Posted on 08/28/2009 9:08:24 AM PDT by BradtotheBone
UTRECHT, Netherlands – A Dutch court ordered authorities to take temporary guardianship of a 13-year-old girl on Friday, delaying her plan to sail solo around the world until psychologists can assess her capacity to undertake such a risky voyage.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
We’ve had a couple of 17-yo boys circumnavigate very recently, but I wonder if a 13-yo girl (or boy) is mature enough for that type of stress.
Ah! I remember being 13 and embarking on my own adventure.
I was allowed to go to a movie without parents!!
Apparently, no one in the Dutch judicial system has ever raised a 13 year-old.
I know one way to find out.
Will he be keel-hauled ?
I see. Thats stupid. Don’t even want to know what Somali pirates or South China sea pirates would do if they capture her.
What a stupid idea.
It’s crazy and stupid. But by what authority is any government stopping her? What law is being broken if her parents say it’s okay?
I am a bit disappointed in these circumnavigations, though - they do Cape Agulhas around Africa, then puss out and transit the Panama Canal.
Mostly kidding, I've done the Horn twice (each direction once), not something I'd want to do again.
True, but the typical circumnavigation gives those areas wide berths, and not just because of pirates.
Basically, the Horn of Africa is in no one's path for a true circumnavigation, and who'd want to have to navigate the islands N of Australia, anyway. I've sailed a lot there, and the tanker traffic is stunningly thick.
The more common West-to-East roundings (due to the prevailing winds at the Horn) take one around Africa, then the boat heads SE (avoiding both the west Indian Ocean pirates and the S China Sea types) to leave Australia & NZ to port.
Then NE to the Panama Canal or almost due east to round Cape Horn in the easier direction.
Exactly. She’d be a prime target for rape, murder, slavery and who knows what. The Dutch need to haul in her parents for encouraging this.
Imagine this: Her first period strikes while she’s alone in the ocean...
. . . as sharks being to circle the boat . . .
She can still solo around the world even if her parent’s boat is within sight.
I’m a firm believer in Freedom as long as someone else doesn’t expect me to pick up their tab.
17 year old Mike Perham becomes the world’s youngest solo sailing circumnavigator
Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 01:02 PM EDT
Contributed by: Don Winner
Dateline: Wednesday 27th August 2009 - Day 157 Position: 10:00 UTC 49° 57N, 05° 00W 1 mile South of the Lizard Speed: 7.0kts - 17 year-old British sailor Mike Perham has become the youngest person to sail single-handed around the world. His 50ft yacht Totallymoney.com crossed the traditional Lizard/Ushant line marking the start and finish point of his 30,000 mile record-setting in bright sunshine at 09:47:30 secs (local)am this morning - two months inside the previous age record set by American teenager Zac Sutherland.
Aged 17 years, 164 days old the teenager from Potters Bar Hertfordshire, was escorted across the line by Royal Navy guard ship HMS Mersey, a helicopter from 771 Squadron at Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, and a small flotilla of press boats that had been on standby overnight to record his finish.
Mike said: “I’ve made it, I’ve made my dream come true and it feels amazing. A BIG BIG thanks to my Dad, Mum, all the sponsors and every one who has helped me along the way. I can’t believe that the Royal Navy has sent HMS Mersey and a helicopter to witness my crossing the line. I feel very honoured.” Mike’s Dad said: “Mike is a very special son, he has done incredibly well. He has shown that with determination, you can succeed even in the most adverse circumstances. He has shown the world that he is an extraordinary young man and an inspiration to us all.”
The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, KCB OBE ADC passed a message to Mike Perham as he sailed past The Lizard passed on a congratulatory message via Lt Cdr Carl Wiseman Captain of HMS Mersey: “The Royal Navy offers its sincere congratulations to Michael Perham on his record breaking single-handed sailing circumnavigation. This is a remarkable and inspirational achievement in one so young, another impressive event in the rich Maritime history of this island nation and of the Perham family”. “Michael’s family have strong maritime connections, with his father having been a merchant naval officer, his grandfather having served with the Royal Navy during World War 2, and his great grandfather as a Royal Marine in the Crimean war.”
“Michael sets a fine example showing remarkable character, grit and self discipline in completing this historic record-breaking voyage and the Royal Navy is delighted to participate in welcoming him back home to the UK as an honoured and much respected fellow seafarer.”
