A spokesman said on Thursday that a California girl trying to set an around-the-world sailing record is probably floating in the Indian Ocean in a disabled boat.

The Los Angeles Times has reported that Jeff Casher, a member of Abby Sunderland's support crew, told reporters he spoke to her at about 3:45 a. m. PDT, about an hour before the 16-year-old set off emergency beacons. He said she cut the conversation off because she needed to check on something.

Casher said, "She set this off not because she lost communication, but because something else was wrong."

The boat might have lost its mast or Sunderland might have broken a limb in rough weather, he further suggested.

The Australian government has dispatched a Qantas Airbus to fly over the Indian Ocean around Reunion Island to try to spot the boat after daybreak.

It has been reported that Abby, a resident of Thousand Oaks, left Marina del Rey, Calif., Jan. 23 in her 40-foot boat "Wild Eyes." Rough seas in the South Atlantic after she rounded Cape Horn forced her to put in at Capetown for repairs, ending her hope of a non-stop trip.

In her most recent blog entry Wednesday night, Abby wrote that a "nice day" allowed her to catch up with repairs.

She said, "The wind is beginning to pick up. It is back up to 20 knots and I am expecting that by midnight tonight I could have 35-50 knots with gusts to 60 so I am off to sleep before it really picks up." (With Inputs from Agencies)