Topic: Abby Sunderland

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[Fipronila]

I'm not sure if there was a post around here already for this but I didn't see one when I glanced around.

She was to be the youngest to sail around the world but her boat didn't make it once she was in the indian ocean.

This is huge news here because it's a local girl (near where I work and used to live before we bought the house) and was big news when her brother succeeded his trip around the world.

The controversy is - were the parents right in letting her sail at 16 solo around the world?

Then there was talk of a possible reality show (yawn!) but was later said that no, there wasn't to be a reality show - some say it was rejected by tv execs. Anyway she came back home this morning.

What do you think? Should parents allow their kids even if under age to do something like this because they are qualified to do so? Or do you think that as a parent they should have drawn the line because of the risks involved?

Article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/7862525/Abby-Sunderland-proud-of-failed-solo-sailing-attempt.html

As the mom of two boys 12 and almost 11 I have to think about that. If they are that well versed in what they want to do and have proven they are good at it, I don't think at 16 i could stop them and feel ok about that. I bet they would find a way to do what they want to do with or without my consent or possibly regret losing an opportunity to do what they want to do. As of now - one is good at being smart, the other good at being Jim Carrey so they both aren't allowed to do anything so adventurous! lol.

I don't think the parents are unfit for letting her do this. I do think if it comes out that they did it with the intent of having a reality show, then they are fucking asshole douchebags.

[JimmyBlonde]

I think that they were right in letting her do it.

They were right because this wasn't simply some whim that their daughter wished to indulge, it represented an ambition to which she had dedicated herself and prepared herself for.

Certainly Abby put herself in danger, sailing around the world solo is a dangerous thing to do, but a parent can only protect their child to a certain extent. I admire the faith Abbys' parents showed in their daughters abilities. This indicates to me that they cared enough about her, despite the doubts they must have had, to acknowledge her dedication allow her the chance to pursue a personal goal.

As for the whole publicity angle, I don't buy it. It sounds like some tabloid hack dreamed it up for a few hundered words on a slow day. The phrase 'cashing-in' springs to mind.

[Fez]

When I was 16 I wanted to have voracious sex with Kelly Kapowski.

I wish my parents would have let me.

[deBauch]

I don't think the parents are unfit for letting her do this. I do think if it comes out that they did it with the intent of having a reality show, then they are fucking asshole douchebags.

We seem to share the same viewpoint on many things...from now on, start all of your posts with..."deB and I think".  It will seem a bit creepy at first for sure but so did me wearing my mums dresses and that worked out OK

[The Scoundrel]

Most of me wants to say let the girl go, she's sixteen and by the time my eldest was sixteen I trusted him to make his own decisions then I remember, my lad wasn't planning one of the most dangerous missions known to man at any age. Would it have killed the spark within her to have gone on an organised round the world trip like a lot of youth organisations do? Let's face it, if a sixteen year old has an ocean going yacht of their own then maybe they're a little spoilt and used to getting their own way. Maybe if you've already given your child everything by that age then their ambitions are in free fall? Maybe that's the lesson? Don't spoil your kids then you never have to answer questions like this.

[deBauch]

....takes the wheels right from under the "kids these days" brigade.

By some fucked up quirk of fate I was dragged from my ancestral homeland of the Isle of Wight to be brung up in North London...however....cos I had family back there I spent most of my summer holidays with my cousins on the Island.

Every one of them rode a motorbike from the age of 5...seriously, all of them.  My cousins knew how to handle machinery while I was learning my 5x table...those inbred cunts could work a Kawasaki 500 like they were born on it.

Abby Sunderland KNOWS how to handle a boat in ANY conditions cos thats how she's been taught...respect to Abby and her folks and fuck right off to City folk that think otherwise 

[Cookie Monster]

Abby may well know how to handle a yacht but does she know what a load of Sudanesse pirates may do to her?

It is a can of worms, a dutch girl was taken into care I beleive due to the risk of neglect and harm when she wanted to do it. When your a teen your up for anything and fuck the consequences, parents and adults dont have that luxury. I was invited to live in Israel at 14 by a jewish friend, I was well up for it then but with hindsight i can see why the answer was no.

I grew up wild on a forest from 5, when I wasn't living wild i was on the water, canoes, yachts etc. even then the round the world brigade where considered either a bunch of listless toffs with to much money and time or someone seriously out to sublimate some unresolved sexual issues. Either way nutters who look cool to teens, but really, a year on a fucking dingy?

[Fipronila]

Interesting views all around for sure. I didn't think about the spoiled kids that just want more and more and yep there's a ton of that in Thousand Oaks here. Also - yes she seems confident on camera but yes, a little weird vibe from the whole family - they home schooled both kids and her brother sailed the globe solo last year and she was trying to be the youngest to do it. Not saying it's bad or weird just that they have a weird air about them when from what I've seen on the news etc.

I guess NZ and France maybe - I can't remember the other country that helped rescue her aren't asking to be compensated for the effort either. That's pretty cool of them I think but at the same time, they shouldn't allow them to cover it and should try to repay some of the costs.