<p>Long distance open water swimmers: rescue boat at hand.
Long distance bikers: back up vehicle at hand.
Long distant runners: back up vehicle.</p>
<p>just a few I can think of.</p>
<p>There are a number of books already out there of seasoned sailors being LUCKY enough to survive unexpected disasters at sea. There are scores of unwriten stories of the same as there were no survivors to write them.</p>
<p>Kids this age make great soldiers. They do not believe they will die. They believe they are invinsible. To take advantage of this state of mind for “glory” is criminal by those with a little more life experience.</p>
<p>The family is Christian fundamentalist and believed that God would look after her. They probably now think they were right to believe so, as she’s been rescued.</p>
<p>If there was a support vessel for an emergency, it would not have affected her desire for the record. Thus, I can’t see why one was not used (if doing this high risk venture in the first place).</p>
<p>That being said, I see this as another case where the parents have some need to prove that their child is more talented, brighter (or whatever) than the rest. I have no doubt that the child has a real passion and wanted to do this - I also have no doubt that she would have had to back down if the parents had said no. They are misguided at best - I would call them fools. Life is unpredictable and my kid could be hit by a bus tomorrow but to facilitate your minor child putting themself in harm’s way is beyond stupidity…in this instance I believe that it is pure arrogance. </p>
<p>I guarantee that the father is fielding calls from the talk shows and there will be a book deal in the future. In a fair world any money gained from this adventure should go to the emergency services who had workers that endangered themselves finding (and eventually) picking up this girl…of course, it won’t.</p>
<p>I was raised by two people who had so much anxiety they expected me to be able to learn to swim in water that was not over my head.</p>
<p>So hard for me to know what I would be like if I was much more adventurous- I do think some people can fool themselves about their childs level of reasoning and understanding, but I also admit that there are 18 yr olds who are more practical and resourceful than some twice their age.</p>
<p>My D2 has a friend who is ultra mature and responsible, as well as adventurous- but that being said- her risks are calculated risks & sailing solo around the world at 16 would have been dismissed as too risky.</p>
<p>The thing is, if it was just about adventure, you could have two people on the boat, or you could stop in ports, or you could have a tag along mother ship. It was about the record.</p>
<p>She actually has written an entry on her blog today! This is too weird.
I read on the family website that the son held 2 world records - one for being the youngest and one for being under 18. What nonsense!
You’re right, suzie, it’s all about claiming the record.</p>
<p>“Nobles said Zac’s trip, which his organization supported and certified, included stops at various ports around the world where father Laurence would often meet him to help with repairs and provide moral support. “He wasn’t doing an unassisted, nonstop crossing,” Nobles said. Marianne agreed her daughter’s trip will be fraught with danger and safety will be foremost in mom’s mind. “Of course, I worry about her,” she said.”</p>
<p>so the son’s trip was vastly different…and I just don’t understand what the mom means by safety will be foremost in her mind??? hmm…so as long as she thinks good safety thoughts in her mind, she can send her daughter out on a journey experts felt was unwise and unsafe?</p>
<p>Curious her father now states dismissively that he won’t be discussion the details of what got her into this mess. I will assume it is because it doesn’t make him, Abby or her team look good. Given how much they are constantly seeking the attention of the world, this kind of muteness says one thing: someone obviously screwed up and father was wrong.</p>
<p>She probably got into trouble the same way an adult would have. I have no doubt that she is a competent sailor. It is the idea that parents not only permitted but encouraged and subsidized, and made possible for their 16 year old child to do this stunt that upsets me. That is not a precedence that I want to encourage. When she is 18, she is legally an adult and the decision can be on her head. That she is a minor makes her parents liable for her. Though I almost always believe firmly that rescue efforts should not be billed even for stupid endeavors, this one really borders on my feeling the parents being presented with the costs.</p>
<p>The article emeraldkty linked in post #169 is interesting, as are the reader comments. </p>
<p>Apparently her brother’s circumnavigation was completely different than hers - his was not nonstop and not unassisted. </p>
<p>It seems that these records for “youngest ever” sailing feats are falling every other month. Somewhere a 15-year-old is now being prepared. I’d better hurry to get 11-yo S2 (who hates being in boats) on his way; too bad 17-yo S1 (who loves sailing more than anything) is too old to set a record!</p>
<p>I was talking about this story to both boys this morning, and when I pointed out that both this girl and her brother apparently had the same “dream”, they both were taken aback. They realized how different they are from one another, and how different their interests and activities. I told them that it they were following my dream, they would both be ballet dancers!</p>
<p>I, of course, am out of shape and not interested in adventure sports at all. I think that when people choose to engage in high risk activities, other people’s lives should not be put at risk to save them when things go wrong, yet we read about these rescues all the time. I did not read the entire thread, so forgive me if I am repeating.</p>