Rescue effort underway for teen sailor...

[AdamN]

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog...+is+launched+for+teen+sailor+abby+sunderland/

Her name is Abby Sunderland and you may remember her, from the news, as the 16-year old girl who planned to attempt to navigate the globe by herself. This is quite a distressing story and I can't imagine being in her parents' shoes at the moment. This does, however, magnify which was already a very controversial story to begin with. My own personal opinion aside, I do hope the young lady is found alive and reunited with her family.

 

[Journia]

I won't say I told them so. So I'll say that there should have been better judgment used in this situation.

That is all.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

Well,I guess I'm the only one who thought that it would be wrong to hold a child back from having her dreams come true.All that aside though,I hope they find her alive and well.

 

[Slaver123]

Of course I hope she's ok- but no matter how much sailing experience she has, her parents NEVER should have let her go!

I've been outraged at her parents all along. Why? I will say it... I have to say it.... There are REAL PIRATES in the world! These parents run the risk of their precious daughter ending up either held for ransom, dead, or enslaved in some foul brothel in Bangkok!

(BTW "Sex slavery" may be a recurring theme in our fantasies, but it's a very real, very ugly atrocity being committed around the world- and all decent people should band together to wipe it out!)

I would NEVER let a kid risk her life like this!!

 

[Slaver123]

OMG- it's 3AM EST and they just announced on the radio SHE'S BEEN FOUND ALIVE AND WELL!!!!! (But I still wanna slap her parents!)

 

[Journia]

OMG- it's 3AM EST and they just announced on the radio SHE'S BEEN FOUND ALIVE AND WELL!!!!! (But I still wanna slap her parents!)

F 'em up slaver.

 

[Violetta]

And it is the second child they let do this! Talk about laissez-faire parents!

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

*gasps* Oh,thank God!I hope she one day can achieve her dreams but,maybe she needs a little more practice and training before she tries this again.

 

[AdamN]

It is good to hear that she's been found. But yes, I agree with the sentiment that it was terribly irresponsible of her parents to allow her to make this journey in the first place. The sea is unforgiving to even the most experienced.

 

[kopfhorer1]

I was relieved to hear that Ms. Sunderland's boat had been found and that she herself was alive and well.

One rightish radio talk show host went so far as to say her parents should be arrested for negligence. (Would he and others like him have said that if Ms. Sunderland had successfully completed her trip?)

In any case, foolhardy though it might have been, that was quite an ambitious undertaking. Ms. Sunderland sailed about 12,000 miles. Many people her age haven't even driven 12,000 miles. I think her parents should have encouraged her to join a yachting team or something else less risky than solo-sailing around the globe. But at the very least, good on them for not raising their daughter simply to be a risk-averse desk-surfer, or marriage fodder.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

Arrested for negligence,oh,give me a break!I can't believe anyone could say such nonsense.

 

[AdamN]

Arrested for negligence,oh,give me a break!I can't believe anyone could say such nonsense.

Yeah, I do agree that saying something like that stretches things a bit. I don't agree with Abby's parents allowing her to undertake something so risky, but I do believe the law should stay out of it.

 

[jts963]

Arrested for negligence,oh,give me a break!I can't believe anyone could say such nonsense.

Yeah, I do agree that saying something like that stretches things a bit. I don't agree with Abby's parents allowing her to undertake something so risky, but I do believe the law should stay out of it.

I disagree. Maybe not arrest them for negligence but if the US government spent one dime in the rescue of this stupid kid, the parents should be made to reimburse them. I for one am sick and tired of stupid dilettantes who do ridiculous things without thinking about the consequences and always expect somebody else to pick up the tab.

Ride a motorcycle without a helmet and get in a crash? Tough; nobody should pay for your head surgery but you and your family. I guarantee this will cut down on the Jackass bullshit that is rampant in this country.

 

[JustJules]

Point of fact: Sailing around the world isn't actually that difficult of an undertaking and could be done by any modestly experienced sailor (or sailette!)

She made a mistake that countless seafarers have made before, that is sail into a storm without an accurate report of its strength. All it takes is one gust of wind, and even the New York Yacht Club would have a time righting their ship after a partial capsize or make headway with a broken mast.

She's obviously not too bad of a sailor if she came out of the ordeal unhurt.

So really... what did her parents do that was so wrong? Assume their daughter could do what her brother did last year?

READ THIS.

Oh gawd. They're guilty of having faith in their children who have shown unswerving ability to sail! Fuck 'em all.

As for the cost? Those are the same costs incurred anytime a rescue at sea is made and I don't hear anybody bitching about the other maritime incidents.

 

[jts963]

Point of fact: Sailing around the world isn't actually that difficult of an undertaking and could be done by any modestly experienced sailor (or sailette!)

