The swells were amazing! As big as three-story apartment buildings! - Abby Sunderland

All the ingenuity, all the high-tech gear, all the jury-rigging—sometimes the sea would rip it all away until there was only you, the Creator, and His mercy.

Going up the mast is one of the most dangerous things you can do as a solo sailor.

The seriousness of my situation started to sink in, and again I fought panic. I pushed it down, but it was harder this time, like my insides were an open can of shaken soda and I was trying to keep it from bubbling up out of the top.