Thaindian News

June 30 (THAINDIAN NEWS) It has been almost three weeks since the boat which sixteen year old Abby Sunderland was attempted to sail solo around the world capsized and fell apart as she was forced to activate her emergency beacons in order to alert rescue personnel. Now she is safe at home and telling her story.

During an interview with Meridith Vierra from ‘The Today Show’ in New York, Abby and her father, Lawrence stated that there are people who criticize them for allowing Abby to undergo this attempt, but that they do not realize Abby’s skill level, how much she had prepared, nor how much time and dedication she put into the trip in the boat called ‘Wild Eyes’.

“I think it’s mainly because people don’t understand. Not a lot of people sail, especially not my age, and I think it’s mainly they can’t understand why I’d do it. And they don’t fully understand what I did out there and why I did it,” Abby told Meridith.

But the teenager did admit that she was very afraid in the storm which disabled her boat, and was afraid no one was coming. “I was right in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I wasn’t sure when anybody would come, or if they would come. I tried to keep myself from thinking about that too much, but in the back of my mind, I knew there was a possibility that nobody would come,” Abby told Today.

But they did come, and the media has estimated the cost of that rescue to be around one million dollars. Although this has been criticised by many, others feel that you cannot put a price on a life. The cost will not be taken in by just one rescue operation, however.

“There’s an international understanding,” her father said. “If an Australian was in trouble in American waters, the American Coast Guard would absorb the costs, and vice versa. The media always jump on that every time. The reality is that the rescue centers worldwide will absorb the costs.”

The teen is now safe at home with her parents, but says she will definitely sail again. “I definitely would,” she replied. “Not right now, but I’m going to keep sailing. I still love it.” And although she did not make her worldwide journey,she is the youngest sailor to ever make it around Cape Horn.