Ballon boy, Boat girl.. allee samee.
Posted on 06/14/2010 8:20:03 AM PDT by Patriot1259
he 'born-again' American teenager who had been attempting to sail solo around the world defends herself against the critics of her young age
INDIAN OCEAN - Sixteen-year-old American Abby Sunderland, a "born again" teenage girl attempting to sail solo around the world, was rescued on Saturday, June 12, 2010
in a remote spot of the Indian Ocean, bringing to a successful conclusion the dramatic bid to save her life.
Abby, who is part of a Southern California Christian family, was picked up from her stricken vessel by a dinghy launched from the French fishing boat Ile de la Reunion.
(Excerpt) Read more at thecypresstimes.com ...
As the parent of a young daughter I would have NEVER permitted this. I would have in fact called the police and issued a restraining order to stop her.
I was practically raised on a yacht myself as my father was a yacht salesman. My parents also owned a boat for many years and I am no stranger to boats.
Allowing a sixteen year old to sail around the world in a yacht ALL BY HERSELF is SIMPLY PREPOSTEROUS AND BEYOND INSANITY.
The area where she was found is infested with pirates. There are frequently dangerous storms around the horn of Africa which have taken down much bigger ships in these shark infested waters.
What were her parents thinking allowing such complete and total madness?
Well, I am not in favor of a government bail out for this. If the family has to pay on it for years into the future, it should be their debt.
Ballon boy, Boat girl.. allee samee.
reality tv show!
I believe however that she is doing it of her own volition though I could be wrong (as Geraldo seems to believe).
It could be argued that no one should attempt to sail across oceans single-handedly because it is too dangerous.
I disagree and respect those who follow their dreams.
For those who have a taste for adventure, may I recommend reading The Lonely Sea and the Sky by Sir Francis Chichester. It's not in print, but used copies can be found. Chichester set out from Europe and flew to Australia in the early days of aviation.
It's an amazing story!
Now that is REALLY sick. At least in the case of the balloon boy, the child was never in the balloon.
“Christian” family- why is this in the article?
the money this “born again” family spent on her boat would have filled a lot of rice bowls
Just sayin’
Go Abby! Don't let the life-suckers keep you from safely pursuing your goals!!!!
But what about commonsense? Sailing in pirate infested waters all by yourself? A sixteen year old girl all alone. Why not at least have a few other people on the boat with her.
My father is a professional yachtsman himself. Never sailed alone except maybe for some very short voyages close to the coast.
We always remember failure and forget achievement 
The area where she was found is infested with pirates.
No it isn't
Somali pirate boat 
MV Il de la Reunion (which rescued Abby) 
How many differences can you spot?
That wasn’t an issue—Her course was plotted to avoid the pirate invested areas.
Wow, 28 whines to get to a decent post! I was beginning to think that the USA really is the Wuss of the world...leaving adventure to the British, Canadians, Aussies, etc. So good to hear a voice of reason! And if the team sponsor was thinking reality show...well, that’s a California thing afterall. As for heraldo!?KDOWH^^*S(D*...last sailor’s voice I’d look to for reason. ‘Course, all my kids were sailing the Atlantic (where it’s ‘safe’), not that dangerous Pacific...and certainly not the southern Indian in winter. But ya sails where ya lives...and the daddy must be very proud.
Oh gee, I didn’t know pirates limited themselves to certain areas. Ialso know the weather in that part of the ocean can turn on a dime and much larger ships have been capsized around the Horn of Africa which is also heavily populated by great white sharks among other dangerous animals. Putting a sixteen year old girl in this type of environment all by herself is beyond reason and sanity.
I come from a sailing and boat background myself. My father would never do this all by himself.
Make her and her parents pay. If I were the French Captain, I would be one p’d off salty. She put herself into that position for the good on no one but herself and her selfish parents. Balloon boy on the high seas.
Why did she set off knowing she would be in the Indian Ocean during rough weather, instead of waiting out the season?
Her parents sent her off before she got too old to break a record :)
It was a foolish stunt...not an adventure.
I don’t buy the “Well teenagers just sit on the couch” argument either. She could do alot of sailing, enter races, go on day trips on the coast, instead of playing video games on the couch.
At very least, her parents should have had an insurance policy against rescue costs...if nobody would sell them a policy, well that says alot right there.
Obummer would approve - Redistribution of Wealth in a nutshell, or rice bowl.
Just sayin'
(good grief)
Agree - she probably has more maturity than 90% of the naysayers -
She's experienced, capable and probably a lot nimbler than many out there sailing. Nimble is a dang good thing to be out there...
I agree with one of the posters at the webpage. The author seems to have something against Christains. I disagree with their decision to encourage Abby to do this but I admire them for their faith in God. Maybe once again we are being mislead by the media.
see by hanging around FR you have learned something
The Horn of Africa is the pointy bit to the right of Ethiopia. Abby was not near there. In fact she was not near anywhere
Note Fishing vessel Il de la Reunion was the closest vessel to Abby. Pirates go where the money is.
The Horn of Africa has many big merchant vessels carrying oil and cargo.
The south Indian has a few fishing vessels carrying fish, and fisheries patrol vessels carrying guns
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