Respite in Fort Pierce

Zac at the healm

Me with a friend

Dad with his cup of tea .

Well, here I am sitting on Wild Eyes in Fort Pierce, Florida waiting for the wind to change direction. It's been hard on our nose for the past day or two and Wild Eyes doesn't do well close hauled.

We got out of Newport, Rhode Island last Sunday, two days later than we had been hoping to leave. Our trip started out nicely with a good bit of wind coming from the north and we were racing along with our full sail up going at about 8 to 9 knots. It didn't stay like that for long though, by the next night we had 25 knots of wind and 15 foot breaking seas. It was amazing! And Wild Eyes handled it all great.

I've come to realize a bit better how much work Wild Eyes will be; she's a great boat, and designed for single-handing, but she is a race boat. It takes more than twice as much work to do anything on her than on any other cruising boat - but its worth some extra work. That rough night on Wild Eyes wasn't at all bad - it was actually kind of fun. We were making great time going at around 15 knots and once getting up to 24kts surfing down a wave. We were down to the third reef in the main and healed right over, though it was nothing compared to what I will get into. I will get a lot of weather like that in the Southern Ocean and it was good to be able to see how the boat handles in that sort of thing.

Our auto pilot has done great. When we first left Newport we couldn't get it working so we ended up hooking up the secondary auto pilot and its a miracle she's still working. The boat slides all over the place when surfing down waves and even with all of that extra work she's managed to keep us on track so far. She is very loud, but after the initial fear of having to hand steer for the whole trip we agreed not to complain, lest she feel she wasn't appreciated and break down.

Sailing with Zac has been an experience... and I'm still trying to decide whether or not its a good one! He's taken advantage of there being no mirrors on the boat and I very rarely wake up without some drawing on my my face. He also has taken great joy in little things, like my mortification at watching him wash a cup with salt water and a dirty sock. But despite how annoying he is, its really good to have him with us out here.

I could write a whole lot more about this trip, but I have to get going, we have a few things to finish up before we pull out.

~♥A♥~

Update from the Atlantic

Photo ©2009 Trond Hjerto
Photo ©2009 Trond Hjerto
Photo ©2009 Trond Hjerto

Photo ©2009 Trond Hjerto

From Mom:
Many thanks to Trond Hjerto from the sailing vessel Maryam for the above photos of the crew!

Last contact had them all in good spirits, warming up as the head further and further south. Winds had been light at times except for a day of stormy 20-25 knot winds a few days out. They should have a steady 20 knots to blow them into Fort Lauderdale in the next day or so.

Abby is making a million mental notes on what she wants/needs on the boat. Zac is alternately teasing her to insanity and helping her learn his strategy for sleep, navigation and safety. Typical....

It must be strange for Laurence to sail with two kids who can run the show!

A special thanks to Leedy Ying from Shoe City, Inc, without whom this boat and trip would not be possible. Look out for a new web site soon with lots of fun and interesting links ect.

Abby had an incredibly friendly and encouraging email from Australia's Jessica Watson, who is already out there sailing around the world. She is looking forward to getting to port and getting in touch with her. Abby and Jessica have both dreamed of doing a trip like this for years - I'm sure they will lots in common!

Check back in a day or two for an update from Abby.

Mom

Waiting for Weather

Well, here we are in Rhode Island again, but this time Wild Eyes is actually mine!

We've been here for the past few days fixing up a few last minute things and waiting for some good wind so we can get out of here and head down to Fort Lauderdale.

It's been a great stay here, other than being absolutely freezing! I am really looking forward to getting going south. Its very nice here, but too cold, and I want to get started on everything! We have met a lot of great people while we have been here which has made it a lot of fun.

We don't know for sure when we'll get out of here, but it will probably be early Sunday as the wind is blowing 30 knots from the south east right at the mouth of the harbor here. A few people have asked where we will be stopping along the way. For now, the trip is planned as a non-stop, but we all know how that can go! I will try to post if we are pulling into port anywhere along the way.

We're all sitting in a warm room at the boat yard eating left over pizza and having a good time, but it will be good to get back and start some real work on the boat, and to be back with all my family and friends.

A nice article by Liz Ellis from Soundings Magazine with a video of Wild Eyes.

http://www.soundingsonline.com/news/dispatches/282/243752

--
~♥A♥~

Exciting News!

