Posted on 06/10/2010 1:34:22 PM PDT by Jotmo
Rescuers searched Thursday for a 16-year-old Southern California girl feared missing while attempting a solo sail around the world.
Family spokesman Christian Pinkston said the search began for Abby Sunderland somewhere between Africa and Australia after emergency beacons were activated overnight and there was a loss of communication.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
They do. And don’t call me shirley.
Didn't say she was. I've been on the sea and in the sea many times in my life. In my universe, anyone who goes SCUBA diving or sailing into the deep sea alone, needs their head examined.
There are certain things that should not be done simply for the pleasure of being able to say , "I did that."
I know you'll disagree but we'll just have to agree to disagree.
I would think that a chase boat would be tailing her, just in case. Prayers up for this brave sailer.
That would be a responsible and adult thing to do anyways.
I saw a story on this a few weeks ago (maybe 60 Minutes). I sincerely hope she is ok, but it is not something I would let my daughter do.
I PRAY this is just a PR stunt....pray.....if not her parents have some explaining to do to God.
Prayers up.
Conrad
I, too, have been following Abby’s progress. An amazing young woman. I too will be heartbroken if something has happened to her. Godspeed Abby!
Didn't say she was. I've been on the sea and in the sea many times in my life. In my universe, anyone who goes SCUBA diving or sailing into the deep sea alone, needs their head examined.
Well..., in that case, you're going to be taking issue with quite a number of people who encourage and/or support endeavors like that. This is not, by any means, the first time and nor will it be the last time.
If anyone could make a legitimate argument out of that kind of rationale or reasoning -- then many others would be in mental institutions right now and/or parents would be accused of "child abuse". But, since you can see that they aren't (in the mental institutions and/or being accused of child abuse) -- it's obvious that this argument doesn't carry any weight in society, but is seen as a matter of a legitimate choice and decision.
Seriously. Setting aside the huge risk involved with this stunt, think of the huge cost in both time and money. And then think of the *worthwhile* things this girl could be doing with that amount of time and money, if she hadn't gone off on this crazy expedition for the thrill of being able to say "I did that". She could spend a few months building houses through some program like Habitat for Humanity -- and cover all the costs. She could provide free respite care to families who are overwhelmed with caring for a severely disabled child or elderly parent. She could host an all-expenses-paid summer camp for inner city kids from crappy home situations, teaching them to sail at a safe location near her home, and get them physically fit while tucking in a little reading and math and civilized social skills in the process.
But instead, with her parents' blessing, she is taking a huge risk and spending a lot of money (now including a lot of *other* people's money, as search and rescue teams are deployed) to do something that's all about ME.
I had a kid that forgot that.
Very different situation but just as painful.
This is a 16 year old child off on a self-indulgent quest. ...in 60 knot winds with 50 to 60 foot waves. Now others have to brave that weather to find her. This isn't some noble cause she's taken up. She just wants to state that she sailed around the world at 16, alone. If she lives. At 16 she doesn't know what LIVING is let alone dying.
On the hopeful side, the external EPIRB did not activate and two other EPIRBs were activated manually. Which indicates the boat has not sunk and she is still alive.
The “argument” here is that this is “child abuse” (said by some) or “mental insanity” (said by others). My point is that if it were either — then by an accusation being lodged and the authorities stepping in and taking action — it would be shown to be so.
The point of the matter is that no such thing happens. And why is that? Very simply... these things are fully well recognized as viable choices for individuals and they are not out of the bounds of “mental stability” (or else, like I said, people like this would be in mental institutions or jailed for abuse) ... :-)
I know a whole bunch of people around me who would tell me all sorts of ways to spend my time and my money — and do it differently than I do. (yes..., I’ve been told that by different people, over the years, telling me I should “do this” or “that” with my time and money, which is different than I actually do).
And the nice thing about that — is — “it’s my time and it’s my money” ... LOL ...
I would just as soon allow my daughter to backpack through Afghanistan.
It was actually 20-25’ seas with 60 knot winds. Not sure how the 60’ waves story got out there. The wind had moderated to 35 knots when whatever caused her to activate her beacons occured.
Good thing no one else gets to decide how I spend my extra cash and time. Worry about your own.
Please. It’s not as if her parents are going to read this thread and it’s not as if they should not have expected a fair amount of criticism over this event, especially if the worst case scenario came to pass.
And, while I understand that you would want this to be a positive-only thread, the proper way to do that is to post it as a prayer request thread. Otherwise, of course a variety of opinions are bound to be posted.
Finally, I disagree that “negative” comments are, as you said, not “helpful.” They may not be “helpful” to finding Abby at this moment (but, then again, nor are positive comments helpful except to the extent they make people feel better), but they might be very helpful in assisting people to evaluate for themselves whether these types of quests are worthwhile or even “right.”
This child is on a self-indulgent trip that may now harm others. There is nothing noble or heroic about this kids trip.
There was a study posted on other threads that found:
For many years it was thought that brain development was set at a fairly early age. By the time teen years were reached the brain was thought to be largely finished. However, scientists doing cutting-edge research using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, have mapped the brain from early childhood into adulthood and found data contrary to these beliefs. It now appears the brain continues to change into the early 20's with the frontal lobes, responsible for reasoning and problem solving, developing last.
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