Posted on 06/10/2010 7:58:31 PM PDT by jimbo123
The man who built Jessica Watson's yacht says missing solo teenage sailor Abby Sunderland's boat is not designed for a solo trip around the world.
A multi-national search and rescue operation has been launched after emergency beacons onboard 16-year-old Sunderland's boat were triggered when the young American adventurer ran into huge waves hundreds of kilometres from land in the Indian Ocean early this morning.
A Qantas Airbus is heading to the search zone, which is about 3,600 kilometres from the WA coast between Australia and Africa.
Veteran yachtsman Marty Still built Jessica Watson's yacht and sailed it for 17 years, notching up 30,000 nautical miles in that time.
He says Sunderland is sailing a type of boat known as an Open-40, which is made of carbon fibre and is designed to sail at its quickest downwind.
Mr Still says the boat is built for speed and it is difficult for it to be sailed by only one person.
"They're not really designed for general purpose sailing. I think there is a compromise for safety when they are sailed single-handed," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at abc.net.au ...
One thing that I noticed about this situation is the irony of the girl’s surname.
That being said, I hope she’s found alive and none the worse for wear.
She has been sailing since walking age.
Let me guess...there oughta be a law as to when adventure and freedom are allowed?
People die everyday crossing the street. Guess what? Some make it.
When are we going to get over the “approval by majority” concept? You never win if you don’t try.
Update:
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/1068169/missing-sailors-yacht-most-likely-capsized
The yacht skippered by missing teenage sailor Abby Sunderland has most likely capsized, according to a top sailing news website.
Sailing website Sail-World.com reported that information obtained from the family indicated the yacht is most likely not floating upright.
“Latest word from Team Abby is that the boat is drifting backwards at around one knot,” the site reported.
“This indicates that no sails are active and that the yacht is not in an upright position, as it would be drifting at a faster rate in a normal sailing position without sails.”
She was not an experienced sailor. Don’t buy the spin.
Yell at you for what? Being normal?
Not at all! I say give the car keys to a ten year old. It's all about freedom and adventure, man!
Yeah, walking across the street and sailing alone around the world at age 16 in a subpar craft. I see the similarities.
“not designed for a solo trip around the world”
Well, duh.
Interesting thread from Cruisers Forum:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f74/abby-sunderland-soloround-32197.html
There’s sometimes a fine line between encouraging your child’s dreams, and setting them up for danger. Unfortunately it sounds like they got into a hurry between the sponsorship money and the chance that girl from Australia, who’s just months older than this girl, would set the record before Abby. That being said, it’s the girl’s life that was put at stake here. Whether she is found alive or not, this is a terrible situation. While my heart goes out to her parents for the pain the are undoubtedly feeling right now, they have no one to blame but themselves.
I hope the parents are young enough to knock a few more baby sailors out if this one got lost. I’ve keep thinkin’ her “disappearance” is some sort of publicity stunt so that the media goes bananas when SHE’S TURNED UP SAFE!!! Yippeeee!.. Oh, and.. GIRL POWER!! Boys, meet your new boss!
I come home in the morning light,
My mother says “When you gonna live your life right?”
Oh, mother, dear,
We’re not the fortunate ones,
And girls,
They wanna have fu-un.
Oh, girls,
Just wanna have fun.
The phone rings in the middle of the night,
My father yells “What you gonna do with your life?”
Oh, daddy, dear,
You know you’re still number one,
But girls,
They wanna have fu-un,
Oh, girls, just wanna have
That’s all they really want.....
Some fun....
It really is nothing more than a hare-brained stunt. She’s obviously no Christopher Columbus, and has absolutely nothing to accomplish apart from breaking some arbitrary “record” and getting her name in the media. A lot of damned yuppies, if you ask me, looking for fulfillment in meaningless forms of recreation.
If she's still with the boat, sailors have survived for several days in over turned sailboats, then I think her chances of survival are reasonably good. A few years back a similar incident occurred south of Australia and the solo sailor, a women I believe, survived nearly a week in a inverted sailboat before rescue.
I hope the young lady survives, even thought the concept was foolish.
She has been sailing since walking age.
Let me guess...there oughta be a law as to when adventure and freedom are allowed?
People die everyday crossing the street. Guess what? Some make it.
When are we going to get over the “approval by majority” concept? You never win if you don’t try.
*********************************************************
I tend to agree with you.
I look back and I can see where my being over-protective with my kid... may not have been best for him.
I fret over my dogs too much as well, they’re not as well socialized as they should be.
I think if I could have a do-over with my kid, I would be less protective.
Though, going on this adventure— perhaps they should have ensured she had the proper craft and tried to sway her to a better time of year.
Abby appears to have some brave parents with a strong faith, God bless them and Abby, may she be safe.
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