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.
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.
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.
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.
Her parents are absolute nuts!
While the young woman was missing, I went from post to post encouraging people to put the debate aside and to pray for her safe return. There would be time for debate when we saw how it had ended.
I wounder if the child, because she is a child at 16, had been lost if there would have been as many “old salts” cheering on her efforts and her family’s support of them?
As it is, by the grace of God alone, she was safely recovered and I’m of the opinion that her parents, at the very least, acted irresponsibly. God forbid that we would have been reading about her memorial and watching video footage of her grieving family.
If, indeed, her father literally sold her safety for the coinage to be gained from a reality program, well....as a mother and a Christian woman who really tries to watch her language, I am at a loss for appropriate words to express my disgust.
ping
Vane steering requires no electricity, but a good bit of skill to manage. It is plain as day that this boats primary guidance system was not a vane, but GPS slaved to an autopilot, plus a redundant capability, (a good idea if properly engineered and their is sufficient power generation).
Careening a 40-footer by hauling her over with the mast IS plain stupid. Hard fact, the young lady seemed more a passenger on a largely automated adventure, sort of like that dog in the Russki space capsule.
Not cutting away the mast when it went overboard is suicidal. In fact, ocean racers are required to carry truly massive bolt cutters to cut the mast free when and if it goes over. If that boat was not so equipped, Sunderland Pere deserves some jailtime! If the kid didn't know this, honest folks, she should not have been out there.
I am happy the child is alive and I bet she is one hell of a lot better sailor now than when she started this journey. Better luck ,,, and a lot better preparation .... next time.
ping to tech info
I was told this was a "poor" family. Do poor people fly to Capetown to help their dependent daughter fix her $250,000.00 racing yacht?
Damn, I wish I was that "poor"...
1. Marty Still was the orginal builder of Jessica Watson's boat Ella's Pink lady (as Shanty)
The builder of Wild Eyes (as BTC Velocity) was Jon Sayer - a far more experienced ans accomplished sailor than Marty, which makes his cautions far more relevant.
2. technically Jessica had only 6 knockdowns (wave action) plus one laydown (wind gust). There may be significance in that Abby's boat design was less likely to be knocked down, (and also less likely to recover from a knockdown), while far more likely to get tossed around by wind, with more sail area and less boat mass. (speculation seems to be that Abby's boat gybed).
A prescient article from Sailing Anarchy:
Born again Christian Abby Sunderland headed off on Friday in her bid to become the world’s youngest circumnavigator, though she’s got a longer trip than the other teenaged girl currently on the high seas, and will have to push if she’s to finish at a younger age than Watson.
As we’ve sad numerous times, the record itself is inane. After all, midshipmen younger than either girl effectively commanded square riggers ‘round the horn 200 years ago. But there’s a mild fascination with these kids that keeps us watching, and in Jessica Watson’s case, she’s a genuinely interesting girl, with a humble style and storytelling skill that’s held out attention, and that of thousands of fans around the world.
But after watching this video of Abby and her family, we’re left wondering if she has the slightest chance to make it. Sure, Reid Stowe proved that even the most retarded sailors can drift around the world eventually, and Abby’s dopey brother Zac made it around in his many-stop voyage on an Islander 36. But Abby’s sailing an Open 40 - not the kind of forgiving ride the others have - with a questionable history, and she has precious few days practicing or qualifying the boat for the kind of heavy weather she is bound to face. And a flat-assed Open 40 is an entirely different beast when running downwind in the Southern Ocean in 60 knots and 10m waves like Jess did the other day. Jess got knocked down a few times and took it all in stride with a wisdom far beyond her years, but an Open 40 like Abby’s is harder to control and far more likely to pitch pole, and does anyone think the inexperienced Abby can handle that? Even more unnerving is her family’s reliance on God and prayer to help them get to the end of this one - not the traditional place that solo sailors look for inspiration, and not someone likely to lay down the storm when she needs it. And we just can’t help but be put off the her comment that her doing this is “The Lord’s will.” So if she fails miserably, or worse, is that too the Lord’s will? Puuleeese...
Realistically, if her sat phone and e-mail hold up, Abby should have all the advice she needs from a large group of supporters to make it around the world. And to us, a young girl accomplishing a solo RTW is a net positive for mainstream exposure to our sport and not a bad thing at all. But there’s something creepy about the whole thing, and we don’t know if it’s the bible-thumping, the weird brother-sister dynamic, or Abby’s ridiculous line of commemorative shoes, boots, and shirts. Whatever it is that is making us so uneasy, we hope Abby doesn’t end up doing the one thing guaranteed to get top exposure in the world media...dying. Thread here.
2010-01-25
THese are all great points.