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 ...
You’re right, it isn’t driving. Remind me how many teenagers die every year driving a car?
When are you going to permit people to take risks? When they are 50?
I’m waiting for the time when people say that no one should get married, have kids, drive a car, get a job until they are 21...
Pride? Sponsors or parents said ‘do it please honey’?
You ok with voting at 16?
Plenty of our young men served at that age in both wars.
All this speculation is appalling, frankly. If folks would go and actually read her website/blog you would know this is her dream she is following, and no one else’s.
No low age limit for voting then?
She can’t even sign a contract, much less follow her dream to be the youngest to do this. If a minor has a dream to base jump and blogged about it, parents said ok, and they died.. You’d be fine with the entire thing?
All my life if I thought I had over a 50% chance of surviving I did it!
Took a 14’ boat to Catalina when I was 9 and drove a dragster when I was 12 and never quit doing what was thrilling.
If I had to live a safe life I would commit suicide!
I think a good parent generally knows what their kid is ready to tackle, regardless of age. Everyone matures at a different rate, and Abby certainly has the sailing chops. Our unpredictable seas are full of shipwrecks. Why everyone is blaming the captain’s age for this one doesn’t really um... hold water. (sorry)
16 works fine. Old enough to fight in a war, old enough to vote.
Well, 99% chance she’s dead. Hope that was worth it for her and her parents. It’s like telling a kid to play with a cobra. Sure, there are adults that tame them. But common sense says ‘don’t let minors play with certain death’.
You’d love the huge democrat increase in under 18 voters I’m sure.
I don’t know why you think 18 is the legal age for military in modern times though. If you want to go back, you can probably find 4 year olds on battlefields hauling stuff around. Good old days eh?
There are probably very few with her knowledge and talent!
Still, we can:
a) Admire her courage, and
b) Realize that if she dies, the parents will have already suffered plenty, so what’s the point of prosecuting them, and
c) Pray that she will be found.
I never said anything about prosecuting. However, it is pretty close tell her to play russian roulette with 4 rounds in a 6 shot 10 times. Same results, and trust me doing this during this time of year was doomed. They should’ve had a rescue boat within sight.
Well, assisting suicide vicariously is still legal.
Frankly I don’t see how that argument addresses my point that both world wars had 16 year olds serving.
Again, if they are old enough to fight and defend their country, they are old enough to vote.
Doesn’t matter who they vote or support. I find the age of infantilization noxious.
Well, as long as you’re for no age limit on anything, if they can write they can vote, if they can reach the peddles they can drive, if they can do whatever they can at whatever age at least you aren’t a hypocrite.
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