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MARK COLVIN: A 16-year-old girl who was feared lost in the Indian Ocean has been found alive. Abby Sunderland has been sailing around the world since January. She set off two emergency beacons last night from a location about 3,600 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia. Before losing phone contact, Abby Sunderland had told her family her that her yacht was knocked over in huge seas.
David Weber joins me from Perth with the latest. What do we know about her condition and the condition of her boat?
DAVID WEBER: Well, Mark apparently she’s not injured. The boat is not upside down. It is dis-masted, apparently, the mast is in the water with its sail. The boat is not taking on water though so while it sits upright and she can stay in the boat, it doesn’t sound like it’ll be going anywhere in a hurry.
The weather conditions are abating out there. Laurence, her father, said a short time ago that he was ecstatic of course, the best news that he could have hoped for. He did say that there were fears that because the radar had been attached to the mast, that that may have been ripped off and indeed the Qantas Airbus A330 that went out this morning to try and spot her or make contact with her, they made contact with her via VHF radio.
She’s got this hand held radio with a small range and of course the Airbus went out because it’s right in the middle of the Indian Ocean, between Africa and Western Australia. Reunion Island is where they’ve been coordinating the rescue efforts that will come to be in the next couple of days.
MARK COLVIN: You said that the mast and the sail are both in the water. That acts effectively like a sea anchor; she won’t be going anywhere at all very fast, will she?
DAVID WEBER: No. It sounds like it’s the end of the around the world trip. Her father, Laurence, said that once she’s out of the boat that will be the end of the trip, this sort of effort to sail around the world that she started in January.
MARK COLVIN: But what I’m suggesting is that at least she’s not going to be moving very far once the rescue mission gets underway, they won’t have to search too much to find her presumably?
DAVID WEBER: Yeah, it’s like a, as you say, an anchor. It’ll sort of keep her in one place, especially with the weather conditions abating and it’s a matter of firming up those coordinates so a boat can get to her.
MARK COLVIN: There’s been some criticism about her timing of the journey through the Indian Ocean and about her boat. What’s that all about?
DAVID WEBER: Well weather-wise, it’s apparently not a great time to be doing such a trip through the Indian Ocean. But others have said that the yacht isn’t even designed for this kind of trip, what’s known as the Open 40, is made of a carbon fibre and is designed to sail down-wind, not like Jessica Watson’s boat.
Now, no doubt these issues will be picked over in the coming days. Right now the issue is to get to her. That still won’t happy until perhaps tomorrow afternoon. The Maritime Safety Authority have said earlier that Reunion authorities there had organised for a fishing vessel to be there by tomorrow afternoon and other vessels are following that.
But presumably, as the coordinates are likely to be firmed up, that first vessel will be the one to do the rescue. And after that it remains to be seen where she’ll actually be taken.
MARK COLVIN: Alright, well ABC news will obviously be following that story.
David Weber in Perth
Alternate WMA version | MP3 download
MARK COLVIN: A 16-year-old girl who was feared lost in the Indian Ocean has been found alive. Abby Sunderland has been sailing around the world since January. She set off two emergency beacons last night from a location about 3,600 kilometres off the coast of Western Australia. Before losing phone contact, Abby Sunderland had told her family her that her yacht was knocked over in huge seas.
David Weber joins me from Perth with the latest. What do we know about her condition and the condition of her boat?
DAVID WEBER: Well, Mark apparently she’s not injured. The boat is not upside down. It is dis-masted, apparently, the mast is in the water with its sail. The boat is not taking on water though so while it sits upright and she can stay in the boat, it doesn’t sound like it’ll be going anywhere in a hurry.
The weather conditions are abating out there. Laurence, her father, said a short time ago that he was ecstatic of course, the best news that he could have hoped for. He did say that there were fears that because the radar had been attached to the mast, that that may have been ripped off and indeed the Qantas Airbus A330 that went out this morning to try and spot her or make contact with her, they made contact with her via VHF radio.
She’s got this hand held radio with a small range and of course the Airbus went out because it’s right in the middle of the Indian Ocean, between Africa and Western Australia. Reunion Island is where they’ve been coordinating the rescue efforts that will come to be in the next couple of days.
MARK COLVIN: You said that the mast and the sail are both in the water. That acts effectively like a sea anchor; she won’t be going anywhere at all very fast, will she?
DAVID WEBER: No. It sounds like it’s the end of the around the world trip. Her father, Laurence, said that once she’s out of the boat that will be the end of the trip, this sort of effort to sail around the world that she started in January.
MARK COLVIN: But what I’m suggesting is that at least she’s not going to be moving very far once the rescue mission gets underway, they won’t have to search too much to find her presumably?
DAVID WEBER: Yeah, it’s like a, as you say, an anchor. It’ll sort of keep her in one place, especially with the weather conditions abating and it’s a matter of firming up those coordinates so a boat can get to her.
MARK COLVIN: There’s been some criticism about her timing of the journey through the Indian Ocean and about her boat. What’s that all about?
DAVID WEBER: Well weather-wise, it’s apparently not a great time to be doing such a trip through the Indian Ocean. But others have said that the yacht isn’t even designed for this kind of trip, what’s known as the Open 40, is made of a carbon fibre and is designed to sail down-wind, not like Jessica Watson’s boat.
Now, no doubt these issues will be picked over in the coming days. Right now the issue is to get to her. That still won’t happy until perhaps tomorrow afternoon. The Maritime Safety Authority have said earlier that Reunion authorities there had organised for a fishing vessel to be there by tomorrow afternoon and other vessels are following that.
But presumably, as the coordinates are likely to be firmed up, that first vessel will be the one to do the rescue. And after that it remains to be seen where she’ll actually be taken.
MARK COLVIN: Alright, well ABC news will obviously be following that story.
David Weber in Perth
