Travel Tips

Teen Sailor Abby Sunderland Missing

Locations in this article:  Cape Town, South Africa

Teen Sailor Abby Sunderland Missing - photo from her blogRescue efforts are underway to locate Abby Sunderland, the 16-year-old sailor who was past the halfway mark on her solo journey around the world.

Two emergency beacons were manually activated early this morning in the southern Indian Ocean after Sunderland faced heavy winds that knocked down her boat, a 40-foot sailboat she named Wild Eyes.

The Coast Guard alerted her parents, Laurence and Marianne Sunderland, of the signals soon after they lost satellite phone contact with their daughter.

Sunderland, whose older brother Zac sailed solo around the world at age 17, set sail in January with the goal of becoming the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe solo and without stopping.

Teen Sailor Abby Sunderland MissingHer dream ended last month when she was forced to stop in Cape Town, South Africa for autopilot repairs, but she vowed to complete her journey.

As a longtime friend of the Sunderland family, Peter is asking everyone in the travel community to pray for her safe return home.

By Sarika Chawla for PeterGreenberg.com.

Listen to an interview with Abby Sunderland on Peter Greenberg Worldwide Radio here.