Abby Sunderland

Sunderland is married to US Navy sailor Justin T. Sims, of Centerville, Alabama. When Wild Eyes was found in 2018 her father told the Australian media that she was living in Alabama, where she had three children, with one on the way.

On December 31, 2018, South Australian Police were notified of an overturned vessel seen by a tuna-spotting plane off the coast of Kangaroo Island. A police helicopter was sent to investigate, along with two commercial fishing vessels operating nearby, and the boat was identified as Wild Eyes. News pictures appear to show it as having lost its keel. It will not be salvaged unless it poses a hazard to shipping or comes ashore.

Sunderland was the subject of a documentary film produced and directed by her father titled Wild Eyes: The Abby Sunderland Story. The film was released on September 8, 2011.

Sunderland released a book about her ordeal on April 12, 2011. The book is co-written with Lynn Vincent and is titled Unsinkable: A Young Woman's Courageous Battle on the High Seas. She has been going on book-signing tours, where it was revealed that she is taking flying lessons, to be able to fly around the world.

Sunderland started her solo circumnavigation from Marina del Rey, California, on January 23, 2010. There had not been enough time to do a multi-day test sail in varying conditions, so the team decided to let her depart anyway, and stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, if needed. After a few days it became evident that her solar panels and wind generators were not meeting the energy needs of her boat in the conditions she met, so charging using the diesel engine was needed more than anticipated. There were also electrical problems in her mast wiring, problems which affected her windspeed indicators. Sunderland landed at Cabo San Lucas on February 2, 2010, to take on more fuel and batteries, make repairs and restart her non-stop circumnavigation attempt.

Sunderland started her second attempt from Cabo San Lucas on February 6, 2010, intending to complete a solo, non-stop, unassisted circumnavigation in ten legs, departing from and returning to Cabo San Lucas. On February 19, 2010 at 3:07 PM PST, thirteen days after departing Cabo San Lucas, Sunderland and Wild Eyes crossed the Equator into the South Pacific at 0°00′N 120°15′W  /  0°N 120.25°W  / 0; -120.25  (Sunderland crosses the Equator, February 19, 2010 ) .

On February 27, 2010, there was media concern for Sunderland's safety because of the 2010 Chile earthquake. She was then at 15°S 123°W  /  15°S 123°W  / -15; -123  (Sunderland's position during Chile earthquake, February 27, 2010 ) , some 1,860 miles (2,990 km) from the quake's epicenter, but the great ocean depth at her location minimized the effect of the resulting tsunami and her team reported she had not "... experienced anything out of the ordinary."

On March 21, 2010, while sleeping at approximately 2:00 AM local time, she suffered a knock-down and barely avoided an accidental jibe. On March 31, 2010, Sunderland rounded Cape Horn—the southernmost point of South America—making her the youngest solo sailor to do so. She experienced rough seas and heavy winds when approaching, but little wind the last day before Cape Horn.

On April 24, 2010, Sunderland announced that she would stop at Cape Town for repairs to her autopilot system, ending her non-stop attempt. However, she planned to continue the circumnavigation. Sunderland had two separate autopilot systems and both failed. She was able to swap parts between them to keep one going for a time, but a leak made the repair stop necessary. She arrived in Cape Town on May 5, 2010.

Sunderland departed from Cape Town on Friday May 21, 2010, defying the superstition against starting a sailing voyage on a Friday and saying, "I will stop again if I need to." By this time, it became likely her arrival in Cabo San Lucas or direct to Marina del Rey would be in August or possibly September.

Around May 24, 2010, a line got stuck near the top of her mast. Sunderland tried to climb the mast but found it too dangerous in the near gale conditions and full darkness, so she sailed throughout that night under reduced sails.

On the morning of June 10, 2010, Sunderland was sailing in high winds and had suffered multiple knockdowns in a remote area of the Indian Ocean northeast of the Kerguelen Islands, about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west of Australia. Satellite phone contact was lost and about an hour later Sunderland's two manually operated emergency radio beacons were activated. A third beacon which triggers automatically if it goes 15 feet (4.6 m) underwater was not activated. The nearest known ship was about 400 miles (640 km) away from her electronically reported position. Her beacon position at the time was published as 40°48′S 74°58′E  /  40.800°S 74.967°E  / -40.800; 74.967  (Abby Sunderland's reported beacon position on June 10, 2010 ) , approximately 2,033 nautical miles (3,765 km; 2,340 mi) west-south-west of Perth.

The area where Sunderland's yacht was adrift is rarely visited by merchant ships or other sea traffic. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre put together a sea response with three ships traveling to the scene. Sunderland was rescued by the French commercial fishing vessel Ile de la Réunion late in the afternoon on June 12, 2010. Air cover for the rescue was handled from a privately owned Global Express corporate jet, which also relayed communications between her and the fishing vessel before its crew launched a small boat to ferry her from the crippled sailing yacht. In a statement the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said "The master of the Ile De La Réunion has reported Ms Sunderland is safe and in good health." During her rescue, which took place in rough seas, the captain of the French fishing boat fell into the water and had to be "fished out in difficult conditions."

Sunderland's yacht Wild Eyes was a 40-foot (12.19 m) sloop built in 2001 by A.S.A. Yachts PTY, Australia, designed by Jutson Yacht specifically for sailing single-handed through the Southern Ocean. Under its earlier name BTC Velocity the vessel finished second in the Class 3 (Open 40) category of the Around Alone 2002 race. Wild Eyes was constructed of fiberglass with Kevlar reinforcement into five watertight compartments with a crash bulkhead and a stern escape hatch. It was bought in Rhode Island by the Sunderland family in October 2009 and refitted in Marina Del Rey, California, with an array of electrical, communication and navigation systems.

Abigail Jillian Sunderland (born October 19, 1993) is an American former sailor who, in 2010, attempted to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.