Posted on 06/14/2010 7:42:41 PM PDT by GatorGirl
In the midst of all the hyperventilating about Freedom! Adventure! The Human Spirit! Greed! Parental Neglect! Timing! Etc! Etc! Etc! There have been very few discussions about equipment and preparation.
Of course you are free to post anything you want, including disparaging ad hominem remarks but it would be instructive to stick to the facts as we know them. Enjoy the debate!
Even “Whore-Aldo” was coming down hard on the parents yesterday.
She was a child set upon a no-win adventure, by her father, in order that her father might enjoy financial rewards. That's reprehensible.
Don’t miss this analysis, it’s just chilling.....
Envy distorts all arguments heard from that quarter.
Sailed 3/4 of the way around the world. Sounds like quite a bit of experience.
She would not have gone that far with NO experience.
And I don’t give a fig about the “Sailing Community”, a bunch of old men who think only rich old men should be sailing. As for whorealdo is an a$$ Hat, always has been.
I won’t minimize the danger in her taking on this challenge, but she could just as well be killed driving on the 405.
Well I for one am glad she was not sent to Aruba to party
Excellent report, GatorGirl. Foolish is as foolish does. This family is very lucky that they are not burying their daughter this week. They would have spent their lives living in guilt and remorse.
I am tired of hearing(on this site too) about what a great sailor she was and how she handled everything so well.
Age 16 does not equip one with enough knowledge about life’s problems, joys, adversities or just about anything else.
And I don’t care how much her family sailed...the sea can be a cruel and uncompromsing foe and should not be challenged in the best of circumstances. She very easily could have lost her challenge with this formidable and daunting force.
Does anyone know who will be responsible for paying for her rescue? I heard that the Australians who found her asked only that Americans would be willing to do the same for them.
But there must have been other costs that were incurred. Does the family intend to “take care” of those?
From what I have heard, there are deliberately NO official “YOUNGEST” world records for solo-circumnavigations, otherwise parents would be shoving off 10 year olds.
I don’t know about that. I like listening to the voices of experience from true blue water sailors. Many have accomplished a circumnavigation.
The father did not take advice from the boat’s builder and they only acquired it three months before her departure and never put it under a proper sea trial.
Ping to send to my boss who is a Lieutenant Commander (USN Ret.)!
It’s true. They stopped recognizing “youngest” after Jesse Martin did it at 17 for just those concerns.
Although of course it doesn’t stop the book, movie and reality TV deals!
Even the best of equipment can't save you sometimes.
Envy is a poison.
Pure nonsense.
I think Jerry Rivers is an asshole ... but he did circumnavigate the world (in segments) on his well founded sailboat. Several years ago I picked up a mooring next to his boat in Marion, MA harbor ... didn't talk to the man but I was impressed with his boat ... in a harbor with a lot of very impressive expensive sailboats. Jerry Rivers, when it comes to sailing, speaks with a degree of authority.
This isn’t an “opposing view.” This is what most people think.
As for me, I believe teens can do amazing things, if we allow them and encourage them. Low expectations — that’s for libs.
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