Abby Sunderland, 16, Attempts to Sail Solo Around The World (VIDEO)

UPDATE: Abby Sunderland is now feared lost at sea. Read more here.

UPDATE 2: Abby has been found alive and well.

Abby Sunderland, a 16-year-old from Thousand Oaks, set out into the Pacific on Saturday in an attempt to become the youngest person to ever sail around the world solo.

She had previously been delayed a few days by several violent thunderstorms in California.

Her father Laurence Sunderland, a boat-builder, gathered alongside family and fiends and cheered at the Del Rey Yacht Club to give the 40-foot craft called Wild Eyes a proper send-off.

Abby’s journey will likely take five to six months. She will be totally on her own, but will have to ability to communicate using a satellite telephone and her blog at www.abbysunderland.com.

More WTF news here

The record currently belongs to Mike Perham, 17, of Britain, who swiped it from Abby’s brother Zac Sunderland, who was17 years old at the time.

Watch the video below for more:

California girl Abby Sunderland, 16, starts solo sail around globe (sports.espn.go.com)
16-year-old girl starts solo sail around globe (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
Abby Sunderland: 16-Year-Old Starts Youngest Solo Sail Around The World (VIDEO) (huffingtonpost.com)
16-Year-Old Hopes to Sail Into the Record Books (abcnews.go.com)