this probably won't turn out well...
 

Wishing safety to the rescue crews.

Desperate search for 16-year-old lone US sailor Abby Sunderland | World news | The Guardian

agreed. on both accounts.

On a scale of 1 to 100 how ambitious/wreckless is it for a teen to attempt to sail around the world solo? I'm just wondering.

It's probably safer than going out to a party with her girlfriends.

Link to her last blog post yesterday...

Abby's Blog: A Rough Few Days

fingers crossed

I'm not a sailor but aren't those things pretty "unsinkable" if you tie yourself to them or in them and ride out the storm ?

well a sailboat is in most cases able to right itself after being capsized because of the weight of the keel but they still can sink.

unless the keel breaks off, for whatever reason (fatigue, whale strike, partially submerged shipping containers).

I remember when this was in the news...
http://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/26/sports/solo-sailor-is-presumed-to-be-dead.html?pagewanted=all?pagewanted=all

I hope Abby Sunderland has good fortune and is rescued.

Wow as a parent I don't think I could let my 16 YO girl travel around the world herself, let alone, sail the seas by herself.

I hope it works out...

Lets pray they find her safe and sound.

I can't help but admire young people like this. Good on her for having a go.

Is she the sister to the young guy who recently completed his 'round the world trip?

Us arrogant humans have NO respect for Mother Nature. She's a *****. She's kind, gentle, vicious, cruel, brutal, and yet she is the most beautiful thing on this earth. No respect, she hates you and will kill you. Love & respect her and you will have the best experience of your life, the most beautiful pictures, and a life time of memories.

A prayer will be said for the young lady and I hope MN releases her from her grip.

It depends on the 16 year old but I believe I was fairly self sufficient at that age as well as more trained than I am now in the art of not dying. I was heavily involved in Boy Scouts and am an Eagle scout. If this girl is so inclined then there is no reason she should not be allowed to try - we need more children like her - not less. I hope that when my boys are this age - that I get the opportunity to make hard choices because they are so determined.

I hope she's okay.

yes

i hope they find her OK

+1 I'd never let my kids (at that age) undertake a challenge like this but I hope she is found safe.

My 13 yr old can't even find the hamper. Hope it all turns out ok. Read a few of her blogs and you start to feel the weight of the situation. The closest boat is 40 hrs away? Holy crap.

I guess Quantis (sp) is sending an airbus out to search. I hope they find her safe.

I admire her determination and spirit of adventure, but WTF? What kind of parents let their child (and she IS a child--physically, legally, and mentally) do such a thing? I consider them 100% responsible if this turns out badly.

The kind of parents that are confident in their parenting and confident in their child's abilities to handle it. 200 years ago 16 was old.

How many kids do you have, crusty?

5. I was a Chief Fire Controlman in the Navy and received peoples kids of 18 and up, some of which were really well prepared, excelled in critical thinking and I really did not have to worry about them. On the other hand there were a lot of them that needed constant adult supervision.

From CNN

-- Australian search crews make contact with missing teen sailor Abby Sunderland, according to family spokesman.

Wow! Crossing my fingers! EPIRBS are amazing..

Just read they found her alive and she's rescued.

...in the southern ocean in the middle of winter...

...nuts.

I know some grown men who have sailed there and still have nightmares about it.

Thank the Snucks for that!

If she was mine she get a spanking for scaring me. :eek:

Good news - it's nice to hear some for a change.

Glad they got her okay. That part of the world is known for very treacherous waters. She's lucky.

I admire her spirit and ambition - I hope more young people end up like that and that this one bad experience doesn't deter her, but serves as a learning experience to shape future adventures.

Found, but the rescue is only underway. It'll take time to get to her. The reports indicate that things are manageable for her until the rescue ship(s) arrive at her position. This is great news for her and her family.

Yep...good news, a quintas a330 flew and made contact via marine radio, her mast/sail is dragging in the water, broken by 30 foot waves rolling her around.
She had all the equipment needed for such a voyage, so she was prepared for such a voyage......
Glad she's been located, I can see her doing this again in a couple years.......but with a better route and success....

Fantastic!

From her blog, posted by her parents last night.

News!
Australian search crews contact missing teen sailor – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs
Good to hear that they have made contact.

To Aruba...

+1

It is good to know there are still young people out there with the determination to accomplish goals that DON'T involve watching trash TV, emulating celebrity, or facebook.

No, I would not let my daughter do this.

Nice to get some good news for a change.

I admire her courage to attempt something like this.

Catalina island is 24 miles away from my house... I can see it from my front porch... almost every weekend someone disappears trying to sail there.

i pity the man that marrys this chick..how could he ever satisfy her? i bet she stays an adrenaline junkie forever.

glad she is found. she had a beacon..i had good feelings from the start.

I don't have kids, so I really can't address this from a parent's point of view.

However, I admire the tenacity of this girl. She's been sailing her whole life. Yeah - what she's been attempting to do is very risky, and some may question the judgement call made to place her in the India ocean during the southern hemisphere winter, but she seems to have everything it takes -- the right equipment, the right attitude, and the rigtht preparedness - and she knows what to do in a time of crisis. Note that her father manages something boating related. (Yacht company owner? Something like that.)

My wife and I were discussing this in the AM - and she was very impressed with this young girl -- what a positive role model for kids these days -- who tend to be involved with video games, texting, drugs, and what-not. My wife said "Boy, I gotta do something -- if a 16 year old can attempt to do that, I should be able to do more with my life..."

IMHO, it's not about parenting or making questionable decisions -- it's about human nature -- we are compelled to go beyond what we feel we are capable of. And to have the determination, desire, and attitude to set out to accomplish what we set out to do.

I admire this girl. Hope she writes a book about her journeys.

-Z-man.

great post, Z

yup ..this lady will go places..
she's not preggers with her second..
her brother is not on probation..
her dad is present and not serving time..
so unlike many of the kids in my town...

Rika