Sailor answers the radio: 'This is Abby'

Abby Sunderland's blog carries an update from her team, passing along the account of Australian Search and Rescue volunteers who flew over the Indian Ocean today and found her disabled boat.

"She's obviously keen to have some assistance, but she is in very good spirits.

"The window of opportunity to speak to her was very short, so we had very brief, direct conversations about her health, the condition of the vessel, and her communications.

"The seas are very rough indeed, and there is a lot of wind, and she is obviously going to have a very uncomfortable night of sleep.

"He said the plane was conducting its first pass of the area and had been searching for Abby for only 10 minutes when she was spotted from the air.

"It was a very happy moment for all of the people on board the plane," he said.

"However, it was a very serious moment as well, and we were all concentrating on the job at task which was to make contact with Abby.

"The crew then made radio contact with the young sailor, with the first words conveyed being "This is Abby".

Patt Morrison on KPCC is talking about the ethics of these kinds of adventures and the rescues that often are required, in the 1 p.m. hour.

Previously on LA Observed:
Abby found adrift but safe in her boat
Closest boat to Abby is 40 hours away
Rescue efforts underway for Abby Sunderland