It’s the Year of Living Dangerously for kids, for sure. Every time I look up it seems some youngster is attempting a death-defying feat of some sort, with mom and dad’s permission. In the past couple of weeks we’ve told you about Jordan Romero, who at 13 became the youngest person ever to summit Mt. Everest. Then there’s 12-year-old Mexican bullfighter Michelito Lagravere, who has already been gored twice; the latest on Sunday.
Now, Abby Sunderland, who at 16 was attempting to become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the globe, may be lost at sea. Her crew has lost contact with her, and two emergency beacons have been activated on her boat.
Abby’s mother, MaryAnne Sunderland, told ABC News that Abby manually activated two beacons around 6 a.m. Pacific Time Thursday.
Abby was in 20-25 foot waves at the time of last contact, with 35-knot winds, said MaryAnne Sunderland, who is due to give birth at the end of the month. She was shaken but focused on trying to get a rescue effort together.
The closest land to Abby’s boat was Reunion Island, which is east of Madagascar. The nearest ship was 400 miles away. Rescuers were trying to contact the ship.
I don’t pretend to understand the mindset that these parents have to allow their children to so blatantly court disaster. The common thread here seems to be that the adults want their children to “live their dreams,” but besides the obvious danger involved, there’s such a thing as peaking too early. So you’ve sailed the globe solo, or just climbed Mr. Everest, all before your high school prom. What do you do for an encore?
“Today, my eight-year-old son will strap himself to a rocket, which is pointed at the moon. I see no way this can and badly.” Live your dream, young man. And bring a warm coat.
At least the Balloon Boy dad had enough sense to fake the whole thing; his son rode out his adventure safely, in a box in the attic. And yet he’s is the parent who did jail time.
And now this January post from the blog Californality has a real tinge of sadness:
Living in the same community as Abby does, I first heard of her plan to sail around the world a while back. My first reaction to her plan was surprise and concern. She’s such a young girl. I know that probably sounds gender-biased, but sorry. The rest of the world is not sunny Southern California. What about bandits, the cartel and pirates?
I heard Abby saying that she knows God will totally protect her. She was very serious and meant it. Her family shares her conviction.
Abby was approximately 500 miles north of the Antarctic Islands when her crew lost contact with her. She began the trip from Marina del Rey in southern California on Feb. 19, with the latest leg completed this past Tuesday (South Africa to North of the Kerguelen Islands — 2,100 miles). She’s been blogging about the journey on her web site, with the latest entry put up this morning.
Her older brother, Zac Sunderland, completed the trip in 2009.
***
Abby Sunderland Feared Lost at Sea [ABC News]
-
- think again - Jun 12, 2010 at 12:57 PM
-
it’s sad that we feel the need to place so many restrictions on our children.
-
- think about it - Jun 12, 2010 at 1:25 PM
-
bringing life into the world is a great thing… but it is inevitably followed by the eventual end of that life. it is our responsiblity to nurture our children, not our right to control them.
-
- babedog65 - Jun 12, 2010 at 6:00 PM
-
First of all I must say that her parents should be proud of her.
At 16 to have her heart set on sailing around the world alone takes a lot of everything in her mind and body. At 16 a lot of girls are having kids that they can’t even raise and by 12 if you’re not a virgin will there’s something wrong with you. I spoke to a priest years ago about children of the upper class not getting into trouble. He said and I quote “they do but their parents get them a good lawyer” and that they steal more expensive
items. And lets stop the “racial crap”. How about P. Diddy buying his son a $400,000.00 car for his 16th birthday present??????? Now
I for one can’t even imagine. In order to succeed in life you have to have ambition and drive period. I totally support their daughter
who can fully operating a boat that size when kids her age couldn’t even spell most of the words of what they are even if they were to take a class for 4 years. So get of their parents back and if you have kids you should worry about what they are doing. Lot’s of jealousy out there???? I’m sure they have paid their taxes so don’t get into who’s going to pay for her rescue
by the “French”………We rescue people all of the time and nobody asks “who’s paying for this rescue???? How stupid.
