Bob Sihler wrote: While it may be more statistically dangerous to get into a car ...

It's not statistically more dangerous to get into a car. At 16 (and sober), your risk of death when getting in a car is probably less than 1 in 100,000 (for the driving population as a whole, it's less than one in 10 million per outing, even without excluding drunk and texting drivers).

Not many people have crossed the southern Indian Ocean solo, but there have been fatalities and the death rate is surely many orders of magnitude higher than getting in a car. My guess, just a guess, is that it's in the neighborhood of 1/100.

"Abby Sunderland was on the wrong type of boat (a racing yacht) in the wrong location (the southern Indian Ocean) at the wrong time of year (winter in the southern hemisphere). Other than those minor details it was a well-planned voyage."

Lolli wrote: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous women

Especially when driving cars.

MoapaPk wrote:

Lolli wrote: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous women

Especially when driving cars.

Or when woken with details of up coming climbing trips.

MoapaPk wrote:

Lolli wrote: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous women

Especially when driving cars.

Yeah, and at 0300 on the Friday Morning after Thanksgiving on their way to the local Mall!

Father sold the story to Reality TV even before she set sail.

Yup, all about her dreams.... Riiiiiiiiiiiight!

"Late last night, when the ship went down, I dreamed I saw a lifeboat.

Drifting like a swan on a deep blue lake, as the people climbed aboard.

Oh lifeboat, lifeboat, won't you come along and save me ...?"




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Ts2R9PD2A&feature=related

The Chief wrote:Father sold the story to Reality TV even before she set sail.

Yup, all about her dreams.... Riiiiiiiiiiiight!

Who wouldda thunk?

Mountain Impulse wrote:

The Chief wrote:Father sold the story to Reality TV even before she set sail.

Yup, all about her dreams.... Riiiiiiiiiiiight!

Who wouldda thunk?

I still think it went past this for Abby. If she was only interested in the record she would have quit in South Africa. But she didn't, she kept going. I think she enjoyed the adventure. I think she was excited about the prospect of sailing around the world regardless of the record.

If she can make a buck doing what she loves, who's to say that's wrong. The parents intent is debatable but they weren't the ones who had their asses out there on the line.

I smell a MasterCard sponsorship . . .

Brother’s previous sail around the world: -$50,000
Dismasted Sayer Class 40 Yacht: -$400,000
Food, fuel, outfitting for a solo voyage around the world: -$25,000
Reality TV show contract: +$200,000
Book deal: +$500,000
Australian government rescue tab: -$300,000 (but the Sunderland's ain't payin')
Claim that Abby was just pursuing her dream and it wasn’t about the money: Priceless
(Alternate ending: Father's soul: Priceless)

Bob Sihler wrote:I'm not one of those who say the girl had no business trying to sail around the world solo. Although it's debatable, I think 16 is old enough to make an informed decision on a lot of things (not anything, though),

But in the realm of Apple/Oranges argument, we allow boys of nearly the same age to go into military service. A life changing decision and in my experience IMO not something many of them have the mental firepower to make.

John Duffield wrote:But in the realm of Apple/Oranges argument, we allow boys of nearly the same age to go into military service. A life changing decision and in my experience IMO not something many of them have the mental firepower to make.

In many cases John, that is an empowering one for those boys & girls, and gives them that "mental firepower" they lack. Many of them come from a home with absolutely no role mode, direction nor any guidance to follow. They find that and so much more once they are in and doing the gig. As in many other nations throughout the world which a two year stinch is mandatory, it affords them solid direction in teaching them how to serve "others" and not one self. A very meaningful virtue that many in this nation could stand to learn and practice.

Whole different enchilada.... trust me.

Dingus Milktoast wrote:If she writes a book, I will buy it.

You won't miss it. Watch for an announcement from her spokesperson.

Dingus Milktoast wrote:Well if she inspires other young women to flip the finger of fate at the 'can't do it' naysayers, I will gladly shake her publicist's hand.

