[Theo]

Travis called the parents “Balloon Boy media-whore fame-grubbers,” based on his experience on a sailboat and a few news reports from people with low expectations for young adults, from people who hate homeschooling Christians, from people who’d prefer young adults play video games than travel the world.

The girl and her parents may have been motivated to break the record, but that does not mean her parents are “Balloon Boy media-whore fame-grubbers.”

[investigateworld]

Sorry, but the word of someone who's been there, done that and uses common sense carries a lot of weight around here. While I admire 'spunk/grit/cajones and all that, common sense has to prevail.

More so, stupid stunts like this; open the door to more .gov regulation, like 'permits', 'licenses' etc.

[GatorGirl]

This has NOTHING to do with them being Christian or home schoolers in my book but it has EVERYTHING to do with an incredible lack of preparation and training in the quest for a nonexistent record so that the family could benefit from a book (probably not that lucrative unless she had perished and Jon Krakauer could write a book titled “Into the Sea” or something) and a reality show (potentially far more lucrative).

The false dichotomy between doing drugs, getting impregnated and playing video games all day vs. underaged solo unassisted circumnavigation is tiresome and trite and needs to be abandoned. There are plenty of wonderful 16 year olds who are not doing either. Probably all the 16 y/olds you personally know!!! Don’t insult them.

There is no official record. Jesse Martin holds it. Period. So there was no reason to undertake this if not for the potential fame and fortune. Otherwise she would have been able to live her “life long dream” (held for a mere 3 years since she was all of 13) at the age of 18 or 25 or whatever.

All the facts point indeed to the conclusion that her parents are as Travis describes. Sunderland is not held in any esteem by the sailing community, by all accounts he is a professional failure and with ten mouths to feed the family is probably feeling quite desperate and kicking themselves that they didn’t cash in more at son Zac’s achievement, after all he held the record for about 3 months before a Brit bested him.

Oh the tangled web the Sunderlands weave!!