Sixteen Year Old Abby gets her Round the World boat, goes for sponsors

by Nancy Knudsen on 10 Nov 2009 The search has been long and the window of time to round Cape Horn this summer is closing, but sixteen-year-old Abby Sunderland has finally found her boat and is now looking for more sponsors to help her repair it.

The teen has a long way to go before she starts her attempt on being the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world non-stop and unassisted.

She even has a long way to go to get home, and to get there in time will require some natty positioning. The boat, currently called Wild Eyes, was found in Rhode Island, so she first has to round her own continent to get back to her home port of Marina del Rey in Los Angeles.

So it'll be a race against time, and in the meantime her Australian counterpart Jessica Watson, who is four months older than Abby, has already completed over 2000 miles of her journey, heading towards the equator.

The two girls will round the Horn in the same summer, and will most likely be in radio contact.

On Sunday morning, Abby, her father Laurence, and her brother Zac, who completed his own circumnavigation earlier this year at the age of 17, left Newport on Sunday morning to sail the boat to Florida. This is a 1000 mile voyage, and will give father and brother time to challenge both the boat and their daughter/sister.

Then they intend to ship the boat from Fort Lauderdale to Ensenada in Baja California during November. From Ensenada they will again start sailing north up the coast of California to arrive by the end of November. The timing is tight, as Abby wants to be gone by the middle of December to catch the best weather around Cape Horn.

While setting a world record would be an added bonus of her trip, Abby says she is most concerned about making the trip safely, and having a character building experience in the process.

When asked about the risks, Abby replies, 'I have been sailing my whole life and I am just as ready to do this as many adults. It is doubly reassuring that Wild Eyes has done it [circumnavigate the globe] before. She is built for circumnavigation and has made it around just fine.  There will be tearful and restless nights for sure, but we will make it through.'

When asked if she ever thought that her trip could be doomed due to economic constraints on potential sponsors, Abby answered, 'There was never a time when I thought that this wasn't going to happen.'

About the boat :

Wild Eyes is a Category 0 Open 40, and is a boat built for speed. Abby says she intends to complete the trip in 5-6 months, much faster than the intended 8 months of her Australian counterpart Jessica Watson. Wild Eyes has already sailed a circumnavigation with a previous owner.

Once they reach Marina del Rey, the boat will undergo some modification, and will be outfitted with new sails. To cover these costs Abby and her family are still looking for more sponsorship.