A Qantas Airbus A330 sent from Perth to search for the 16-year-old sailor has located her in the Indian Ocean.

Her father, Laurence Sunderland, told Fairfax Radio his daughter was ‘‘fine’’.

‘‘Abby’s fine... the vessel is upright, the weather conditions are abating and [searchers] actually had communication via radio,’’ Mr Sunderland said.

‘‘We’ve heard the fishing vessel that’s been diverted will rendezvous with her tomorrow and there will be a rescue then.’’

Earlier today, Mr Sunderland said the fate of his daughter, whose emergency beacons were activated in treacherous seas more than 3000 kilometres off the Australian coast, was "in God's hands".

According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, the position transmitted by the sailor’s emergency GPS beacon was 40 degrees 48 minutes south of the equator and longitude 74 degrees 58 minutes east of the prime meridian - about 2033 nautical miles west-south-west from Perth in the central southern Indian Ocean.

Mr Sunderland, who is Australian and is now based in California with his family, said he spoke to Abby five or six times by phone yesterday to help fix a problem with the boat’s engine, but shortly after the last call dropped out the family learnt an emergency device had gone off.

It was one of two which were reported to have been set off.