16 year old female sailor wants to sail across the world by her self....

[EL PRESIDENTE]

what could go wrong?



I remember hearing about this about 2 months ago and thinking this is pretty fucking dangerous to do.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/abby-sunderland-possibly-lost-sea/story?id=10877108

Abby Sunderland, 16, who is attempting to become the youngest sailor ever to circumnavigate the globe, was feared lost at sea today after her crew lost contact with her boat.

Jeff Casher, an engineer on Sunderland's support team, said two emergency beacons on her boat are now signaling she is in trouble.

Abby's mother, MaryAnne Sunderland, told ABC News that Abby manually activated two beacons around 6 a.m. Pacific Time Thursday.

A beacon designed to automatically go off when it contacts water had not been activated, she said.

Abby was in 20-25 foot waves at the time of last contact, with 35-knot winds, said MaryAnne Sunderland, who is due to give birth at the end of the month. She was shaken but focused on trying to get a rescue effort together.

The closest land to Abby's boat was Reunion Island, which is east of Madagascar. The nearest ship was 400 miles away. Rescuers were trying to contact the ship.

Casher told ABC News that he last spoke with the 16-year-old sailor around 6 a.m. PDT after she had been knocked down twice during the night because of strong winds -- meaning that her sail had touched the water.

 

[huevonkiller]

She seems like a nice person, I'm sad to hear this.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

yeah, i remember hearing an extended interview for her on talk radio out here (she was sailing out of Marina Del Rey I believe)....really sad. Hope they can find her but doesn't sound too positive.

 

[elcap15]

I hope her parents are held responsible for all the rescue expenses

 

[Minstrel]

I hope her parents are held responsible for all the rescue expenses

Why? Was this caused by her being 16? Would an older sailor not have met with disaster in those conditions? (Not a rhetorical question, I actually don't know.)

 

[NJNetz]

I remember reading about this too. A girl her age should be experimenting in unprotected sex not sailing across the world for no real purpose at all.

 

[DaRizzle]

Why? Was this caused by her being 16?

It was caused by her parents allowing her to be out there in the first place. Its irrelevant how good she is, no 16 year old is mentally prepared for something like that even if they think they are...the other young sailors who have made it just got lucky

 

[BlazerWookee]

It was caused by her parents allowing her to be out there in the first place. Its irrelevant how good she is, no 16 year old is mentally prepared for something like that even if they think they are...the other young sailors who have made it just got lucky

Not to mention how much money this whole thing is is going to cost. Not just the search and rescue, but paying for the trip to begin with. What a phenomenal waste of money.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

White people do this shit all the time yeah bro let's climb mount everest!!!!!

 

[elcap15]

Why? Was this caused by her being 16? Would an older sailor not have met with disaster in those conditions? (Not a rhetorical question, I actually don't know.)

I think that an older sailor should just not be rescued.

An underrage sailor is the public's resposibility and the parents' liability.

 

[Mamba]

Women can't do anything right.

This should teach every 16 year old girl to stay in the kitchen.

 

[DaRizzle]

I think that an older sailor should just not be rescued.

Thats a little harsh IMO. Is there anything like "extreme adventure" insurance?(lol) Maybe make something like that an option and then I can go along with your idea for the people who chose not to buy the insurance.

 

[Eastoff]

^^^ it always surprises me when Lakers' fans actually make sense.

 

[elcap15]

I dont think we should encourage people doing intentionally dangerous things for no real purpose.


If you want to do something death defying for your 15 minutes of fame, so be it, but you better actually be prepared to deal with the consequences of failure.

 

[BengalDuck]

i feel bad for her, certainly.

but it was silly to follow a path where she was so far off the nearest coastline.

 

[Stevenson]

Not to mention how much money this whole thing is is going to cost. Not just the search and rescue, but paying for the trip to begin with. What a phenomenal waste of money.

Your take is that it is a waste of money? Dude, that is really f'd up.

No 16 year old is physically, mentally, or emotionally ready for a trip like that. The parents were criminally negligent.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Your take is that it is a waste of money? Dude, that is really f'd up.

No 16 year old is physically, mentally, or emotionally ready for a trip like that. The parents were criminally negligent.

This 16yo Aussie girl sailed around the world recently:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/93870044.html#axzz0qVNFJWGR

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Hopefully she is alright. With the nearest rescue ship days away she could be in a lot of trouble.

 

[Minstrel]

I think that an older sailor should just not be rescued.

An underrage sailor is the public's resposibility and the parents' liability.

Ah, okay.

 

[julius]

Man, I wish my parents could afford to have shipped me off to sail around the world by myself when I was 16.

If she in fact has died, that is sad. But it's kind of like when someone does something stupid and unsafe and gets hurt. You have to look at it and go "well, no shit".

Think about it...she's all alone, in a boat. If someone (or a group of people) came up to her and they pretty much could do anything to her and get away with it. And i'm not saying that because she's a woman, they'd do the same to a guy too.

 

[Paxil]

So all alone in the ocean with no one with days of you and you are supposed to be afraid of people coming up and doing something to you? I am sure there are things to be worried about out there... but people coming up and doing something to you probably isn't one of them.

 

[Eastoff]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/11/missing.teen.sailor/index.html?hpt=T1

australians made contact with her apparently!

 

[ehizzy3]

Women can't do anything right.

This should teach every 16 year old girl to stay in the kitchen.

rep'd

edit: damn i must spread some around

 

[Denny Crane]

She's been found alive.

I don't get the "child endangerment" argument that people are making about this. She has a really big dream and her parents empowered her to follow it.

Should parents of kids who are boxers or football players keep them from participating in the sport because it's dangerous?

 

[Colonel Ronan]

She has been found.

 

[julius]

She's been found alive.

I don't get the "child endangerment" argument that people are making about this. She has a really big dream and her parents empowered her to follow it.

Should parents of kids who are boxers or football players keep them from participating in the sport because it's dangerous?

If that sport puts them hundreds of miles away from any other person, yes. They should keep them from participating in those sports.

 

[NJNetz]

What does she get out of this trip? Besides 15 minutes of fame?

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

What does she get out of this trip? Besides 15 minutes of fame?

Maybe having her love of sailing and the sea fulfilled with this incredible experience. Maybe being able to turn 40 and not look back on her life with regret over the things she wanted to do but didn't have the guts to do them. Maybe so idiots on message boards like this can trash her and she can laugh at them as she has more true resolve than anyone around here.

 

[NJNetz]

Maybe having her love of sailing and the sea fulfilled with this incredible experience. Maybe being able to turn 40 and not look back on her life with regret over the things she wanted to do but didn't have the guts to do them. Maybe so idiots on message boards like this can trash her and she can laugh at them as she has more true resolve than anyone around here.

I agree.

 

[BrianFromWA]

why does she have to do it alone? And why does she have to do it at 16? I'm sure she would've liked to vote this year or drive a car last year, but the government says she's not mature enough. But she can take a year off from school to sail around the world alone?

I've been on (relatively) long sailing trips. They can be dangerous. Many, many people have been hurt or killed just doing the jobs they've been doing for years. Weather and seas are capricious. This seems almost abusive to me. Is it really not worth it to sail around the world if you have to have someone with you? Does it totally ruin the achievement?