Boat for Sale

Sunderland's Family Had TV Deal

Was daughter's trip around the world a stunt?

In an eerie reprise of last year's Balloon Boy incident, Laurence Sunderland, who allowed his 16-year-old daughter Abby to sail around the world by herself, revealed Sunday that he had previously signed a contract for a reality show called Adventures in Sunderland. Sunderland, a sailing instructor himself, has seven children and his wife is pregnant, and said the show would revolve around his family. At some point, he said, it might incorporate his daughter Abby’s trip, but he insisted he did not send his daughter to sail solo around the world as a stunt for the cameras. "I love my daughter dearly," he said. "I love the passion of sailing dearly, and this was about Abigail following her dream. She followed the criteria that I had set out, and met all the requirements to embark on this trip." Abby set sail in January, but made headlines last week after she had to be rescued after hitting a storm in the Indian Ocean. In an interview on Sunday, Sunderland said she thought she'd be lost at sea for weeks.