Abby Sunderland rescue could take several days

by GrindTV on 11 Jun 2010 Teen sailor Abby Sunderland, who today made international headlines by requesting a rescue via various distress-signal units, is in a portion of the southern Indian Ocean that is so remote it could take nearly two days for a ship to reach her position.

Sunderland, 16, had been a little past the halfway point in an attempt to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone.

Helicopters reportedly do not have the fuel capacity to reach her but a crew aboard an airplane from Australia had expected to arrive at the position issued via her EPIRB satellite positioning devices at daybreak (she's 11 hours ahead of Pacific Daylight Time). But the crew aboard the plane would be unable to do much other than keep track of the vessel and talk to Abby via marine radio, if it can get close enough and the radio is functional, and if Abby is able to operate the radio.

At 8 p.m. (PDT) the Sunderland family sent out a prayer request to a group of Abby's supporters saying two beacons she had activated -- one on her survival suit or life jacket, and another on the 40-foot sailboat -- were tracking together. They took that to mean she was still aboard the vessel.

'They are tracking together so that means that Abby is still on the boat,' the statement procvlaimed.

The Sunderlands added, however: 'Our fear is that the boat has capsized and that it is taking on water. It will be very difficult to rescue her if she is capsized.

'The boat is equipped with an escape hatch that she can exit from but it will be very difficult in the water she is experiencing.'

The Sunderlands added that the Australian search-and-rescue airplane trying to reach her position was not expected to arrive until at least 10 p.m. (PDT).

For the rest of this story http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/17948/rescue+of+teen+sailor+abby+sunderland+could+take+nearly+two+days!click_here