The 16-year-old California girl whose dream of sailing solo around the world was dashed by massive waves that snapped her mast says she still loves sailing and hopes one day to circumnavigate the globe.

In an exclusive interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Abby Sunderland also defended her parents, who have come under fierce criticism since she hit 3-story-high waves Thursday in a remote part of the Indian Ocean. The accident triggered a tense, 20-hour-long search and her eventual rescue by a French fishing boat.

Sunderland acknowledged that her adventure “can look pretty crazy. But the thing is, those people don’t know me. And if they did, they wouldn’t be criticizing my age.”

She spoke by phone from the remote Kerguelen Islands, near Antarctica.

Diesel prices hurting LI farmers ... LIers want crackdown on illicit spas ... Jets Week 3 preview  Credit: Newsday

Eye on the impending storm ... Diesel prices hurting LI farmers ... Student barred from school over vaccine exemption fight ... Smith Haven Mall upgrades

Diesel prices hurting LI farmers ... LIers want crackdown on illicit spas ... Jets Week 3 preview  Credit: Newsday

Eye on the impending storm ... Diesel prices hurting LI farmers ... Student barred from school over vaccine exemption fight ... Smith Haven Mall upgrades

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME