<p>The rock climbing and diving references are absolutely on the mark. Scuba diving without a buddy could lead to death if you have problems with your regulator or equipment. </p>
<p>Sailing around the world with a buddy would be dangerous, but at least you have two sets of hands and could work together if you had a problem with your boat. Or got sick. My H had a ruptured appendix when he was a teen. When his parents came home from work they found him quite ill and rushed him to the hospital, saving his life. Could you imagine how many things could go wrong on a boat in the middle of the ocean? </p>
<p>I can’t understand why these parents exposed their children to this risk at such a young age. I don’t get why if it is their “dream” they can’t delay it until they attain a few more years of experience. </p>
<p>The parents have endangered their child. I hope she comes home safe. And when she does…I hope the authorities bill the parents for putting their child at risk, as well as the rescuers who are looking for her, now. Such a bad, bad situation.</p>
<p>Come again? How can you say that nobody sent her but herself? When you are a minor, your parents have to permit you to leave the home. Ultimately, parents are in charge. The parents did send her on this journey. No, they didn’t force her, but they allowed her to go, as they are her “supervisors” given she is a minor. You make it sound like it was her own decision and her parents were not part of it. It appears as if her parents actually encouraged it.</p>
<p>If you go to this site, there is a video about this girl from before and during the voyage. In it, the father discusses how he kept challenging his D in more difficult sailing endeavors and after one excursion asked her, “Abby, are you ready to sail around the world?” They definitely encouraged her. </p>
<p>Separate from that issue…if you watch this video, they show a boy who did this back in 1999 and how during his journey, he ran into some rough situations and they show him at those moments entirely terrified. That is hard to watch.</p>
<p>My oldest S wanted to try skydiving when he was in high school. No companies allowed a minor to participate in this activity, even with parent permission until he reached the age of 18. Even if it was his dream and he really, really wanted to do it. </p>
<p>Which he did. He had to wait. We actually gave him this “present” for his 18th bday. My H and him went together, and on the way down, my H actually had one of those freak problems where he kept spinning all the way down. I watched from the ground, at first not sure which one was in distress. It was kind of terrifying. Either my son or husband might not pull out of this spin. Fortunately, he was able to regain control. </p>
<p>And that freefall lasted a few minutes, not weeks or months at sea.</p>
<p>You have obviously have never dealt with a capable and responsible young person whose demonstrated ability and desires take them into endeavors that challenge your own life experiences. And therefor, your defensive stance.</p>
<p>“Sure, if something happened and she lost her future, it’d be a tragedy. But if she lived her whole life without ever achieving her very achievable dreams, then what’s the point? What’s the point of never trying to achieving your dreams? What’s the point of life if you never attempt to fulfill your ambitions?”</p>
<p>Don’t be silly. If her parents had kept her from attempting to sail around the world at age 16 that wouldn’t mean that she couldn’t pursue any other dreams. People’s dreams change throughout their lives. Given a normal lifespan, she could have plenty of time to pursue dozens of dreams. Dying at age 16 while trying to pursue something that is extremely dangerous would mean that she’d never have the chance again to pursue a dream.</p>
<p>“Nobody sent her on anything but herself. And that’s another reason to admire her resolve and courage.”</p>
<p>The parents equipped the boat and allowed her to go. She wouldn’t have been able to attempt to sail around the world without her parents’ help.</p>
<p>“You’ have obviously have never dealt with a capable and responsible young person whose demonstrated experiences and desires take them into endeavors that exceed your own life experiences.”</p>
<p>Just how would a 16-year-old obtain on their own a boat capable of sailing around the world and the supplies to do so?</p>
<p>I don’t see her decision as courageous- I see it as naive. The open sea is a very dangerous and unpredictable environment. Her brother was very lucky. </p>
<p>I find it hard to believe that these parents were serious expert sailors. They, of all people, should know how risky it is for anyone, much less child, sailing alone for such a long distance without any kind of backup in case of trouble.</p>
<p>I watched that video and I cringed when she said, “I understand the danger of what I am doing and I understand what I am doing” etc and so forth.</p>
<p>All I can think is yeah, kind of how I understood what I was doing when I buried myself in student loans when I was three years older than you. Whenever a teenager says “I understand” I swear it’s trouble. They don’t really.</p>
<p>toblin, you know nothing about me to make such a claim. It happens to be false. In fact, for mere starters, one of my daughter’s endeavors have far exceeded my own life experiences. She has traveled, as well as lived, SOLO numerous times in foreign countries including at this very moment. That is something I have not done. I could list many other things my kids have done that I have not. Same D is a ski racer…lots of risks…I have not been a racer. Same D drove 6000 miles to Alaska at age 18, and I did not do that at her age. Same D has hiked into the remote areas of third world countries and I have surely not. And so on.</p>
<p>I believe in adventure. I believe in pursuing dreams. I believe in taking risks. But there are all types of risks. The mother of Abby Sunderland, when asked about sending her D off on such a risky venture, said her D could have problems just driving as a teen (that is true…I have a daughter who was severely injured driving while 16 myself). But that pales in comparison to the risk factor of sailing a boat around the world solo. The percentage of the risk of all that could go wrong is far greater. Further, the chance of getting help is far less when alone in the middle of the ocean and help is so many hours or days away. So, there are risks and then there are risks that are so great as to be crazy and irresponsible, particularly when a minor who is under the supervision of adults making the final decision.</p>
<p>You are clearly as smart as your wickedly clever parents.</p>
<p>Teens mature at different rates. Fully understanding the big picture is a challenge for even the most mature 16 year old, much less 19 year old.</p>
<p>Well, I was about to say everything that Landshark and Suzy said, but instead I will remark that while it is dangerous when a teenager says, “I understand,” it is tedious when they say “But you dont understand.”</p>
<p>Toblin, I have two incredibly responsibe and capable and talented and brave daughters and many of the things they have done have far outstripped my personal experience. However, until they are/were adults, these are/will remain supervised activities.</p>
<p>In fact, I have a daughter who has been repeatedly offered jobs in films and my response has been, each time, “When she has grown up.”</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Becuase have you seen what happens to child actors?</p>
<p>If the other one wanted to sail around the world? The response would be, “When you grow up.”</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Becuase it isn’t safe. Do you honestly believe it is safe to send a 16 year old girl from Southern California out to face the Pirates? Get a grip.</p>
<p>As parents, we can support our children’s dreams while minimizing the risks they face. </p>
<p>Just as I wouldn’t send my teen daughter to Amsterdam to see the city by herself as a high school student, I wouldn’t send her on a trip around the globe in a boat by herself. </p>
<p>Even if she really, really wanted to go.</p>
<p>I would probably urge my D to spend a semester abroad in that city while in college, instead. Or plan a trip to go with her, and visit the city together. Two tourists is safer than 1, particularly a young, attractive girl travelling alone. </p>
<p>Why couldn’t the parents make this trip around the world with their daughter and her siblings? Is it so important for them to push their kids into these endeavors that they don’t understand the inherent risks? Sending a kid in a car to the grocery store to pick up milk isn’t the same thing as circumnavigating the globe, alone. </p>
<p>An accident could harm the child or cut their life short, but on the scale of similar risks, it doesn’t compare.</p>
<p>Mom and Dad are nitwits. I hope that Abby comes home safely, soon.</p>
<p>"while it is dangerous when a teenager says, “I understand,” it is tedious when they say “But you dont understand.”</p>
<p>My favorite is “there’s nothing to worry about.” Which reminds me of family road trips decades ago before GPS, back when long vacations involved lots of travel on poorly marked back roads. When asking for directions, it was always the kiss of death when some local would tell my father “you can’t miss it.”</p>
<p>Her parents should be reported to CPS for child endangerment. This is the result of permissive parenting. And the child pays the ultimate price. These parents have abdicated their responsibility to make wise decisions to ensure the safety of their child.</p>
<p>Yeah, Samurai, non-air conditioned, with the windows down and wind blowing thru the car. At my father’s funeral mass, I told a few anecdotes. My favorite was how before each long road trip, my father would buy a new [cheap] golf cap so he would look presentable to any relatives we’d stay with. On one trip in 1964 we were driving west on the New York Throughway, and I was playing around with my father’s cap and it flew out the window. I was too scared to tell him to stop. An hour later, my father asked where his cap was, and while I stayed silent, my brother said “I think it’s somewhere near Syracuse.”</p>
<p>My dad was a stickler on bathroom breaks for car trips. It had to be a near emergency before he would stop the car. My mom would be absolutely livid with him by the end of a trip!</p>
<p>Twice, our car broke down more than a couple hours from home and we had to be towed into a gas station - or all the way home. Another fun time was when my dad couldn’t drive because he broke his glasses on the trip and had to have two teen girls without a lot of driving experience drive all the way home. That was a treacherous nine hour trip with my siblings at the wheel! </p>
<p>Cars were much more unreliable, no gps, not a lot of fast food, no a/c - yet, we still have some great memories of these road trips!</p>
<p>Stupid parents. I don’t really have sympathy. If you want to do something incredibly dangerous and you die… well, that is your decision. Obviously you made the decision that you wanted to. Live (or don’t) with the results.</p>
<p>Who is paying for this massive search effort? Maybe she’ll find Amelia Earhart hanging out with Davey Jones.</p>
<p>I have to laugh at all these car trip anecdotes because they’re so true. The hot, sticky seats, no air conditioning, and “you can’t miss it.” And then the driver finally getting desperate enough to stop for lunch. Dry sandwiches out of the cooler . . . usually with mosquitos swarming around the picnic table.</p>