-
- fiddlefaddle - Jun 12, 2010 at 11:54 PM
-
I guess my first thought is that she isn’t an ‘ordinary’ sixteen year old, nor is her family ‘ordinary’ in the sense of being risk-adverse like most of us. By all accounts she has significant skill and training.
The world need the occasional extraordinary person. Seems a little silly to be so critical; even given that things could have turned out tragically.
-
- awesomeness - Jun 13, 2010 at 9:56 AM
-
So what if parents let their kids go alone on an-around-the-world trip or become a matador? Nothing illegeal in that, in fact, if the 16 year olds are mature enough, they can go live on their own with their parents blessing. There are many 16-year olds who would do much better than adults who’re proffesionals at their jobs. And when Abby had more experience than older sailors, id say that you just regret that your parents did not let you go off alone so you wanna critisize other people. If your parents dint let you, too bad. their parents did. accept it. move on. you cant, too bad.
-
- Destroy all humans.... - Jun 14, 2010 at 1:24 PM
-
Not only do people have the b@ll$ to say that she needs to do this b/c she is adventurous or american but she is going to doing it again? NOW! Her family wants the Australian and American govts to foot the rescue bill of $300,000? WTF, she went out and stupidly sailed herself into trouble, now the fam is crying, “We can’t afford it!!!” But we are looking into reality shows and books to tell our side…..Someone needs to beat the crap out of the them and burn their house down so they will not be able to pay for this mis-adventure!!!! Sunder(sux)land family deserves to be set ablaze and set out to sea….
-
- Carlos Delgado - Jun 14, 2010 at 1:32 PM
-
Hey, everyone,…the next big thing is allowing a 3-yr old swim by themselves in the family pool without any adult supervision….A 7-yr old wants to drive the family van after taking swigs of tequila b/c he thinks he drives better than any drunken adult driver….for my final act, a 4-yr old will attempt to juggle and run with scissors…if you have any other feats, please post them…
-
- Destroy all humans.. - Jun 14, 2010 at 1:42 PM
-
You are clueless….BTW, these people do get charged for the rescue…We have the right as the American Taxpayer to demand who is going to be paying for this rescue? One thing, people who need rescue arent’ typically charged are in this country? Do you follow me so far? Now, this dumba$$ was in the Indian Ocean and had to be rescued by a foreign country. Now, they have every right to demand payment IN FULL for this rescue. These countries have better things to do than to be rescuing stupid Americans in the ocean….Going out around the world and sailing is a skill that “rich” families have…they have the money to pay for the “rescue”…the French should have sold her as a sex slave and maybe recoup at least half of the costs…
-
- Carlos Delgado - Jun 14, 2010 at 1:58 PM
-
Yea, Eric….you are right..Conquistadors sailed to prove that they could do it…Vikings were in the same position..Granted, both aims of these groups was materialistic and greedy on a group level but somehow there was a necesity on an evolution level.both aims were materialistic and points to their goals .Abby, what was her aim? She is in the 21st century not yesteryear..Had she lived in those times, no one would have given a $hit about her……….What the point did the 16-yr old child have? Not woman…do you know the difference? B/c in your line of reasoning was this questionable praise of her womanhood….skills/experience don’t mean crap if you don’t plan…she didn’t even do that…oh, but according to you, she did her best and came out alive…SHE FAILED on many levels and she was lucky it didn’t cost her life….
-
- alves - Jun 14, 2010 at 2:11 PM
-
Let’s see the feats of the some tenangers we recently heard in these last decade. Drug use out of curiosity; they also rebel aginst parents, drop out of high school, sell the body to prstitution, run away from home, kill siblings or parents, comite suicide, etc, etc. Are you one of those people who thinks that tenagers must do something completelly idiotic just because they are teenangers? Oh, by the way, television glorifies the little idiots that have nothing other than the “f” word on their mouth. Besides, her dad does have a point. A 16 year old driving a car while intoxicated or not, puts the life of a whole lot of people in danger, does it not?
