Bravo for Abby Sunderland's Parents

@Irishk,

I think I read that the kid did top Everest successfully.

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@Irishk,

I think I read that the kid did top Everest successfully. He had nearby support most of the way though.

@ossobuco,

Thanks, Osso...I looked it up a little while ago and see that he was successful at reaching the summit this past May. Congrats to him!! And yes, the report I read said he was with his dad and at least 3 Sherpas. Also that the team just above them got hit by an avalanche and two people died that day. The kid was thrown off the mountain in that incident, but landed on his dad and required 4 stitches (I think to his head) as a result of that accident. He was lucky.

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All the criticism didn't put a dent in her circumnavigation plans. Such bad luck to loose her mast in the southern seas. She sailed about 40 degrees south to avoid somali pirates. How low do somali pirates go Question

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Looks like Abby's dad had lined up a TV deal and his daughter sailing the Indian Ocean during the storm season could have been part of it. No bravo for the parents from me. I'm sure the rescue footage will make great TV.

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@Irishk,

Thanks back, I didn't know about the accident part of it.

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@engineer,

aka "balloon boy" parents

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@engineer,

I think I would be more worried about a young girl being alone period. We tell women not to walk at night by themselves - to walk in a group for safety - and here is a 16 year old girl on a sail boat all by herself. What is to protect her if some one wants to do harm to her? She is a bit far for any sort of mayday call.

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@hawkeye10,

hawkeye10 wrote:

I dont know anything about sailing other than what I see on "the deadliest catch" or heard at some point or another out of William Buckley, but my impression is that it is a point of honor amongst sailors that you help out those in need on the water, and never send a bill.

Of course they sent a bill. They just sent it to the Australian taxpayers rather than the person who was actually responsible for causing all the trouble in the first place.

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@Linkat,

If I were Abby's mom, I'd have been a basket case 24/7. Her dad is a sailing instructor, so I guess that gave the parents a sense of confidence that she could handle it. Still, they'd have had to put me on meds for the duration lol.

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@Irishk,

I'd be too - but I'd be less worried about her capability for sailing if she was accomplished and knew how to handle sailing as it seems she was. I'd be more worried of the pirates, weirdos, or who knows what she could run into - in other words, I'd be more afraid of the land sharks in other boats than the ones in the sea.

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@Linkat,

Exactly...all the 'unknowns' both planned and unplanned for. I've been sailing with my FIL (ex-Navy) and skilled sailor. The sea can become treachorous in a moment's time and a challenge to the most experienced.

(I pity my future children lol)

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I personally wouldn't let my sixteen year old daughter sail around the world by herself no matter how capable she is of doing so.

When the news broke that the father had brokered a reality TV show deal, it really made me sick.

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@Arella Mae,

Quote:

When the news broke that the father had brokered a reality TV show deal, it really made me sick

are you sure about that??

Quote:

"There is no reality TV show, there's no documentary that's going to be made, there's no book deal," Marianne Sunderland, Abby's mom, said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/06/15/2010-06-15_abby_sunderland_tells_critics_of_her_parents_to_back_off_says_they_know_shes_a_g.html#ixzz0qx7nayq1

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There never was an idea put forth by the family to start a tv reality show. That is the media hype and their jumping the gun being negative.

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@Arella Mae,

Arella Mae wrote:

I personally wouldn't let my sixteen year old daughter sail around the world by herself no matter how capable she is of doing so.

When the news broke that the father had brokered a reality TV show deal, it really made me sick.

I can understand if the girl chooses to exercise her freedom this way.
People have risked their lives for centuries and millenia in exploration.

The same principle applies to a 16 year old as anyone else.
She is a volunteer.

If there is MONEY to be made from that,
all the better, so long as she gets the proper, fair amount of it
minus reasonable management fees.

David

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@OmSigDAVID,

I think the problem is - her father was looking to make money from her.

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@hawkeye10,

Just like balloon boy - the family denied at first.

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@Linkat,

Quote:

Just like balloon boy - the family denied at first.

this girl has already raised hell because people are judging her against other 16 years old that they know, and she says that she is not them, and she is offended. So now you go and judge her parents based upon the assumption that they are just like Balloon Boy's scum parents. But do you have a lick of evidence?? These are the parents of a 16 year old boy who successfully circled the globe solo in a boat, these are not balloon boy quality parents....these seem to be very good parents.

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@Linkat,

Linkat wrote:

I think the problem is - her father was looking to make money from her.

She is not complaining that her father violated her personal liberty
by commanding her to get a job or to acquire $$ some other way.
Only SHE has standing to raise that objection.

She is a volunteer.
She is not the victim of coercion, so far as we know. She did not allege that.

David

1 Reply

Bravo for Abby Sunderland's Parents

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