Abby Sunderland has been contacted by rescuers who report that she is alive and uninjured aboard her sailboat Wild Eyes in the Indian Ocean.    The sail boat is afloat but has been variously reported as having been dis-masted and to have lost its keel.   The boat is said to be adrift in ocean waves which have been reported to be over 30 feet.  Three rescue ships are on their way to her reported position. The first is expected to arrive in roughly 24 hours.

Teenage round-the-world sailor Abby Sunderland found alive

Laurence Sunderland, Abby’s father, said that rescuers on board a chartered Australian aircraft who were looking for the 16-year-old had made contact with her earlier today and that she was alive.

“She’s fine, the boat’s afloat and she’s on it,” Mr Sutherland told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. “It’s huge, fantastic, exciting news.”

There had been no communication with Abby after the alarm was raised and it is believed that her yacht has been drifting without a keel in heaving 18m (60ft) swells.

US teenage sailor Abby Sunderland found in Indian Ocean

“Wild Eyes is upright but her rigging is down,” her parents posted on her blog. “The weather conditions are abating. Radio communication was made and Abby reports that she is fine!”

The teenager’s family lost contact with her for some 20 hours, after she said she was caught in 30ft (9m) high waves.