Abby Sunderland, a 16 year old girl from Thousand Oaks California USA, left Marina Del Rey CA on January 23, 2010 on a quest to become the youngest solo circumnavigator of the world.  She successfully rounded Cape Horn, reached South Africa, and continued her journey into the Indian Ocean.  There she encountered a severe storm, and after many days of 20-30 foot waves and winds gusting to 60 knots, her 40 foot sailboat “Wild Eyes” succumbed to the elements in the southern Indian Ocean.

Still afloat but adrift, out of communication, and irreparable at sea, Wild Eyes was thousands of miles from the nearest land (about 2000 nautical miles from both South Africa and Australia, and 1200 nautical miles from French Reunion Island) and well beyond shipping lanes.  Only the Cospas/Sarsat system stood between rescue and likely disappearance at sea. Abby was well prepared for this possibility - she carried MMInc.’s 48 Hour MicroPLB‑GXL (with GPS receiver) on her belt at all times in case she got separated from Wild Eyes, and Wild Eyes itself carried two much larger C/S EPIRBs. With all other options exhausted, Abby manually activated her MicroPLB and an EPIRB at about 12:50 Zulu on June 10, 2010.  By 12:58 Zulu, both of her distress alerts were forwarded to U.S. (USMCC) and Australian (AUMCC) rescue personnel, and by 13:26 Zulu, LEO satellites had determined the location of the two beacons.  They were right on top of each other, indicating that Abby was likely still with Wild Eyes and that she was physically capable of these actions.

Even though her location was already known, due to the distances involved it was almost a full day before visual contact and short range radio communications could be established between Abby and a Quantas Air Bus 330 search plane that was dispatched from Perth, Australia at 23:53 Zulu for the 4700 mile round trip flight.  It would be yet another day before the nearest ship, the fishing vessel Ile de la Reunion, could reach Abby at about 9:45 Zulu on June 12.  The Ile de la Reunion transported Abby to Kerguelen island (also known as Desolation Island), and from there it was a 10 day passage to Reunion Island (east of Madagascar) on a French maritime patrol boat.  Abby then made her way safely back to California accompanied by her brother Zac.

Development of the miniature long life MicroPLB which helped save Abby’s life began with a NASA SBIR contract issued to MMInc. in 1987.  Development (partially NASA funded) and improvements by MMInc. have continued ever since, resulting in the smallest, most advanced, PLB in the world.  The MicroPLB has been used by U.S. Government agencies for over 14 years, and has more recently become available to the general public.  The MicroPLB Type GXL is certified for 48 hour operation at ‑20°C even after 5 years of aging.  Abby’s MicroPLB is projected to last 3 or 4 days under the conditions she was experiencing; ample time for a rescue ship 400 nautical miles away.  Abby’s lengthily rescue highlights the importance of 48 hour battery life for a PLB, which could literally be called upon any where in the world - even places that are difficult and time consuming to reach.

Authoritative updates on Abby’s status can be found at www.abbysunderland.com.

See also www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-sunderland-rescue-satellites-20100611,0,3951772.story.