EDIT: Addressed to a few posts in front of this.
EDIT 2: The Chief - the record attempt was over, done, toast way before she started her last leg. The record had nothing into to do with her heading into the IO.

So now we know it wasn't do or die for some absurd record. Why did she keep pedalling her bike? Cuz she wanted to and knew that she could handle it.




The Chief,
Looking forward to the Zumwalt-class. But you and I both know that we both know that there are places with 3-foot waves will kick almost anything afloat ass over tea kettle.

g

BTW Damien Gilda,

I do not brag about my service. Your pompous righteous self may think I am. But, and a very big but, I am only sharing my experiences so that those, such as yourself that haven't one frkn clue of the nobility of such service, is like. Regardless if those in your family share it or not.

I am proud of all that I have done while in uniform. Would gladly do it all over again. Big difference Damien Gilda. Besides, you'd clearly understand had you ever been in mine or their shoes, for any length of time.



I still stand firm that no 16 year old should have been allowed to be put into the situ that most certainly faced in the last 72 hours. Regardless of record or not.

Worthy sea going vessels don't even venture into these seas during this time of the year. Why even allow a 16 yr old to, alone, in a 40 footer.

The Chief,

Your buddy above (Damien?) mistakenly confuses pride for bragging.

g

Hey Gene, that is Tollhouse and other pics you have in your profile are of Tollhouse ....

Have we met?

Not yet. I'll holler up when i get over to the eastside. I think we'd get along.

g

Again, I try to jump in on this thread and again, Fortmental and The Chief have said it all. Kudos to you both for some old school leadership. The key point here is that her age dictated her departure. Waiting any longer threatens the record since she won't be 16 forever. Aside from the fact that they have abandoned the record attempt based on her previous stop, the record is what started this effort. Allowing your 16 year old daughter to be alone in the middle of the Indian ocean in the middle of winter is irresponsible, to say the least. She is not old enough to make that decision for herself. Damien, if your 16 year old daughter were to tell you that she is capable of deciding whether or not to smoke dope, drink vodka or have sex with her pimple faced boyfriend. Would you "take the training wheels off"? Or are you sympathetic to this girl simply because she enjoys the same type of adventure that you enjoy? We are responsible for our kids until they can make these decisions for themselves and I simply believe that Abby and Jordan are too young to do that. Consider how the world would have reacted if either of these kids had died.

Yep, the squeaky wheel ALWAYS gets the oil.

Gotta blame all this on reality TV and "Global Cooling!"

But, can you dig? Wouldn't the world be "a better place" if we were all "captains of our own ships?"

Outside wrote:Consider how the world would have reacted if either of these kids had died.

This is a very good point. However, the girl took care of herself out there, handled a situation that many of us wouldn't have wanted to be in, nor could probably have handle as well as she did, and activated her beacons to effect a rescue. I think she was trained pretty well to handle herself out there and who knows how that training will manifiest itself later in life. Maybe when she hits the talk show scene she'll tell us all how her parents twisted her arm to go.

Personally, I applaud the parents for letting their kid go off on such a grand adventure.

I wish I could meet the parents and shake their hand. Any parent who says they wouldnt let their kid do something for which they were prepared speaks out of selfishness.

Is selfishness to held in higher esteem than exploring one's personal limits? Have any of you ever met the girl? Can you say that she wasn't ready? Or are you saying that she wasn't ready at age 16 because YOU weren't ready at age 16?

Aside from the parents. For Abby, it was about more than the record. Getting the record was out the window when she stop in South Africa, I think, to have her navigation system repaired. Not only did it show good decision making on her part but it also showed the adventure was more important to her than the record. She could have easily given up there and people would have understood but she didn't.

I'm very impressed by this woman and I'm very happy she is ok.

butitsadryheat wrote:The ocean is no place for a child, or an adult, to be playing around in/on ...

Well .. shiver me timbers !!!

"What's dat you say, mate ???"

"You can remove a kid from adventure, but you can't remove adventure from a kid !!!"

butitsadryheat wrote:

Brad Marshall wrote:

Outside wrote:Consider how the world would have reacted if either of these kids had died.

This is a very good point. However, the girl took care of herself out there, handled a situation that many of us wouldn't have wanted to be in, nor could probably have handle as well as she did, and activated her beacons to effect a rescue. I think she was trained pretty well to handle herself out there and who knows how that training will manifiest itself later in life. Maybe when she hits the talk show scene she'll tell us all how her parents twisted her arm to go.

She was very well trained (since her dad ran a yacht club, she'd prolly been sailing since she was in diapers). Also remember, her brother set the record at 17 just awhile back. They have this in their blood. They would do as well as anyone, I would think.
That being said, I think it was too risky to put a kid in that position. I'm glad she is OK, like I am with Romero.
The ocean is no place for a child, or an adult, to be playing around in/on, especially in the Indian Ocean in the winter

In response to the first post, yep, the world's opinion would've been pretty harsh if she had lost it. But, doesn't mean that the people quickest to offer the loudest criticisms and harshest critiques are necessarily right, even half the time, if they're lucky. . .

As for the next two posts by Brad and BIADH, well, I've swing around on this one, and, I tend to agree. She's experienced, and she showed it in her composure. (Also helps to have a state of the art, hard-to sink boat).

I grew up sailing, and dreamt once of breaking the record for sailing to Hawaii, which I would have had to have done when I was 15. Must have dreamt it at about 13 or so. I was nowhere skilled enough to pull ito off, and I'm not sure my parents would've let me, but, I was competent enough to at least imagine it, dream about it and talk it over with my parents. They didn't laugh at me, and were intrigued a bit, I think.

Reading this girl's story, and listening to the various arguments, brought to mind my own long-ago fantasy, and the potential quest to break this guy's record, who was
the first. Some of you may have heard of him:

Robin Lee Graham.

Yep, took off from LA. when he was but 16, and returned 5yrs. later. (He took his time, played around, hiked islands, swam with dolphins, worked, and fell in love. Also, technically, he didn't sail the whole thing solo, as his girlfriend accompanied him for a short leg. But, wouldn't you have done the same? ).
Then, stumbled across this interesting chart. Looks as though a few, (some I knew of), have been sailing at the same young, tender ages in recent years.

I hand it to this girl, for hanging in their under dire circumstance. A dismasting in any ocean is scary as hell, and a potentially life-threatening event. Enough to freak out anyone. She hung in there, remained calm, and activated her safety measures. She's smart, and competent. No record for her, but she probably doesn't care. . .
May she sail again.

Link to the history of young circumnavigators:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Lee_Graham