Posted on 06/10/2010 11:11:42 AM PDT by Free ThinkerNY
Abby Sunderland, 16, who is attempting to become the youngest sailor ever to circumnavigate the globe, was feared lost at sea today after her crew lost contact with her boat.
Jeff Casher, an engineer on Sunderland's support team, said two emergency beacons on her boat are now signaling she is in trouble.
Abby's mother, MaryAnne Sunderland, told ABC News that Abby manually activated two beacons around 6 a.m. Pacific Time Thursday.
A beacon designed to automatically go off when it contacts water had not been activated, she said.
Abby was in 20-25 foot waves at the time of last contact, with 35-knot winds, said MaryAnne Sunderland, who is due to give birth at the end of the month. She was shaken but focused on trying to get a rescue effort together.
The closest land to Abby's boat was Reunion Island, which is east of Madagascar. The nearest ship was 400 miles away. Rescuers were trying to contact the ship.
Casher told ABC News that he last spoke with the 16-year-old sailor around 6 a.m. PDT after she had been knocked down twice during the night because of strong winds -- meaning that her sail had touched the water.
One of those knock-downs, Casher said, ripped the radar off the boat. She had been speaking with Casher on a satellite telephone earlier because of engine problems and was in the process of fixing those problems when she told Casher she'd call right back.
She has not been heard from since, except for the distress signals.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I believe it. And there was a monkey they shot into space in 1960 that survived. Many of the best in mountaineers the world have died attempting to summit Everest. Parents of a 13 y/o who paid for their kid to risk his life like that should be jailed.
Do you not agree that a more responsible and caring approach would not to have been to train the kid to clime and when he is an adult, allow him to make and adult decision on this?
Dam%, I’m 53 and you scare the hell outta me.
Yes. The difference is called experience. And the way one gains experience is?
I hope she is okay, I can’t say I agree remotely with the parents allowing their daughter to attempt this, but I pray that she is found safe.
Yikes! What did you do?
My eldest son was wading in thigh deep water near Myrtle Beach, SC when he received vicious stings from a jellyfish. My parents did not know the proper first aid and so he still has the scars to show for it. When we went last year, I deliberately neglected to tell my wife about the minor shark attack on the same beach the previous year. I love the ocean, I wish I could spend more time near it and on it. I'm not saying that I have the guts or brains to survive and thrive with it though.
My youngest was certified PADI at 12. She went down for her first dive as a resort dive. Her Dad who had never dived was going too. He didn’t want to, really didn’t want to, but she went first and he said he would rather die that not go and have to face me.
We all dive, all kids, sons in law had to get certified before the wedding.
But this girl,,I don’t know. I guess she could have gone off and done it but she couldn’t have without substantial financial support. To break a record? That doesn’t move me and I wouldn’t support that. But to sail alone at distance,,I probably with a competetent kid allow that.
The Breaking a Record bothers me. I don’t know why. But I would have a hard time supporting that.
All our kids ski and board and dive and go to downtown in places like Baltimore and Atlanta. Frankly rather than see them downtown after dark alone in Baltimore, I would rather see them in a sailboat.
She is a child. Do you know see a difference between an adult and a child?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Sunderland
Abby Sunderland, 16-year-old Thousand Oaks, California girl starts solo sail around the globe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSMyTp4A0A4
personally I would NEVER had let a 16 yr old do this alone, they don’t have spotters follow along?
‘Yikes! What did you do? “
We had a long 400 yd swim back to shore. All the while waiting for that chomp. I ended up having to tow him in the last bit as he got tired.
Dawn and dusk are the worst times to be in the water with sharks. Thats when they feed.
And yes it is more dangerous to sit on the beach. More people are killed by falling coconuts than by sharks.
If she was properly trained, a good sailor, well prepared with a good boat and safety equipment (weapons, radios, etc.), and we could fit it into school, yeah.
The objective of being a parent is to raise an independent, responsible, happy adult.
Ok then, that explains your post. The parents of this child would have needed to have invested hundreds of thousand of dollars in staging in this stunt. Many of the worlds best single handed sailors with decades of sailing experienced have died in an attempted solo circumnavigation. Most of the people who do this are fulfilling a lifelong dream, one they have worked for in terms of gaining years of sailing experience and in gathering the resources required to attempt it. Of course there have been some dare devils that have succeed without experience or proper equipment. But there have also been those who have survived a plunge from The Golden Gate Bridge too.
No doubt this is a brave little girl. However, she should not have been put in this situation and believe me, she was put their.
Abby’s brother circumnavigated the globe at 17. She has been sailing for quite some time. This isn’t a case of a girl who saw something on MySpace and decided to try it herself. She has been working toward this goal for some time.
But not to keep your kids safe and alive? We will just have to agree to disagree on what makes a responsible parent.
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