After crossing the finish line Mike was joined by his Dad, Peter to continue sailing back to for a homecoming welcome at Gunwharf Quay at 11:00 on Saturday. To read this daily insight on the last leg of Mike’s remarkable voyage, visit www.totallymoney.com/sailmike
Mike Perham, 17, due to become youngest solo round-the world sailor
Tuesday, August 25 2009 @ 05:40 PM EDT
Contributed by: Don Winner
By Kaya Burgess for the Times Online - A 17-year-old boy is due to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world when his yacht returns to British waters this week, nine months after he set out. Mike Perham tackled 50ft waves, broken rudders and gale-force winds during his 30,000-mile voyage, and will tonight have to endure the remnants of Hurricane Bill before he makes it safely back to land.
Speaking to The Times from rough seas 300 miles out in the Atlantic, Mike said: “I’m very much looking forward to being back. It’s all getting very exciting now. I’m really looking forward to being in my own room and having a fridge in the house and little luxuries like home cooking and having friends around.
“There have been a couple of times when I was thinking, ‘Crikey, what am I doing here?” I’ve had lots of knocks and bruises and bumps, but nothing serious thankfully. It all soon turns to a sense of wonder and realizing why you are doing it.”
Mike’s route took him from Portsmouth last November, south through the Atlantic, round the Cape of Good Hope and between Australia and New Zealand. He then plotted a course roughly northeast across the Pacific before heading through the Panama Canal and back across the Atlantic.
Mike had hoped to make it a continuous journey, but technical difficulties meant that he had to make a number of stops for repairs. He said: “It has been different to what I originally set out to do. I wanted to go non-stop at first. It’s been very hard. I’ve stopped five times for repairs and in Panama for the canal, but I always have a bit of time in advance to make some calls and my dad helps with the organization.”
Mike, from Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, was 16 when he sailed and has spent most of the past nine months completely on his own on open water. He told The Times: “You get used to being alone. The first two weeks are always the hardest. But at times you enjoy it. I much prefer being with other people, but that is what makes it a challenge. It will be nice to be back on dry land, but you get so used to standing on something swaying around that it’s OK.”
Mike had planned to spend 23 weeks on the water and stocked up on freeze-dried food to survive the grueling odyssey. His yacht has been knocked down in gale-force winds and he has had to scale the mast to make impromptu repairs and deal with technical failures in swelling seas.
He hopes to cross the official finish line between Lizard Point, Cornwall, and Ushant in France tomorrow morning to complete the voyage. It will take him a further two days to make his way up to Portsmouth, where he aims to arrive at about 11am on Saturday.
Mike’s efforts will earn him a place in Guinness World Records, surpassing the record held by David Dicks, the 18-year-old Australian. To qualify, his route had to take him across the Equator as well as every single line of longitude. Mike already holds the record for the youngest person to sail solo across the Atlantic, which he achieved in 2007 at the age of 14.
He said: “It’s beginning to sink in what I’ve done and I’m feeling very proud of myself and the people who have helped me make this happen.”
Mike’s father, Peter, his mother, Heather, and his sister, Fiona, have been anxiously awaiting his return. Mr Perham said: “The enormity and scale of what he has achieved is amazing. It’s been pretty tough for him and us back home too.”
Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of Guinness World Records, said: “Even the most experienced of sailors would be tested by the mental and physical stamina required to achieve a record of this magnitude. The fact that Mike achieved it at such a young age is a testament to his courage and unparalleled sense of adventure.”
http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20090825174014322
Yup, Mike’s one of the 2 recent ones I referred to, Zac Sunderland being the other.
Zac did his in an old Islander 36, Mike used a much newer & faster Open 50.
My father and his younger brothers built a Huck Finn raft and sailed down the Waimak River to the sea...
They walked back home...
They were gone 4 days ...
My grandmother didnt know where they were...
cause that was in 1920ish...
Check the literature, and you will find that females mature 2 to 3 years faster than males.
Add in the difference in individuals, and she could well be able to handle the sailing. Dealing with the officialdom in some Turd World ‘cultures’ may be another thing, but her parents will likely be on scene when she arrives, or other trusted persons known to, and approved by the parents.
The “Swamp Germans” are channeling the Nazi predilection
for interfering with parental authority. I mush here point out that the Nazi messing with family matters ended rather poorly. Parenthetically, they are still reenacting their Nazi behaviors on German home schooling parents and their children.
Agenda Uber Alles!
single handed in a 50 foot sail boat?
Wow.
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