SummitPost.org

Ok, not related to climbing but since there has been so much talk of parent responsibility I thought this was appropriate.

Hope all turns out well for her.

http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/179 ... underland/

I hope (pray) this ends well..

I've been watching her trip for some time. She is pretty brave to try that trip solo.

I'm not taking the stance as to whether she should have been permited to go but I do not think I would let my daughter do something like that solo. I could understand with an experienced group.

I just hope they find her and she's alright.

I have no doubt that this girl, at 16, knows how to handle a boat better than I do, at almost 40, so I will not jump on the "She's too young" bandwagon.

However, at 16, I would not wear a seatbelt in a convertible because it interfered with my tan. So maybe that argument about perspective and experience does matter.

I hope she's found safe and alive. From an article I read a few minutes ago, I infer she still might be:

She says the signals coming from the two beacons Sunderland has activated - one attached to her body and another attached to her boat - suggest she is still in the boat.

Still...

AMSA spokeswoman Carly Lusk says conditions in the search area are poor, with 90 kilometre per hour winds and a six-metre swell.

Sunderland set sail amid criticism from some in the sailing community that her itinerary was too risky because it would place her in the Indian Ocean during the turbulent Southern Hemisphere winter.

Huh? Why would you plan to be in the middle of the ocean during the stormy season?

If the worst happens and the girl is lost, I at least hope this will make a few people think again before embarking on, or sending their kids on, ill-advised adventures.

Sorry to say it, but the Indian Ocean can chew you up and spit you out.

Then again, you could get ran over when crossing a street in your own neighborhood.

Who knows when your time is gonna come ???

Bob Sihler wrote:Huh? Why would you plan to be in the middle of the ocean during the stormy season?

Maybe she needs to finish by a certain date to get the record? I don't know.

I know at 16 there's no way I could have done anything like what she's doing. Good on her.

We've only just been through the whole Jessica Watson thing here in Australia. Watson has been badly advised and managed by her team at home, but Jessica herself did awesomely well to do what she did. Good on her too. No amount of satnav, GPS and blogging can reduce the sheer terror of being a puny dot in the path of nature at its biggest and baddest.

Not directed at anyone here, but to all these people I see in the media saying "I wouldn't let my child do that ...", I would say "Well, if you did 'let' them do it, could they do it?"

Or is it irrelevant spray, because your 'gifted' little darlings are stuck on X-Box and Twitter eating junk and couldn't sail across a lake to save their lives?

And you'll vote for a government that sends 19 year-olds off to get torn apart by roadside bombs in a foreign land, but won't let them buy a single beer in the 'Land of the Free'?

Or let 16 year-old strap themselves into a steel box and go hurtling down all kinds of roads with god-only-knows what drunk and drugged up strangers hurtling toward your little darlings at an impact speed of more than 100 mph, passing within a foot or so, again and again, hoping that all those strangers who you wouldn't trust with your dog can control a vehicle at high speed?

This is just my opinion and I'm not really interested in arguing about it. Even more so if Abby really is gone. I hope she is not.

D

There's always a final glimmer of hope.

If she is lost forever, who are we to say "it was her destiny to become lost at sea ???"

Nobody knows the true motives, except her family and friends ...

And, there are those who will NEVER understand.

Huh? Why would you plan to be in the middle of the ocean during the stormy season?

Most of the Indian Ocean would be in it's non-stormy season this time of year, though I don't know the route that this girl is taking.

Generally, in the Indian Ocear north of the Equator, it is monsoon season and this is when the ocean tends to be rough, but generally south of the equator, this time of year is calmer than the rest of the year until you get way down south and closer to Antarctica.

Most of the Indian Ocean has it's stormy and rough season November through April or so. As an example, we'll be in Sumatra and Java in December and I want to see Krakatoa. Unfortunately, the ocean tends to be very rough at that time of year and the crossing by boat may be too risky, thus we may miss it. June through September is the best time to go and when the ocean is the most calm.

And you'll vote for a government that sends 19 year-olds off to get torn apart by roadside bombs in a foreign land

Hmmm, could be a valid point. I actually joined the military on my 17th birthday, which is the minimum age to join in the USA (though in more recent years, you have to be 18 to serve in combat). 17 is close to the same age as this girl I guess if you are old enough to go to war.......................

Yeah, but how can you predict what the weather will do (or be like) on a daily basis?

2010 has been really crazy, as far as weather patterns are concerned.

There's always a certain degree of danger attached to risk, but everybody (already) knows that!

It's all on the news here right now, as a Qantas jet is due to arrive in the area to search. A ship can't get there until tomorrow (Saturday).

Not the interview with Ian Kiernan in at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... 924732.htm

and:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/search-for- ... utostart=1

lcarreau wrote:Sorry to say it, but the Indian Ocean can chew you up and spit you out.

Then again, you could get ran over when crossing a street in your own neighborhood.

Who knows when your time is gonna come ???

So true, the Indian ocean is about as gnarly as it gets, (well, along with the Bering Sea). And, even in calmer, "out-of-season" waters, its still remote as hell.

As much as I wanted to sail solo to Hawaii when I was 15, partly to break Robin Lee Grahams's record, but also because it would've been a great sail for a 15 yr. old, my parents wouldn't have let me. . . They also didn't allow me to race motorcycles like I wanted to.

Yeah, no one knows when one's "time is up," but one can also minimize the risks of rushing that time. Sailing solo in the Indian ocean is a truly risky business even for adults.
Brings to mind a remarkable French woman sailor, who, though she began thinking about sailing solo around the world at age 12, she fiinished college before she began any serious solo sailing. She almost bit it twice, both times in the Indian ocean. Can't help but think, no matter how passionate someone is to undertake a solo sail, passion can't match experience. Not when it comes to solo open ocean sailing. Even Jordan Romero climbed with others.

I pray to the earth angels that they find this girl.

The French sailor,
Issabelle Autissier.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3407900035.html

And a pic of her in action:

FortMental wrote:I really, really hope she's found alive and well. These exploits, however, are the dumbest fucking things in the world. It's a testament to the evolution of humans into a dead-end that parents don't reflexively vomit at the thought of sending their teenage kid, solo, into the deadly unknown. They must have spares.

You're one of the lone, sane SPers out there!

All this "off to be the youngest" to do this adult horseshit is all....

WTF ever happened to just letting your kids grow up and allow them to be kids during the process? All these parents out there insisting that the kids become adults before they are shaving or sprouting titties.

I am waiting to see what modern day parent will allow and motivate their pre-teen to be the youngest Combat EOD Technician. Now that would be something for the books.

"11 year old gets blown to shit trying to become the youngest person to disarm an IED."




But then again, I did join the Navy when I was 16.

My Wife tells me that I should apply for this record:

"Oldest Man alive on earth to act and play like a 12 year old."

Contact made:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/teen-sailor ... -y32i.html