She made a mistake that countless seafarers have made before, that is sail into a storm without an accurate report of its strength. All it takes is one gust of wind, and even the New York Yacht Club would have a time righting their ship after a partial capsize or make headway with a broken mast.

She's obviously not too bad of a sailor if she came out of the ordeal unhurt.

So really... what did her parents do that was so wrong? Assume their daughter could do what her brother did last year?

READ THIS.

Oh gawd. They're guilty of having faith in their children who have shown unswerving ability to sail! Fuck 'em all.

As for the cost? Those are the same costs incurred anytime a rescue at sea is made and I don't hear anybody bitching about the other maritime incidents.

You contradict yourself. If sailing around the world "isn't actually that difficult" then she wouldn't have made a rookie mistake. And why would the parents assume she could do what her older, more experienced brother could do? What was the incentive?

These parents are obvious media whores who want the reflected glory of pushing their kids to dangerous extremes -- if the kid survives. There's a good reason why driver licenses aren't issued until a kid is 16 years old, despite the fact that a younger kid can master the technical skills of driving a vehicle. Driving is about more than merely reaching the pedals with their feet.

From your link: "[Zac] Sunderland's record was not recognized by Guinness World Records." The reason for that is the last thing Guinness wants is to encourage irresponsible stunts like kids sailing around the world solo.

As for not hearing about anybody bitching about other maritime incidents, have you even done a search or are you just spouting off? If an accident was caused by negligence or horseplay, the guilty party is almost always made to pay something for the damages.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

Yeah, I do agree that saying something like that stretches things a bit. I don't agree with Abby's parents allowing her to undertake something so risky, but I do believe the law should stay out of it.

I think sometimes you have to let your kids chase their dreams.Look at Amelia Earhart.I know she was a lot older but,she had a dream and went for it.

I disagree. Maybe not arrest them for negligence but if the US government spent one dime in the rescue of this stupid kid, the parents should be made to reimburse them. I for one am sick and tired of stupid dilettantes who do ridiculous things without thinking about the consequences and always expect somebody else to pick up the tab.

Ride a motorcycle without a helmet and get in a crash? Tough; nobody should pay for your head surgery but you and your family. I guarantee this will cut down on the Jackass bullshit that is rampant in this country.

Why?Wouldn't you want someone to come get you if you were hurt.Maybe someone thinks what you did was stupid but,you didn't agree.This girl really thought she could do it,it was her dream.Isn't that what America is all about.Life,liberty and the pursuit of happiness?She was chasing that dream,which is her pursuit of happiness.
Further,her brother made it at the age of 17.So,all her life she had been around sailing and was very well trained.Things tend to run in families.Sailing just happened to be in this one.

She made a mistake that countless seafarers have made before, that is sail into a storm without an accurate report of its strength. All it takes is one gust of wind, and even the New York Yacht Club would have a time righting their ship after a partial capsize or make headway with a broken mast.

This is very true.The Andrea Gail made the very same mistake.You can hear about this in the movie ''The Perfect Storm''

You contradict yourself. If sailing around the world "isn't actually that difficult" then she wouldn't have made a rookie mistake. And why would the parents assume she could do what her older, more experienced brother could do? What was the incentive?

These parents are obvious media whores who want the reflected glory of pushing their kids to dangerous extremes -- if the kid survives. There's a good reason why driver licenses aren't issued until a kid is 16 years old, despite the fact that a younger kid can master the technical skills of driving a vehicle. Driving is about more than merely reaching the pedals with their feet.

From your link: "[Zac] Sunderland's record was not recognized by Guinness World Records." The reason for that is the last thing Guinness wants is to encourage irresponsible stunts like kids sailing around the world solo.

As for not hearing about anybody bitching about other maritime incidents, have you even done a search or are you just spouting off? If an accident was caused by negligence or horseplay, the guilty party is almost always made to pay something for the damages.

She didn't make a rookie mistake she just didn't know there was going to be 30 foot waves.She didn't completely understand the sea conditions she was going in.
Her brother was only one year older then her.He was not much more if any more experienced then her.
If what you are saying is true she is 16 so,she could have her driver's license.Also,the parents aren't media whores they didn't even want to speak to the media when this was going on.They only let their daughter because it was what SHE wanted to do.It was HER dream.
The Guinness did not recognize it because there was some arguments about the fact that he didn't actually sail around the world.
This is what was said:
The world sailing authority did not ratify this event and has further stated that the route does not meet the requirements for a round the world voyage. YachtPals.com
John Reed, Secretary to the WSSRC, told YachtPals.com earlier this week: "Not only is the voyage not being monitored by the WSSRC but the route being followed does not comply with the definition of 'Around the World' and bears no comparison, for example, with the achievement of Jesse Martin." It couldn't be any clearer than that. The entire reason why the WSSRC exists is so that such claims can be scrutinized before, during and after the attempts, lest everyone and their sponsors claim their own records.''

