OK, I'll concede you this. Thank you Australian taxpayers for coming to the rescue of one brave 16-year-old American adventurer who has found better things to do with her life than sit in front of the TV or video games.
Posted on 06/11/2010 6:01:21 PM PDT by NoLibZone
What were her parents thinking? Many people were asking that question as a 16-year-old girl sat adrift and alone in the frigid southern Indian Ocean, her ship's mast dashed along with her around-the-world sailing effort.
Abby Sunderland's ship was rolling in 20- to 30-foot waves as she waited to be rescued by a boat that was expected to arrive early Saturday morning Pacific time.
She set off a distress signal Thursday after rough seas disabled her ship and her satellite phone reception. There were 20 hours of tense silence before a search plane launched from Australia's west coast made brief radio contact with Sunderland and found her alive and well Friday morning.
"The aircraft (crew) spoke to her. They told her help was on the way and she sounds like she's in good health," said Mick Kinley, acting chief of the Australia Maritime Safety Authority, which chartered a commercial jet for the search.
"She's going to hang in there until a vessel can get to her," Kinley told reporters in Canberra.
Many people criticized Sunderland's parents for allowing the high-risk adventure, one of several by young people looking to make the record books. Some veteran sailors said it's all but irresponsible to send a teenager off alone in a small boat, knowing it will be tossed about like a toy for 30 or more hours at a time by the giant waves that rake the Southern Hemisphere's oceans this time of year.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Here is your answer...
The Australian maritime authority did not say how much the rescue mission would cost but said it would not be seeking compensation for the search, which initially fell just outside of Australia's search and rescue region.
"That's the way the system runs," search coordinator Kinley said. "It's our obligation to do this and we'll fulfill those obligations as Australia does.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/lost_sailor_found
Next question.
Ding! - Ding! - Ding!
Congratulations!
It’s the taxpayers of Australia who pay for this publicity stunt.
Au-contraire! It was right on the money for you. People need to act responsibly so as not to cost anyone else any money. Perfect!
No one is holding a gun to their head to rescue anyone or pay for any rescue. It’s a free will choice.
Obviously, this father had a positive effect on his children.
Otherwise, they would likely be just hanging out, playing rap music, doing drugs, poking bones through their nose, sporting tattoos, becoming obese couch potatoes, and watching vampire shows and MTV. Oh, and planning for a lifetime of taxpayer-funded nothingness.
Then the princess can perish at sea. That's the bargain.
OK, I'll concede you this. Thank you Australian taxpayers for coming to the rescue of one brave 16-year-old American adventurer who has found better things to do with her life than sit in front of the TV or video games.
Yes, if they choose not to help her. No problem with that.
There sure are a lot of whiners about this kid ... LOL ...
No anger here.
I have dropped in on several threads about this girl and her trip. I am afraid you and I are in the minority in approving of letting this young lady do this. My argument is that she is of that rare breed of risk-takers who cannot be held back.
Yeah, I think you dropped in on a bunch of pansy whiners ... LOL ...
Yep, who’s going to pay for her adventure? It costs real money. Mom? Dad? Australian Government? The United States?
If your neighbour’s house was on fire, would you rent them your hose?
We rescue people when we can - sometimes we can’t.
As an Australian taxpayer, this has cost me about 20 cents so far - my share of the bill. I think it’s worth it.
I’m not convinced the girls parents should have let her do it (I agree, by the way with letting kids take risks - I just think that it’s sensible to set some limits) but that’s separate from the monetary issue.
"When you affect a situation, you have an effect on it."
At least this time, it looks like it will be a happy ending. And to any Americans worried about the cost to the Australian taxpayer - well, consider it a partial payback for all the times the US taxpayer has wound up bailing people out around the world. The fact is, this is what rich, industrialised nations do. At least this time we're doing it for another rich, industrialised nation. The vast majority of foreigners Australia pulls from the sea are 'asylum seekers' sailing here illegally in leaky boats.
Hi - I did hear Geraldo saying that so I must have been walking through the living room in the a.m., as I don’t normally watch Fox & Friends but my husband turns it on - then leaves the room. HA!
Geraldo is such a creep. He went from wife to wife, family to family (how many times?) and he dares criticize a family like the Sunderlands?
Have to look at posts and see if the ships have gotten to Abby yet.
Have a good day.
Shirley
Only in modern parlance.
Kudos to Australia, our staunchest allies in the Pacific. My Dad always wanted to go back there and live in Darwin. He loved everything about Australia right down to the charcoal powered jitney buses in wartime. And tough people, too.
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