Thousand Oaks sailor Abby Sunderland's abandoned yacht found off Australian coast

CANBERRA, Australia (KABC) -- Thousand Oaks solo sailor Abby Sunderland said her "heart skipped a beat" with news that the yacht she abandoned during an ill-fated round-the-world attempt had been found off the Australian coast.

Sunderland's overturned yacht was discovered a few miles off the coast of southern Australia this week.

Back in 2010, Sunderland was trying to become the youngest person to sail around the world by herself.

She hit a storm in the remote Indian Ocean and had to be rescued. The ship was discovered on Monday - nine years later.

Since Sunderland's rescue, the vessel had capsized and became covered in barnacles.

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

"It brought back memories - good and not so good - but it was neat to see it after so long," Sunderland said in a statement.

"It looked a little creepy, that's to be expected after so long," she added.

She said she wondered whether video equipment which she used to record her voyage was still inside and hoped that the boat would be retrieved.

Asked if the boat, a potential navigational hazard, would be retrieved, a police spokesman, who spoke on the department's customary condition of anonymity, said the boat had disappeared by Thursday and might have sunk.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.