Sure, she wasn’t terrorized by a Cyclops or manipulated by a Siren song. Nor was there an appearance by Circe on Abby Sunderland’s Odyssean quest, but her adventures on the high seas appeared to be fraught with as much trouble and turmoil as an ancient voyage from Troy to Ithaca. Given that she was a sixteen-year-old girl attempting to circumnavigate the globe solo, even Homer could have seen that there was a very good chance this trip could end in failure and he was blind, for Pete’s sake.
Now that we have that Humanities lesson out of the way (you’re welcome – knowledge is power!), a joyous event occurred Saturday when Abby was reunited with her big brother, Zac, on an island coincidentally named Reunion, which is located off the coast of Madagascar.
Note: if you need to get up to the speed on Abby Sunderland’s Odyssey, my colleague Rick Chandler has put in a Herculean effort (synergy!) and done a yeoman’s job of chronicling the story since the get go. See here.
Via the New York Daily News:
Abby Sunderland is scheduled to fly home to Los Angeles Sunday and hold a news conference Tuesday.
She again expressed her disappointment over her trip’s end and defended her parents against critics who said she was too young to attempt such a dangerous voyage.
“Any sailor that goes out to the water knows that being hit by a rogue wave is a risk, no matter where you are,” Abby Sunderland said.
She said criticism of her parents is “ungrounded.”
“They have put up with a ton of stuff to help me follow my dream,” Sunderland said.
Indeed. But in the end, whether or not you agree that her parents should have supported and allowed her to take on such a treacherous undertaking, perhaps we should simply be thankful she’s back on dry land, safe and sound and on her way home.
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Abby Sunderland reunited with brother Zac weeks after solo sail around the world ends [New York Daily News]
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- John Mills - Jun 28, 2010 at 12:22 AM
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While it’s great that Abby is now safe, her ill timed odyssey in a poorly prepared vessel was in every other respect a bleak dismal anticlimactic non-event. The only thing that may be called great about it is the great waste of money expended on teenage egocenntrism a $700,000 sailboat now abandoned, adrift and possibly sinking in the Southern Ocean, and a $500,000 rescue Bill incurred by the French fishing vessles. All this waste and barely half the distance covered.
And, what was the point of commencing the odyssey? Two other teenager’s, 17y.o. Jesse Martin and 16 y.o. Jessica Watson, both of Australia have already successfully completed solo circumnavigations, and both of them did it non-stop and unassisted.
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- Bob R. - Jun 28, 2010 at 10:22 AM
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Right you are John Mills, from the get-go this was ill concieved.
