They were then and they are now. With grief I'll wager.
I remember watching a news story on this when she embarked. My first thought was, "Are here parents out of their flipping minds?!"
Well, her brother did that, too and that seemed to be no problem. Others at that age have done it in different places in the world. She grew up in a sailing environment. And also, from reading the other website that she had earlier (it's not there now), the dad says that he initially didn't want to have her go, but that after a couple of years of her insisting and her proving herself by actually going on many runs and handling a boat herself, they did finally agree.
It's not that she was unprepared. And also, they have already had another family member do that (about the same age).