Abby Sunderland possibly lost at sea.

[doohboy24]

i say way to go girl. this young lady has shown that she was physically and knowledgeable about the true love of her life, sailing.More importantly is that she was mentally prepared. How many of us wouldnt think twice about letting our child learn diving and then go on a trip with their friends and doing god knows what without the parents in sight. this young lady trained and prepared herself for this journey that was being supervised and constantly monitered via gps and uhf radio communication. it was truly unfortunate that a big wave took out her main mast and she was unable to complete her journey. If more of our youth these days had the intestional foratude and attention to detail that she displayed our country would be a much better place than these video and cell phone zombies roaming the land today. I hope she will try again and succeed in her endeaver. One thing for sure is you would find her laid up somewhere doing nothing with her life but only things that will make her a success in life and a true asset to her community. Just my two cents worth.

 

[Scott L]

Wow, amazing just how many people will comment on something they know absolutely nothing about! Do a little research on the subject before you voice your opinion so at least you have a valid opinion.

This is a discussion thread. A fair amount of folks with good intelligence (until now anyway) have been kicking around this subject which is somewhat controversial the world over for many reasons. I am assume you are an expert sailor who's opinions are to be taken over all others?

First, her parents are not divorced.

This was corrected early on without much drama.

Second, Her Father did not force her to do this. A simple google search will turn up quite a few videos and blogs where she repeatedly says this has been a dream of her's since she was 13. Third, this young woman has more sailing experience in her little finger then most adults two or three times her age have and you see them sailing their boats off shore everyday. She's been on sail boats since she was 7 months old and crewing since she was like 7 years old, she's skippered a sail boat solo up and down the coast of Cali many times before to prove she had the ability to handle it. She's spent the last several years preparing for this attempt and has the experience of her brother to rely on, who, for a short time, was the youngest to ever circumnavigate the globe solo at 17. Her boat was specifically designed to be sailed solo and deal with rough conditions of the open ocean. Her attempt, unlike her brothers which stopped in many ports around the world, was to be a non-stop trip to avoid being alone in some shady place and it was a southern route in order to avoid the possibility or running into pirates, which her brother had to deal with. This attempt wasn't done on a whim in some un-seaworthy dingy. If you do even the smallest amount of research on this you'll immediately see that this young woman is not your typical airhead teenager. She knew what she was in for, knew the risks and prepared for them in order to minimize that risk. At one point during her voyage she was alone at sea for 111 days and had no trouble dealing with that. Repaired the autopilot on board her boat and weathered several severe storms all by her self. How many 16 year old's do you know that could handle much of anything technical by them selves for a week let alone 3 months? At that age I was lucky to be able to tie my own shoes.

I do not believe anyone has indicated that she was forced to participate in this adventure. It is plainly evident that she is a product of her environment including family wealth. I seriously doubt that both son and daughter came out of the womb with the goal of circumventing the globe alone before they enter college. I am willing to bet that at least one parent (father probably) has an obsession with similar pursuits.

I applaud Abby for going after her dream and her parents for preparing her for this attempt. I believe the good Lord put us on this earth to live not to merely survive. Taking a little risk now and then is something that makes us appreciate life and it's only through that risk we realize how precious and short life is and that we need to live it everyday before it's to late. I hope she try's again and succeeds.

Just my 2 penny's worth.

I applaud her as well, but as I stated earlier it is my opinion the parents perhaps could have served their children better by waiting until they matured some more both physically and mentally in order to better stack the odds in their favor.

I wonder if you would have made the same post if she had perished?