Abigail Jillian "Abby" Sunderland (born October 19, 1993) is an American former sailor who, in 2010, unsuccessfully attempted to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world.
One day that same year, I told my dad that someday, I would sail around the world alone.
On October 19, 2009, my sixteenth birthday, Wild Eyes officially became mine! Now it was really happening.
Slowly, my brain let me in on the fact that I had just come this close to dying.
The terrifying physics of going up-mast in heavy seas are inescapable.
Going up the mast is one of the most dangerous things you can do as a solo sailor.
But none of that kept me from picturing what a tsunami might look like if it did rise up and roar toward my little boat like some watery blue version of the Great Wall of China.
I wanted to break the record, of course, and become the youngest person to sail around the world solo and unassisted.
Being at sea is like watching the whole world in high-definition.
The things that happen on the sea take you beyond yourself, beyond human capability.
On June 10, the worst storm in the series swept across the middle of the Indian Ocean and Wild Eyes was directly in its path.
I will never forget the feeling of walking into my home, a place that while drifting helpless in the middle of the Indian Ocean I wondered if I would ever see again.
It seems like people my age are over-protected today, even to the point where a lot of parents refuse to put their kids in the position to make important decisions, to aspire to great things, because they don't want to put them in a position to fail.
I will definitely attempt to sail around the world again. In fact, I can't wait for the chance to try again.
All the ingenuity, all the high-tech gear, all the jury-rigging sometimes the sea would rip it all away until there was only you, the Creator, and His mercy.
I am twelve thousand miles wiser, twelve thousand miles more resilient, and I have twelve thousand miles more faith in God.
When a sailor overcomes crushing adversity, there's a massive sense of accomplishment.
If a big wave came at the wrong moment, it would sweep me off into forty-eight-degree water, where I might last twenty minutes. Drowning quickly might be better.
I had begun to think that dreams are meant to be no more than dreams and that in reality dreams don't come true. Then my brother (Zac) left on his trip. It was amazing to see all the support that he got from around the world and to see how everyone worked together to help make his dream reality. Watching him do this really made me believe that I could too.
I was so thankful that my parents trusted me enough and had enough faith in my abilities to let me follow my passion and try to do something great, even if I might fail.
The swells were amazing! As big as three-story apartment buildings!