 

[tk0]

What the hell were the parents thinking?

 

[Slaver123]

These parents are obvious media whores who want the reflected glory of pushing their kids to dangerous extremes -- if the kid survives. There's a good reason why driver licenses aren't issued until a kid is 16 years old, despite the fact that a younger kid can master the technical skills of driving a vehicle. Driving is about more than merely reaching the pedals with their feet.
.

Glad to hear some other people say the parents are reckless. Even heard someone say it on the O'Reilley Factor, which is a national show.

OK, here's how to put it in perspective; would you let your teenage daughter walk around an inner city unarmed at night, every night for months? Would you give the local criminals several weeks advance notice of when she'd be in the area? Cause that's exactly what these parents did to their daughter, and their son before that. There are PIRATES in the world, people! Just listen to the true-life horror stories on the BBC sometime....


As far as mastery of the sea, I must remind you that the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald were experienced sailors too....

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

Glad to hear some other people say the parents are reckless. Even heard someone say it on the O'Reilley Factor, which is a national show.

OK, here's how to put it in perspective; would you let your teenage daughter walk around an inner city unarmed at night, every night for months? Would you give the local criminals several weeks advance notice of when she'd be in the area? Cause that's exactly what these parents did to their daughter, and their son before that. There are PIRATES in the world, people! Just listen to the true-life horror stories on the BBC sometime....


As far as mastery of the sea, I must remind you that the crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald were experienced sailors too....

That's a good point.I just wouldn't want to hold my children back from accomplishing their dreams

 

[AdamN]

That's a good point.I just wouldn't want to hold my children back from accomplishing their dreams

I don't think there's anything wrong with encouraging your children to pursue their dreams. In fact, every child should be so lucky to have supportive parents. But if I were Abby's father, which I'm not, I'd have to take her age into account. At 16 years old, I'm just not going to let her do it. If she hates me forever, so be it, but I'm protecting my minor child from real danger. I tend to agree with the poster that made mention of the family, perhaps, craving the media attention and getting into the record books. There was that family, after all, that claimed their little boy was in a runaway hot air ballon. :rolleyes

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

I don't think there's anything wrong with encouraging your children to pursue their dreams. In fact, every child should be so lucky to have supportive parents. But if I were Abby's father, which I'm not, I'd have to take her age into account. At 16 years old, I'm just not going to let her do it. If she hates me forever, so be it, but I'm protecting my minor child from real danger. I tend to agree with the poster that made mention of the family, perhaps, craving the media attention and getting into the record books. There was that family, after all, that claimed their little boy was in a runaway hot air ballon. :rolleyes

That was different.Those parents were actually aiming for a reality show.The parents would not have got that much attention.It would have all went to the girl.As far as age she could have a drivers license and even get married(with parental permission,of course).She could even be emancipated at that age.

 

[AdamN]

That was different.Those parents were actually aiming for a reality show.The parents would not have got that much attention.It would have all went to the girl.As far as age she could have a drivers license and even get married(with parental permission,of course).She could even be emancipated at that age.

True enough. I guess I'd simply be too nervous to let my own child, if I had one, attempt something like that.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

True enough. I guess I'd simply be too nervous to let my own child, if I had one, attempt something like that.

No,I have to take it back.All of you were right from what I saw this morning.I was watching TYT and it turns out there was going to be some reality show.Here look at this.


I have to say if this is all true,I am in shock and a bit angry that a parent could do this to their child.I honestly thought it was all Abby's idea and that she wanted to do this.That it was her dream but,if this is all true then,it's the complete opposite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=C0OvEHbRQ6s

 

[AdamN]

Link didn't work, but I found this one. Story begins at the 1:00 mark...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzgc14M_9m0

This grinds my gears, to say the least. At first I thought the law should stay out of it, but now I think it may be wise to have the parents start paying back every dime of the money spent on the rescue effort. "Adventures in Sunderland"? How clever.

 

[QueenBeeBeeMari]

Okay,I re-posted the link and tried it.It should work you may have to refresh the page.Sometimes,YouTube gets strange glitches and videos don't always work.
I watched your video and my opinion now is that they should be treated like ''Balloon Boy's'' parents.I definitely do not think we should have to pay for her rescue.This is the most outrageous,ridiculous and pathetic stunt I have ever heard of.To try and profit of of your child's danger is horrific and despicable!I cannot believe that two parents could pull such a stunt and they should have to pay for it!
More and more people are trying outrageous and ultimately stupid acts just to try and get on ''reality'' television.It is one thing to endanger yourself but,to endanger a child's life and well being is absolutely unacceptable and the person or persons responsible should pay!