Californian sailor welcomes discovery of yacht in Australia

Californian solo sailor Abby Sunderland said her "heart skipped a beat" with news that the yacht she abandoned in the remote Indian Ocean in 2010 during an ill-fated round-the-world attempt had been found off the Australian coast.

South Australia Police had confirmed that a barnacle-encrusted, upturned 12-meter (40-foot) hull found drifting 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Kangaroo Island on Monday was Sunderland's sloop Wild Eyes.

Sunderland was 16 and attempting to become the youngest person to sail around the world alone and unassisted when her yacht capsized and lost its mast in mountainous seas between Africa and Australia on June 10, 2010. She was rescued two days later by a French trawler 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) west of Australia.

The now 25-year-old described seeing reports of the boat's discovery as "very emotional."

Sunderland said in a statement "it brought back memories — good and not so good — but it was neat to see it after so long. It looked a little creepy, that's to be expected after so long."