Maybe she should have stayed home, eating doritos and watching Oprah on cable. But THAT book has been written 10 million times.

DMT

Is there no middle ground?

I work with college-age kids all day. Many are just a couple years' removed from Abby. Many are also very interesting, well-adjusted young people. Extrapolating backwards, it's reasonable to assume many younger teens have their heads on straight and will grow up to be fine people.

However, the variable that makes Abby's experience different is she had the parents with the wherewithall (i.e. $) and skewed sense of judgment to let her sail solo around the world. For what end? To "prove" what a great kid she is? I daresay there would be hundreds of kids in their midteens doing all sorts of interesting things like this if they had the lucky set of circumstances Abby had. The playing field is not level.

Please note: none of this is an ad hominem on Abby herself. It is better directed at her parents, and to those who find such feats by young kids "amazing", as if all it took for Abby to do this was a lot of courage and determination (ignoring the convenient fact she had access to a nice big boat, a lot of scratch, and parents who apparently were content to let their kid battle 50-foot waves in the Indian Ocean ... maybe they had a spare back home?)

I'll tell you what impresses me: the kid with a broken home who ekes through college and doesn't use it as a crutch. Who just plugs away and gets it done, quietly without fanfare.

surgent wrote:

Dingus Milktoast wrote:Well if she inspires other young women to flip the finger of fate at the 'can't do it' naysayers, I will gladly shake her publicist's hand.

Maybe she should have stayed home, eating doritos and watching Oprah on cable. But THAT book has been written 10 million times.

DMT

Is there no middle ground?

I work with college-age kids all day. Many are just a couple years' removed from Abby. Many are also very interesting, well-adjusted young people. Extrapolating backwards, it's reasonable to assume many younger teens have their heads on straight and will grow up to be fine people.

However, the variable that makes Abby's experience different is she had the parents with the wherewithall (i.e. $) and skewed sense of judgment to let her sail solo around the world. For what end? To "prove" what a great kid she is? I daresay there would be hundreds of kids in their midteens doing all sorts of interesting things like this if they had the lucky set of circumstances Abby had. The playing field is not level.

Please note: none of this is an ad hominem on Abby herself. It is better directed at her parents, and to those who find such feats by young kids "amazing", as if all it took for Abby to do this was a lot of courage and determination (ignoring the convenient fact she had access to a nice big boat, a lot of scratch, and parents who apparently were content to let their kid battle 50-foot waves in the Indian Ocean ... maybe they had a spare back home?)

I'll tell you what impresses me: the kid with a broken home who ekes through college and doesn't use it as a crutch. Who just plugs away and gets it done, quietly without fanfare.

Excellent post. There's a lot of people out there who deserve more credit than her. She was simply lucky enough to be born into the right circumstances.

People who have the means to embark on adventures are fortunate, but it doesn’t mean that those adventures can’t be inspiring. In general, I think anyone that attempts a solo sail around the world is pretty daring (I sail solo a lot in a small boat, and find 25 knot winds and four foot swells on Lake Champlain to be pretty intimidating -- I can’t imagine soloing in 40 knot winds and 20+ foot swells).

But I don’t find all such stories inspiring. If this voyage was really just about the accomplishment, why the pre-trip attempt at a TV deal? Why all the publicity and the talk of a book? I would find her story more compelling if she was just in it for the love of the adventure (just like I find mountaineers more interesting when they climb for the sport and not the publicity). But I see the hand of her parents in all of this -- too manipulative/abusive of someone so young (I highly doubt she could/would have pulled this trip off on her own). It all seems very circus to me, which detracts from any inspiration I might find (same is true of Romero and Everest). In the end, like Romero, she appears to be just another rich kid with vicariously-living (and/or opportunistic) parents. If that’s true (and that’s all I can glean from the reporting I have read), the story is one I have read many times before -- to be honest, really kind of boring.

Finally, I don’t understand why she should expect a free rescue at the expense of the Australian taxpayers -- she took the risk and yet they pay the bill. Hey -- happy to throw gas on that fire again . . . .