With new book, sailor Abby Sunderland finally has her say

Seconds later, I woke up lying on the roof with things falling on top of me. The engine box cover, the floorboard, the teakettle, my toolbag, loose tools that I had just been using -- all hitting me in the chest, legs, face. The sea had turned Wild Eyes upside down."

-- Abby Sunderland, co-author and subject of "Unsinkable: A Young Woman's Courageous Battle on the High Seas"

By Pete Thomas

Finally, a book. Could a movie deal be far behind?

Nine months after Abby Sunderland became the focus of a dramatic search-and-rescue mission, after the 16-year-old adventurer had become stranded for two terrifying days on a crippled yacht atop the furious Indian Ocean, she's about to share intricate details about that ordeal and other aspects of her ill-fated attempt to become the youngest person to solo-sail around the world.

"Unsinkable," co-authored by Lynn Vincent, arrives on store shelves April 19 (Thomas Nelson, $22.99). In the book, Sunderland describes enduring fierce winds and massive seas before being slammed against the cabin bulkhead and knocked briefly unconscious as her 40-foot sailboat, Wild Eyes, abruptly rolled, losing its mast and communications equipment.

She spent a bone-chilling night and part of the next day, after activating two emergency beacons, not knowing whether help would arrive; likewise, her parents and many fans did not know whether she was still alive, had been cast overboard, or had become trapped inside her overturned vessel.

Finally, shivering and exhausted, after crawling from the dryness of a cramped sail locker and out onto the deck, she spotted a low-flying Qantas Airbus -- a team sent from Australia to try to pinpoint her position for a fishing boat steaming toward the area -- and that's when she became truly afraid. "That moment was the most frightened I had ever been," Sunderland writes. "I knew that if that plane didn't see me right then, they'd be gone, off to search somewhere else in the massive waters of the Indian Ocean."

Tha sailor was delivered safely to her parents' home in Thousand Oaks, Calif., of course, and went to work producing her version of a story told so many different ways by others -- in the days after those beacons were activated last June 10 -- during a media storm that spun wildly out of control and besieged Laurence and Marianne Sunderland with unrelenting and hurtful criticism.

"Unsinkable" is told largely through Abby's voice and includes touching commentary about topics such as growing up in a homeschooled sailing family and living for extended periods aboard a cruising yacht, experiencing life's pleasures -- sailing, snorkeling, fishing, meeting people from other cultures, etc. -- without TVs and hand-held computers.

Details about her sailing odyssey -- rounding treacherous Cape Horn with a faulty auto-pilot, for example -- paint a vivid portrait of a courageous adventurer determined to overcome all obstacles.

The book is a fast read except when it dwells  on the family's unpleasant experiences with critics and especially documentary crews the parents believe treated them unfairly. But certainly, these many sideshows were part of Abby's story.

Additionally, there are so many references to God's apparent role in helping Abby to pull through difficult times that it seems they were forced into various circumstances by the Christian-leaning publisher.

But overall "Unsinkable" does a good job of setting the Sunderlands apart from typical families. It explains why Abby was allowed, reluctantly, to attempt to sail around the world alone after her older brother Zac completed a successful 13-month solo-circumnavigation that began at age 16 in 2009.

The book also drives home the message that Abby's adventure transformed her into a stronger person.

As someone who closely followed both Sunderland adventures, I got to know Zac and Abby fairly well and can attest to much of what Abby suggests in the book. She states early on that before embarking on her circumnavigation attempt she was shy, lacked confidence around others and, as she explains, was "afraid of messing up and embarrassing myself."

She dreaded her news conference before setting sail from Marina del Rey on Jan. 23, 2010. But she pulled through admirably, thanks to the support of her family -- with Zac by her side -- and close family friends.

Fast forward to her post-rescue homecoming news conference on June 29, 2010, at the marina's Del Rey Yacht Club, where she sat confidently -- unsinkable -- beneath bright lights and faced a barrage of questions from reporters. In the book she recalls that experience:

"The reporters were asking good questions and they seemed to appreciate my answers. I could've talked on and on. What? Me? Talk on and on? To reporters? In my old 'normal' life at home, I had been afraid of so many things. Of people. Of making mistakes. Of embarrassing myself. I had seen myself as this sort of shy, quiet homeschooler who preferred to be alone rather than with groups of friends.

"But my trip broke me out into a whole new world -- filmmakers, fishermen, pilots, teachers, technicians, mechanics, scientists, little kids ... So many people cared and helped and cheered me on, shaping and changing my life forever."

Will there be a big-screen movie about Abby and the sailing Sunderlands? Perhaps not, but if Abby has her way there will be a sequel to her adventure. "I will definitely attempt to sail around the world again," she concludes. "In fact, I can't wait for the chance to try again."

-- Pete Thomas

Photos of Abby Sunderland during her departure and post-rescue news conference are courtesy of Lisa Gizara  of Gizara Arts and Abbysunderland.org

Comments

[Mark Panitz]

i too highy recomend book too its very good and you get good feel
about also i highly suggested getting the wild eye the abby sunderland story it helps explain things
not meation in the book

[mark]

I would highly recommend Abby's book, Unsinkable. Here's a link to the Amazon page: http://dld.bz/VXHn It's such a great portrait of courage and strength of will in the face of overwhelming odds.