If this “poor” girl was my daughter I would be proud of her.
-
- Carlos Delgado - Jun 14, 2010 at 4:21 PM
-
Tess, I commend your family doing what it had to do in order to survive…but your circumstances were out of necesity, not out stupidity…you can’t tell that you or mom or grandmom would have gone sailing around the world given the situation you were in….there are no wars being fought, tough economic spots to endure, or anything like that….This voyage did not raise any money for anybody or anyone in trouble…like you said everybody matures differently and at different times….Raising siblings b/c your parents are unexplicably absent isn’t the same as sailing around the world. What do you say to a 15-yr wanting to do the same thing? When does the cut-off occur? That’s why there are age limits and just as it applies to voting and drinking, it applies to anything deemed dangerous…(dangerous is a relative term)generally, parents should know better than letting their kids do something stupid….
-
- JoeJack - Jun 14, 2010 at 5:42 PM
-
It is erroneous to assume that somebody is responsible for a child simply because that individual brought him/her into the world. How do you know that the Sunderland children aren’t fully mature and able to handle themselves in these death defying situations? The same concerned parents commenting on this article who trumpet their amazing skills at child rearing are sitting at their computer while their 16 year old daughter is out having sex with a 24 year old mechanic named Marty who has promised to take her on tour with his band when they hit it big. Maybe your son is struggling with having to keep his homosexuality in the closet, and while you’re at the wine mixer in your gated community bragging about the benefits of your timeshare and Christian morality, he’s in a Jager and hash haze in a bathhouse because he knows you won’t accept his lifestyle.
The woman who lives across the hall from me has a lazy eye, two kids, and despite the fact she’s pregnant with one more, she sits outside and chain smokes. Kentucky is a magical state. She’s feasibly old enough to be my mother, yet we’re in the same apartment complex, paying the same rent, and I struggle less. Her fourteen year old daughter, however, is quite possibly one of the most mature young ladies I have ever met, and she often seeks refuge with my roommates and myself when her father is beating her pregnant mother. Long story short, you’re stupid if you assume that all parents are capable of making better decisions than their children.
-
- JoeJack - Jun 14, 2010 at 5:45 PM
-
How do you know that the Sunderland children aren’t fully mature and able to handle themselves in these death defying situations? The same concerned parents commenting on this article who trumpet their amazing skills at child rearing are sitting at their computer while their 16 year old daughter is out having sex with a 24 year old mechanic named Marty who has promised to take her on tour with his band when they hit it big. Maybe your son is struggling with having to keep his homosexuality in the closet, and while you’re at the wine mixer in your gated community bragging about the benefits of your timeshare and Christian morality, he’s in a Jager and hash haze in a bathhouse because he knows you won’t accept his lifestyle.
The woman who lives across the hall from me has a lazy eye, two kids, and despite the fact she’s pregnant with one more, she sits outside and chain smokes. Kentucky is a magical state. She’s feasibly old enough to be my mother, yet we’re in the same apartment complex, paying the same rent, and I struggle less. Her fourteen year old daughter, however, is quite possibly one of the most mature young ladies I have ever met, and she often seeks refuge with my roommates and myself when her father is beating her pregnant mother. Long story short, you’re stupid if you assume that all parents are capable of making better decisions than their children.
