Posted on 06/14/2010 6:58:42 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Was sent out as part of the reality show "Adventures in Sunderland"
Laurence Sunderland, a sailing instructor who lives in the middle-class Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks with his pregnant wife and seven kids, opened their home to film crews four months ago.
Its still better than anything 95% of kids her age are doing. I know of a few who have done as good or better - Mission trips to Haiti, or other hideous places that I wouldn’t have the guts to go to (esp. now that I old, fat, and married...).
But pre-teen kids served on (and died on) sailing ships for centuries before we started wrapping kids in fuzzy, padded cocoons. We should be proud of her, even if this was about “selling shoes.”
It scared me to read that she'd been knocked out when the mast broke and had no idea how long she'd been unconscious.
abby16.com is a commercial venture. It is my understanding that since Abby is not of a majority, she could not have entered into contractual agreements on her own. This whole thing smells.
When she’s older can she sue these vile companies who footed the bill so that she put her life at risk?
I think that Child Protective Services should assume custody of her, and check into the safety of her siblings.
What a bizarre stunt for her parents to encourage, so utterly dangerous — and then the captain of the boat who rescued her fell overboard, and HE had to be rescued.
What a selfish, self serving, pathological weird set of parents.
How dare they, and these vile sponsors, risk so many lives?
I suspect that more than one child from this family will pen a “Tell ALL” autobiography in years to come....
Oh, my family is quirky and goofy and all those other things. Too bad for those who are boring and go to school ;-).
Fame and fortune for the one doing it, not the ones sitting at home waiting to rake in the ducats. There is the disconnect. She does (or in this case, nearly does), and her parents try to capatilize on it. I am not against making money, but there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed. They crossed it.
Was sent out as part of the reality show "Adventures in Sunderland"
Laurence Sunderland, a sailing instructor who lives in the middle-class Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks with his pregnant wife and seven kids, opened their home to film crews four months ago." <<<
Absolutely despicable!
Is that opinion or statistics? This was a dangerous stunt. Freeper sailors with experience said it was foolish and the wrong time of year to be on the Indian Ocean.
Did you know that when her mast broke she was knocked out and has no idea how long she was unconscious? Dad also had a film crew in their house filming "Adventures in Sunderland" And you think it's an acceptable risk for fame and money. I value a child's life more than that.
Chris wasn't 16 and alone on a 40 foot yacht.
I do have a natural instinct to take the side opposite the media but in this case, there is so much evidence that it was a publicity stunt. They had a website already set up where they were trying to get a reality TV show before the ill fated trip. So many people have stated she wasn’t ready and that her father pushed her into it and that she was scared. Just the idea of that beautiful little girl alone on the high seas probably terrified for her life but trying to be an obedient daughter and please her parents, just breaks my heart. I would say she loves to sail and is good at it. She should have been allowed to enjoy her life and just been able to enjoy an afternoon sailing with friends and being a normal teen.
>> They actually DO deploy Coast Guards on worldwide missions.
I have no doubt. I’m also going to avoid second guessing why they deploy our coast guard over there when we have plenty of serious problems along our own coast, as taxchick points out, and short supplies of money with which to pay for them.
It’s ironic: in the ‘70s I was in the Navy (See The World!) and I spent the vast majority of my time at sea within 70 miles of the coast of San Diego! So maybe I’m just jealous. :-)
My teenage grandaughter is in class where she is studying to get her RN license. My daughter is 41 yrs old so I guess that doesn’t count.
She should be placed in child protective services, post haste and be given a complete neuro workup; who knows what kind of permanent brain damage that this concussion from this dangerous stunt has occurred?
Opinion. Look pretty close to being right, though.
Sixteen years old is only a “child” in our warped day and age. A century ago...
In any case, we’re going to disagree, no matter what.
However I am hoping that the lashback and public scorn will shame the parents into thinking more about their kids safety and less about money and fame. It used to work that way.
“The whole thing smells”???
What smells? The girl had a dream... The girl succeeded in working out a way to finance her dream.
Her parents have obviously raised some extraordinary children who want more out of life than a “participation trophy”.
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