‘Wild Eyes’, Lopez Lake, Beached in San Diego

Abby Sunderland’s Boat Found

After abandoning her boat in the Indian Ocean in 2010 during an attempt to become the youngest person to sail around the world, Abby Sunderland’s 40-ft expedition yacht Wild Eyes was spotted off Southern Australia.

“The upturned, barnacle-clad vessel was found by a tuna-spotting plane about 11 nautical miles south of Vivonne Bay, Kangaroo Island, on New Year’s Eve — eight years after it was abandoned,” ABC News reported.

“It looked a little creepy, but that’s to be expected after so long,” Sunderland said.

Abby Sunderland was just 16 when she set sail from Marina del Rey in 2010 on her solo, nonstop record-setting circumnavigation attempt, but was immediately plagued with electrical problems and forced to pull into Cabo San Lucas. In late March 2010, she became the youngest singlehander to round Cape Horn. In May 2010, Sunderland was forced to stop in Cape Town to make repairs to her autopilot, ending her nonstop bid.

In June 2010, Sunderland and Wild Eyes were in heavy weather about 2,000 miles west of Australia when she was dismasted and ultimately rescued by a French fishing vessel.

The year 2010 marked “a period of heightened interest on setting ‘young’ records,” Scuttlebutt reported on Wednesday. “Successful circumnavigations had just been done by 17-year-old Michael Perham (GBR) and 17-year-old Zac Sunderland (USA) [Abby’s brother], but with a failing of basic standards and a concern that age records may encourage irresponsibility, the World Sailing Speed Record Council closed the door on ratifying any similar attempts.” The cost of Sunderland’s rescue — estimated to be between $200,000 and $300,000 — was the subject of much controversy.

“In South Australia, the government has issued a mariners’ warning to beware of the partially submerged sailboat,” NPR reported. “Despite its status as a navigation hazard and abandoned vessel, Wild Eyes will be left to drift; officials say they won’t interfere with it unless it threatens other watercraft or washes ashore.”

Abby Sunderland now lives in Alabama, and is the mother of three children.

Skipper Being Sued After Fatal Capsize

After a San Diego man died following the capsize of a catamaran on a lake in San Luis Obispo County, his family is suing the boat’s captain for not making his passengers wear lifejackets.

Back in June, Darryl Tyler Redd went for a ride on Bruce Stevenson’s Hobie 16 Getaway on Lopez Lake. According to The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, it was a windy day, and Redd was reluctant to go out. He sent his wife an ominous video text saying, “If I don’t make it back, I love you.” On the video, Stevenson reportedly laughed and said, “You’re going to make it back.”

According to the lawsuit filed in December, Stevenson had been sailing a few times that day — each time, his passengers were wearing lifejackets. But when sailing with Redd and one other passenger, no one had a PFD on when the Hobie capsized near the Cottonwood Cove on Lopez Lake. Stevenson and another passenger swam to shore. “Redd was having a hard time swimming and apparently drowned,” according to the Tribune.

Redd’s family is suing for general negligence and “for failing to ensure that his passengers were wearing flotation devices, as required by law.”

A Few Months Ago . . .

We can’t believe we missed this little nugget from way back in late November, when a sailor ran aground on Carlsbad State Beach, north of San Diego, in his 30-ish-ft sloop the Jenny Lee. But this was just the beginning of what turned into a bizarre eight-hour standoff, according to CBS news. (We highly recommend watching the video of the ‘rescue‘.)

“I don’t need your help, I don’t want your help. I don’t need you to touch my boat. And if you touch my boat, I will sue you in federal court,” said the man as Jenny Lee sloshed in knee-deep water on shore. A handful of state and federal agencies stood by while the man, Kevin Seaman, stuck it out. At one point, Seaman even asked a helicopter to bugger off so that he could catch some Zs. “Can you move your helicopter off my bow? Because I’m trying to sleep,” Seaman said via VHF.

“Very glad to hear you’re comfortable in your bed; I’m sure there are a lot of people who wish they were comfortable in theirs, however we are trying to help you out, sir,” the helicopter responded in a downright testy exchange.

About eight hours after he ran aground, Seaman called for assistance around 3 a.m. and was helped off the boat by medics.