-
- Destroy all Humans - Jun 14, 2010 at 6:02 PM
-
JoeJack, Did I see on “To catch a predator?” Just wondering…
-
- Bob - Jun 14, 2010 at 8:23 PM
-
While I don’t entirely disagree with the general sentiment, I think it wise to priortize comments from actual sailors, who all tend to be overly cautious and at the same time adventurous breed. The fact of the matter is that you have to be young to withstand the kind of punishment that you have to endure to make a trip like this. They younger the better, although 15-16 would probably be the limit. As you can see, she’s a big girl physically. She’s in perfect shape for the journey. The problem was with the boat, not the parents, nor the pilot. The boat was too heavilty influenced for speed and the expense of safety. A full-keeled, wire-rigged boat. Perhaps that in itself speaks to the inexperience of the captain, crew, and family as a whole. Money doesn’t always buy you safety. Modern technology is all about speed. This is a race boat. Just as you don’t take a formula 500 car offroad, you don’t take a race boat around the world, unless you are racing, in which case, you have already factored in the likelyhood that adverse weather conditions will wreck your boat and wieghted that against the priority of winning.
-
- LivingLife - Jun 15, 2010 at 11:50 AM
-
America claims that you are an adult at 18, but in other countries around the world, there are cultures that allow adulthood at 12, 13, 14 years of age. Young men and women (by their standards) are raising families, hunting lions, defending their tribes in war… I think that gangs and ‘stunts’ are the result of American youth not being challenged to be adults when their hormones clearly tell them that they are! They are boys using guns in territorial wars and girls giving birth as young as 13 in this country, we see it as an epidemic, but in other cultures, the two would be married and the young man would be expected to provide for them and their new baby. I think we in America need to redefine a parent’s legal responsibilities and what an actual child is… that is my opinion.
-
- vexed - Jun 15, 2010 at 12:44 PM
-
so the guy who cant spell was right its turning out its all for a tv show when you were learning how to spell i was living in the real world learning how to read people her blog is custom built to make money and why did she mantain radio silence until the plane shows up tells her parents every things okay then nothin you would think she would keep trying contact at laest to say by she had more then one device to do so ther goes the trying to conserve batterie excuse dramtic effect thats why you people who supported just will never get it i feel sorry for you more then anything by the way i have a brigde to sell you
-
- STFU - Jun 15, 2010 at 12:45 PM
-
To all you peolpe who say the parents should be held responsible for child endangerment and what not. STFU you dont know what it is like these days being a kid, if her sailing around the world, or climbing mount everest at13 is what they want to do. Who in the hell are you to say that they are to young or immature to do so? what makes you so qualified to make that assertation? you are not those childrens parent and since every child is different you cannot say that they were not ready or to young. you do not know their maturity level or level of physical ability. i am quite confident that if their parents did not think the teens could do such difficult and dangerous tasks, they would have kept them home. i know plent of 3 year olds that are already riding motorcycles, is that to dangerous? What about teen airplane piolts, teen drivers, or anyone of many activities that i am sure your teens are involved in. No anything can happen at anytime and if you live your lives in fear because something is to hard, difficult, or dangerous then you are not really living. I say congradulate these young people on their accomplishments and to Abby who did not make it this time, i truely hope that you try again and suceed. i wish that as a child or young adult i had the adudacity not just to dream dreams, but to accomplish dreams that were beyond what society deemed acceptable. Imagine what our world would be like if we had just a few more of the amazing and radical teens.
Thank you , you should be an insparation to us all.
-
- vexed - Jun 15, 2010 at 1:11 PM
-
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. :}
-
- Connie - UTUE - Jun 15, 2010 at 2:09 PM
-
How about the fact that competition continues to push the envelope, so the more outrageous I do this, the more likely I am to achieve greatness and notoriety in society. If I do this, I will have doors open for me that otherwise might not. But what is the consequence of these actions, in health, and in self satisfaction, long term? To continue this discussion, check out a more detailed blog post at:
http://utue.wordpress.com/2010/06/15/16-year-old-lost-at-sea-%E2%80%93-why-did-she-do-it/
-
- doesnt matter - Jun 24, 2010 at 1:31 PM
-
yea man, thats what we need. someone to play the race card in this discussion. white kids and crazy stunts? not as bad as the little non white ones shooting the shit out of each other and selling drugs. just thought you might want to see how stupid you seem.
-
-
-
