Designed by Jutson Yacht,[12] it was purported to be made specifically for sailing single-handed through the Southern Ocean, but post-rescue reporting disputed this.

[7][12] Wild Eyes was constructed of fiberglass with Kevlar reinforcement into five watertight compartments with a crash bulkhead and a stern escape hatch.

[12] It was bought in Rhode Island by the Sunderland family in October 2009 and refitted in Marina Del Rey, California, with an array of electrical, communication and navigation systems.

[13] There had not been enough time to do a multi-day test sail in varying conditions, so the team decided to let her depart anyway, and stop in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, if needed.

Sunderland landed at Cabo San Lucas on February 2, 2010, to take on more fuel and batteries, make repairs and restart her non-stop circumnavigation attempt.

[19] She was then at 15°S 123°W / 15°S 123°W / -15; -123 (Sunderland's position during Chile earthquake, February 27, 2010), some 1,860 miles (2,990 km) from the quake's epicenter, but the great ocean depth at her location minimized the effect of the resulting tsunami and her team reported she had not "... experienced anything out of the ordinary.

[28] On the morning of June 10, 2010, Sunderland was sailing in high winds and had suffered multiple knockdowns in a remote area of the Indian Ocean northeast of the Kerguelen Islands, about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) west of Australia.

[31][32] The next morning, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority sent a chartered Qantas Airbus A330 passenger jet to the area with 11 trained SES air observers and a FESA officer on board.

[30] The search plane faced a 4,700 miles (7,600 km) round trip from Perth to Sunderland's boat, a distance near the limit of its range.

Despite earlier fears that her sailing yacht had lost its keel and capsized, the boat was upright but dismasted, its rig dragging in the ocean from the broken mast, making satellite phone reception impossible.

[38] The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Rescue Coordination Centre put together a sea response with three ships traveling to the scene.

Air cover for the rescue was handled from a privately owned Global Express corporate jet, which also relayed communications between her and the fishing vessel before its crew launched a small boat to ferry her from the crippled sailing yacht.

[39] In a statement the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said "The master of the Ile De La Réunion has reported Ms. Sunderland is safe and in good health.

"[40] Aboard the Ile de la Réunion Sunderland wrote that "one long wave" had brought about the dismasting of her sail boat Wild Eyes, which was abandoned to the ocean.

The Daily Telegraph said "failed teen solo sailor Abby Sunderland's team did not put a cent towards her rescue but still tried to get the public to pay for the boat's salvage.

"[48] According to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, any ship of any nation in the vicinity of a distress call is required to render assistance at no cost.

[49] In France, a law has been proposed that tourists could be required to reimburse the state for rescue costs if they "ventured knowingly and without 'legitimate motive' into risky territory".