foot boat, Wild Eyes, in hopes of making her own history as the youngest person to sail around the world nonstop.
But in April, she had to stop in Cape Town, South Africa for repairs, which effectively ended her nonstop goal. She is still trying to do the trip as the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe.
The teens' journeys have not come without some scrutiny of their parents' decision to allow it. But they say their children are mature beyond their years and well equipped for the adventure.
(Zeke Barlow is a reporter for the Ventura County Star in California.)
