Abby's stop, and restart, in record pursuit

The news that 16-year-old Abby Sunderland has decided to head into Cabo San Lucas just 10 days into her attempt for a non-stop, unassisted voyage around the world would appear to mean that this is simply a restart on her often-delayed mission.

On her most recent blog entry (linked here), the Thousand Oaks teen said problems with her solar panels and wind generators are not allowing her enough power, so she will port in Cabo San Lucas to add "a new battery or two."

While that seems to end any non-stop voyage, Sunderland says she will restart as soon as she can on the 40-foot Wild Eyes.

"Don't start worrying, since I'm still north of the equator, I won't have to give up on the non-stop attempt," she wrote.

She said she is also have trouble with the wind speed gauge "so that needs to be fixed as well."

Sunderland left Marina del Rey on Saturday, Jan. 23, expecting to spent the next five to six months sailing around the world.

If she's not able to break the record as the youngest to sail non-stop, solo around the world, she can still break the record of 17-year-old Mike Perham of Britain, who stopped on land during his voyage. Perham broke the age record that Abby's brother, Zac, had set just a month or so before Perham landed.

To find Abby's location: http://abbysunderland.com/location-route.php