US teen sailor leaves on flight home to California

FWIX | AP ^ | 6/27/10

[LibWhacker]

SAINT-DENIS, Reunion -- Sixteen-year-old sailor Abby Sunderland is homeward bound - though her plane flight back to California isn't the homecoming she originally imagined when she set off in hopes of sailing around the world.

About two weeks after her rescue at sea, Sunderland departed Sunday from the French island of Reunion, off the southeastern coast of Africa, en route to France, then on to California.

[fightinJAG]

No.

Peyton Manning is a high-level executive in a multi-billion dollar business that is hugely important to the American economy and has a global reach, not only in broadcast rights, but in merchandizing, media outlets, and related travel and hospitality industry impacts.

[fightinJAG]

P.S. Peyton Manning, and people like him, create MANY jobs by how well they do their job. Manning helps LOTS of other people earn money, from the team owners down to the hot dog seller, the jersey maker, sports websites owners and it goes on and on.

Someone like Abby Sunderland might sell a few magazines, books or inspirational lectures, but her ability to create jobs is nothing compared to what just one Peyton Manning does week after week when millions of households buy a couple of extra bags of chips to watch the game, or people click on ESPN.com and that earns advertising dollars for the website, or a few thousand people buy a truck they saw advertised while happily watching a Peyton Manning game on tv.

You are comparing apples and oranges to compare the economic impact of Abby Sunderland to Peyton Manning.

[ml/nj]

Why was she there two weeks?

She wasn't there for two weeks. She didn't get to Reunion Island until June 25, because that's when the boat that picked her up got there. And my guess is that the several more days until she returns to LAX might have something to do with the lack of hourly air service between Reunion Island and LAX, or Reunion and anyplace for that matter.

ML/NJ

[Oztrich Boy]

Maybe she could even get some Corn Chip maker to sponsor her?

Diesel Jeans - it's a natural.

[ml/nj]

You are comparing apples and oranges to compare the economic impact of Abby Sunderland to Peyton Manning.

Well, how 'bout John Rollins then? (Who?)

ML/NJ

[Oztrich Boy]

Why was she there two weeks? Was her health more impacted by all this than originally reported?

This is the South Indian Ocean, one of the most remote regions of the Earth. The closest ship to her was
the FV Ile de la Réunion, fishing off Kerguelen, two days away. After it rescues her, it has to return to
Kerguelen -It's now 4 days. As there's no international airport at Kerguelen, she has to be taken by the
Fisheries Patrol Vessel Osiris to Ile Réunion, 1800 nm. away, that's another 9-10 days.

AMSA Coordinating Search and Rescue - Wild Eyes

NB: if you are thinking of sailing these waters, don't

think about recovery soon.

[fightinJAG]

Thanks for the interesting info. I was just wondering if she was too weak to travel or receiving medical care or something. But I get it now. Thanks!

[dragnet2]

Impossible!

Farming is way too dangerous for someone like you. Too many things can happen, too much unnecessary risk....

[editor-surveyor]

Only on freerepublic can one ‘un-ring’ a bell! :o)

[DJ MacWoW]

You can’t debate facts so you use insults. The FACT is Abby left 8 months sooner than planned. And that cost prep time. All the insults in the world won’t change that.

[editor-surveyor]

“The whole affair was and remains a complete disregard for the childs safety from the start.”

.
If that’s true, then it is true each time anyone sets sail on an ocean voyage in such a vessel.
.

[freedumb2003]

>>Only on freerepublic can one ‘un-ring’ a bell!<<

Kudos for your insight :)

[DJ MacWoW]

If that’s true, then it is true each time anyone sets sail on an ocean voyage in such a vessel.

Only if they take out an untried yacht 8 months sooner than planned.

[porter_knorr]

Like you, I wanted to express my opinion, which I did, and the other poster responded to several times. Thank you for your post.

[toldyou]

Who paid for his trip?

I didn’t know the answer to that until this post by Oztrich Boy (#19)...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2542785/posts?page=19#19

[editor-surveyor]

“Only if they take out an untried yacht 8 months sooner than planned.”

.
Sorry DJ, but that just doesn’t wash.

The failure of her journey had little to do with planning, and much to do with the fickle fall of weather events in the open ocean. In that part of the world, people set sail daily in vessels that most of us wouldn’t consider sea worthy, and they somehow manage to survive in most cases, but there are also those that don’t but we rarely even hear about them because their parents are not California residents, and their voyages were not sponsored by corporations.

When I was about 13, a group of five or six of us decided to join our scoutmaster (who was a physically disabled ex-Philipine Scout from WW II) in a boat trip down the Sacramento River. To do that we of course had to first build our boats, which we did during the winter, and then set out two days after school was out for the summer.

Our parents must have had some misgivings but they didn’t try to stop us. We started the trip at the most upstream point accessable below shasta dam, near the end of the spring thaw, when considerable water was being released, so it was a wild ride.

We lost our supply boat near the end of the first day due to an error in judgement, not having it tied to a boat behind as well as in front, as we descended a stretch of rapids. It was pretty well thrashed by some large rocks, although it continued to float due to the air tanks that were designed into the fore and aft compartments, but we had to divide up the provisions and carry them on our personal boats, except for the ice chest that was water tight and remained on the damaged boat.

Anyway, we made the trip down to a public park in Sacramento, tired, sunburned, and bruised, but in good health, and we didn’t lose anybody either. Several of our parents had second thoughts about the trip when they saw the smashed boat, and the generally battered condition of the rest of them, and resent the fact that we hadn’t reported the even to them during the trip, but it was over, and done.

[DJ MacWoW]

Sorry DJ, but that just doesn’t wash. The failure of her journey had little to do with planning,

A nav system that didn't work and it had little to do with planning?! 10 hours of practice in a yacht that she didn't know, on a sunny day, in calm seas and it had little to do with planning?! Btw, SHE said the storm had NOTHING to do with it. Then what did? Lack of experience? Bad planning?

When I was about 13, a group of five or six of us decided to join our scoutmaster

Absolutely NOT comparable to an open ocean ALONE. On a yacht with a strained mast because her father wouldn't wait for a slip in Capetown. She got as far as Mexico when the nav system failed the first time because there wasn't enough fuel and big enough batteries. And THAT'S not a planning failure?!.

[editor-surveyor]

The vessel was disabled by high winds that broke the mast.

It had absolutely nothing to do with planning.

[DJ MacWoW]

The vessel was disabled by high winds that broke the mast.

Abby stated the storm had nothing to do with it. The quote and link was posted on FR.

You didn't address the problems with the nav system and rushing her out 8 months early.

I have a nasty summer cold so I'm bowing out for today. I hope you have a good one!

[hennie pennie]

Maybe her parents were too poverty stricken to pay for her return ticket home?