Abby Sunderland Missing
I write this on Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles when SAR efforts have been launched to search for Abbey Sunderland, an American sailor whose EPIRBs went off early this morning in the Indian Ocean. Abby is a 16 year old who was attempting to circum...
I write this on Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles when SAR efforts have been launched to search for Abbey Sunderland, an American sailor whose EPIRBs went off early this morning in the Indian Ocean.
Abby is a 16 year old who was attempting to circumnavigate solo on a 36 foot sailboat, initially non-stop until that effort was ended by a stop to repair equipment in Africa last month. Abby continued on to attempt to set a record to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate with stops.
All we know right now is that two emergency beacons went off – one on her survival suit, that they were both supposedly manually activated, that the third beacon that is set to activate if the boat goes below 15 feet of depth hasn’t gone off, and that her sat phone is dead. We also know that the weather and sea state were bad and getting worse for Abby on her last report.
Why then, is the Internet abuzz with reports that Abby is lost at sea? No, we’re not sure exactly where she is except that she seems to be 400 miles from the nearest ship that could provide assistance. But lost implies a lot worse than being without an exact location. Only Reuters has had the understanding of vocabulary to put her as missing.
Worse, why are people who can’t comprehend being on a cocktail cruise much less being in 25 foot waves with 60 knot winds speculating on her qualifications to be there? Yes, she was late and the Southern Ocean is getting set for winter storms, and continuing on from Africa may not have been the soundest of decisions made. But most of these people point to her being a 16 year old girl as the root cause of her current predicament. This could happen to anyone including a 50 year old, male, veteran, ex-Olympic sailor. Abby could also have been kept home and gotten into a fatal car accident coming home from a high school party.
The opinions that some out there are sharing showcase their own fears and limitations which they hide behind statements like “it’s child abuse” and she “shouldn’t have been allowed” to do this. Have you ever seen a 12-year old gymnast and what she goes through in a daily workout? Is that child abuse? And yet didn’t everyone love Mary Lou Retton because she accomplished something? Abby’s classmates are quoted as saying she’s crazy because they themselves are too scared to venture into the ocean. Who is this about? Unfortunately, these types of thoughts sometimes shape not only public opinion but also restrictions by official organizations for future efforts of any kind.
Australian Jessica Watson just completed her solo circumnavigation a couple weeks ago and arrived to celebrate her 17th birthday safe and sound. Was she lucky? Absolutely. Was she skilled? Undoubtedly. Did she have any business doing exactly the same thing as Abby out there? Why not? Is anyone talking about her anymore? Not really, because she succeeded.
Who is qualified to say what is or isn’t possible or should be allowed? If a 50 year old, male, veteran Olympic sailor were sitting out there right now on a possibly overturned hull praying for rescue, what would these people be saying? Sure, nobody wants to spring for the unnecessary expense of launching search and rescue operations but what is happening in the Indian Ocean could have happened to anyone and has nothing to do with Abby, who is well equipped and at this time has logged more sea miles than most avid boaters, much less the average sports writer or blogger sitting in an office.
The situation is dire for sure. It could end with the worst possible outcome, but we don’t know that right now. Maybe at this time it's better to hold off on speculation whether she's alive and will be found and also on the overheated swapping of opinions on what individuals, of any age or gender, should be “allowed” to do.
