Abby Sunderland (GizaraArts.com) |
SAINT DENIS, Reunion -- Sixteen-year-old sailor Abby Sunderland, of Thousand Oaks, reunited with her older brother Zac Saturday after her attempt to sail around the world ended with an international rescue effort when her boat fell apart in a southern Indian Ocean storm.
Abby Sunderland came ashore early Saturday on the French island of Reunion off East Africa, brought by a French patrol boat.
Zac took a separate boat to meet the patrol boat as it sailed into the harbor at Reunion's capital, Saint-Denis. He climbed aboard Abby's boat and embraced her, tearing up.
Abby and Zac's parents remain in Thousand Oaks, where their mother is soon to give birth to her eighth child.
"I'm really disappointed that things didn't go as planned," Abby told reporters in Saint-Denis. Still, she insisted she isn't giving up sailing, and she defended her family from criticism that she was too young to undertake such a risky trip alone.
"I knew what to do. I was well-prepared for anything that could have happened," she said, flanked by 17-year-old Zac, who completed a similar trip a little more than a year ago.
The accident June 10 that wrecked her boat "ended my trip but didn't end my dream," Abby said. She didn't answer when asked if she would try another solo circumnavigation of the globe anytime soon.
Sunderland set out on the trip aboard her boat "Wild Eyes" from Los Angeles County's Marina del Rey on Jan. 23.
In April she had to give up hope of becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, when she was forced to stop for repairs.
Then on June 10, three-story-high waves snapped her boat's mast. She was rescued two days later by a French fishing boat 2,000 miles west of Australia.
She described the drama of her accident and her surprise when an Australian airplane spotted her and some 40 hours later when she first caught sight of the French boat.
"The past few months have been the best of my life," she said Saturday.
"I was on an adventure. You can only plan so far," she said.
She thanked everyone who helped in the rescue, particularly the French and Australian authorities, and acknowledged "the public debate about the cost of rescues."
"I know that the USA would do the same for citizen of any other country as these countries did for me," she said.
Australian and French authorities have said they will not seek compensation for the rescue mission.
Abby also said criticism of her family "is ungrounded." "They have put with a ton of stuff to help me follow my dream," she said.
Her parents have come under criticism from some observers for allowing the high-risk adventure.
Veteran sailors questioned the wisdom of sending a teenager off alone in a small boat, knowing it would be tossed about for 30 or more hours at a time by the giant waves that rake the Southern Hemisphere's oceans this time of year.
Her father, Laurence Sunderland, has defended the voyage.
"I never questioned my decision in letting her go," he told reporters Friday. "In this day and age we get overprotective with our children. If you want to look at statistics, look at how many teenagers die in cars every year. Should we let teenagers drive cars? I think it'd be silly if we didn't."
He said that the family is thrilled that Abby has arrived safely on Reunion island.
"I am absolutely totally over the moon with how quickly the plane and boat reached Abigail. I think the guys did a fantastic job with the rescue and we are so grateful to them."
Abby said she plans to write a book eventually, and to continue sailing. For now, though, she's just looking forward to getting home.
Abby Sunderland came ashore early Saturday on the French island of Reunion off East Africa, brought by a French patrol boat.
Zac took a separate boat to meet the patrol boat as it sailed into the harbor at Reunion's capital, Saint-Denis. He climbed aboard Abby's boat and embraced her, tearing up.
Abby and Zac's parents remain in Thousand Oaks, where their mother is soon to give birth to her eighth child.
"I'm really disappointed that things didn't go as planned," Abby told reporters in Saint-Denis. Still, she insisted she isn't giving up sailing, and she defended her family from criticism that she was too young to undertake such a risky trip alone.
"I knew what to do. I was well-prepared for anything that could have happened," she said, flanked by 17-year-old Zac, who completed a similar trip a little more than a year ago.
The accident June 10 that wrecked her boat "ended my trip but didn't end my dream," Abby said. She didn't answer when asked if she would try another solo circumnavigation of the globe anytime soon.
Sunderland set out on the trip aboard her boat "Wild Eyes" from Los Angeles County's Marina del Rey on Jan. 23.
In April she had to give up hope of becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo, when she was forced to stop for repairs.
Then on June 10, three-story-high waves snapped her boat's mast. She was rescued two days later by a French fishing boat 2,000 miles west of Australia.
She described the drama of her accident and her surprise when an Australian airplane spotted her and some 40 hours later when she first caught sight of the French boat.
"The past few months have been the best of my life," she said Saturday.
"I was on an adventure. You can only plan so far," she said.
She thanked everyone who helped in the rescue, particularly the French and Australian authorities, and acknowledged "the public debate about the cost of rescues."
"I know that the USA would do the same for citizen of any other country as these countries did for me," she said.
Australian and French authorities have said they will not seek compensation for the rescue mission.
Abby also said criticism of her family "is ungrounded." "They have put with a ton of stuff to help me follow my dream," she said.
Her parents have come under criticism from some observers for allowing the high-risk adventure.
Veteran sailors questioned the wisdom of sending a teenager off alone in a small boat, knowing it would be tossed about for 30 or more hours at a time by the giant waves that rake the Southern Hemisphere's oceans this time of year.
Her father, Laurence Sunderland, has defended the voyage.
"I never questioned my decision in letting her go," he told reporters Friday. "In this day and age we get overprotective with our children. If you want to look at statistics, look at how many teenagers die in cars every year. Should we let teenagers drive cars? I think it'd be silly if we didn't."
He said that the family is thrilled that Abby has arrived safely on Reunion island.
"I am absolutely totally over the moon with how quickly the plane and boat reached Abigail. I think the guys did a fantastic job with the rescue and we are so grateful to them."
Abby said she plans to write a book eventually, and to continue sailing. For now, though, she's just looking forward to getting home.