Wild Eyes
I finally get to write a blog with some really exciting news! We bought Wild Eyes, the Open 40 in Rhode Island, yesterday!! My dad, Zac and I will be flying out to Rhode Island tomorrow to sail her to Fort Lauderdale. It should be a pretty fun sail and hopefully we'll get some good weather. Its only a 6 to 7 day trip and then we have some work to do on the boat while in Fort Lauderdale.



The boat will be shipped from Florida to Ensenada. We'll fly back here and wait for the boat to get here. In the meantime, there is always a lot to do; training on the water and in the gym, organizing supplies (food, clothing, tools, meidcal kit), meeting with potential sponsors, media and TV.



I'm heading out to my school's Mock Trial scrimmage in West Hollywood tonight. It may be the last time I see a lot of my friends together in a long time.



More updates soon...



Abby

Busy Days

Things are moving along nicely over here. My dad and I spent most of last week freezing in Newport, Rhode Island with Wild Eyes. We planned to buy her while we were there, then sail her to Fort Lauderdale. The survey revealed some delamination so that needs to be fixed before we move the boat. It worked out well because I needed to get back home for a meeting.

The repairs for Wild Eyes will be quite expensive and we are working in a pretty small time frame to get her over to Fort Lauderdale and onto the ship. Other than finding the delamination, our trip went pretty well. We got a bit of work done and are now getting insurance to move the boat down the coast.

We had been thinking of getting a few people to deliver Wild Eyes to Fort Lauderdale, but we've now decided that I'll be flying back with my dad sometime soon to move the boat ourselves. I'm really glad that I'm going to be able to spend some good time sailing her and getting used to all the systems. I'd just like to make it clear that I may not be getting Wild Eyes. We are spending the weekend praying about it before moving ahead.

What a rollercoaster ride!

Abby

Boat Update

Well, decision day came, and ended with us having to wait another day to find out for sure, then another day. But we do now know whats happening. It could all work, as long as every thing goes according to plan (how often does that happen!) We can afford to buy the boat, fixing her up will be a bit of a stretch, but it is do-able.

The problem we had been trying to sort out over the past couple of days was shipping. The last ship that was scheduled to go to Newport, RI was canceled. If that were to happen to the next ship, we would have the boat stuck in Newport with not enough time to get it to another ship.

So, in the end, the ship is not going to be going to Newport. Its not all bad though, because there is a ship that will be in Fort Lauderdale, a ten day sail away. It will be a little difficult to get out there and get the boat ready and to Fort Lauderdale, but it will be good to be able to get to know the boat even before we get her over here.

Its going to take a lot for everything to fall into place... but it very well could all work out. Its so exciting getting closer and closer to the dead line! If we end up doing this, my dad and I will be flying to RI in a day or two. I'll let everyone know whats happening as soon as I find out myself!

Abby

On The Edge of Our Seats

Today has been very exciting, and a little nervewracking... Its the final day to decide whether or not we are buying a boat. We've all been on the edge of our seats as my dad goes back and forth with the owner and his broker.



Its going to be great if every thing works out and we are able to get the boat. My dad and I will fly back to the boat and start working on her until the ship leaves that will bring her to the west coast.



Its been anything but calm over here, as you can probably imagine. It's quite hard waiting. If things don't work out this year I'll definitely be trying for it again next year. After all of this excitement, the thought of being stuck here doing school and living a completely normal life is not something I'm interested in doing right now.



We are still seeking sponsorship and thanks to Magnetic Entertainment and Matt Tolnick at Kaufman Sports it looks like we may be able to get something going really soon.



Everyone who is following me has probably heard of Jessica Watson. She just recently arrived in Sydney and will be leaving next week. I wish her luck on her journey and hope that I'll get to meet her sometime after she gets back.



For anyone who hasn't heard about it yet, I have finally got my website up at abbysunderland.com. A big thanks to Lisa Gizara who put in a ton hard of work and a few late nights to pull this together in just two days!!



Another exciting event is coming up at the end of this month on the 29th of October at the CYC (California Yacht Club). Zac, my dad and I will be speaking. I'll be able to give some more details of this later but for now its looking like it will be a fun night from 7 to 9. By then I'll have most of the details of my trip all ironed out and I will have a boat as well!



There should be enough exciting news that it will be worth it, even though my public speaking skills aren't all that great. That's all there is for now. I'll blog again as soon as I've found out whats happening with the boat!



Thanks again to my Dad, Matt, Lisa, Chris, and to everyone else who has supported my family and my trip!!



Abby