Am I alone?

[John Shuk]

The news that a 16 year old girl was missing in the Indian Ocean while attempting to sail solo around the world made me a little angry. (She has been found to be safe)
Recently a 13 year old climbed Everest.
I'm sorry. What is wrong with these parents? These kids just aren't old enough to make these kinds of decisions for themselves.
I resect their abilities and applaud the dedication they show in rising to the levels that they have.
That said, these are dangerous treks with often fatal outcomes for many who undertake them. A child who isn't even old enough to consent to a legal contract, for good reason, is not capable of making a decision to engage in life threatening activities.
Again I respect and admire the spirit of these kids but I condemn the parents for allowing the kids to seek out these world record feats and face the most extreme adversity that this planet has to offer. Mother Nature will not spare them just because they are kids.
What do you think?

[Curt Harms]

I agree with you. At least when the children were setting "youngest pilot to......" "records" they had an instructor sitting there to keep 'em out of trouble (for the most part). I just read an article on the BBC news site where a highly experienced sailor said she being solo on the Indian Ocean in the winter was beyond foolhardy due to seasonal weather. Oh well, anything for 15 minutes of fame I guess.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Some people asked me if letting my then 15 yo son take flying lessons was safe, or later if I thought flying with him was safe.

There is a line that needs to be crossed every once in a while if we are to raise important citizens. While I think a sail around the world at 16 is way beyond responsible parenting, I can understand the decision-making process.
.

[Rod Sheridan]

Some people asked me if letting my then 15 yo son take flying lessons was safe, or later if I thought flying with him was safe.

There is a line that needs to be crossed every once in a while if we are to raise important citizens. While I think a sail around the world at 16 is way beyond responsible parenting, I can understand the decision-making process.
.

Exactly.

People need to take carefully considered risks to develop skills.

I don't think sailing the ocean, alone, is a carefully considered risk for anyone.

There are simply too many possible problems that are outside of human control for solo sailing of the ocean in a small boat.

Regards, Rod.

[Eric DeSilva]

Some people asked me if letting my then 15 yo son take flying lessons was safe, or later if I thought flying with him was safe.

There is a line that needs to be crossed every once in a while if we are to raise important citizens. While I think a sail around the world at 16 is way beyond responsible parenting, I can understand the decision-making process.
.

It is odd that when I heard about the sailing incident, my mind immediately flashed to Jessica Dubroff, the 7 year old who died in her bid to become the youngest pilot to fly cross country. I fear that both sets of parents were blinded by the quest for 15 minutes of fame to be rational about the risks involved. If we establish fame around being the youngest person to do X, at some point a young child is going to die because it is inherently something that shouldn't be done by a child. There are things that require an experienced hand to avoid accidents and rationally evaluate conditions. While I'm glad she is OK, I still think her parents should be flogged.

[Prashun Patel]

I love SMC. I was just about to post an OT thread about this. But for a different reason:

It's not the age that bothers me. I saw the interview with the 13yr Mt Everest climber. He's arguably in better shape and mind than some of the people who've attempted that before.

To me, the issue is an ECONOMIC one. My outrage about the 16yr old sailor was "who pays for her search and rescue"?

I think responsible people - 13, 16, or 70 should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as A) they don't hurt other people, B) We as taxpayers don't have to pay to bail them out, and C) Parents aren't pushing kids to do things they are not prepared to or want to do...

[Neal Clayton]

my 22 year old nephew handles a boat better than pretty much every grown adult man i see on the local lakes here. but then again he grew up in south louisiana and like most kids down there, everyone in the family had a boat. some had a boat but not a car. these are subjective, often times.

and C) is the situation 95% of the time. look at the hot air balloon kid from colorado. as soon as it was mentioned that the father had conspiracy websites and was submitting amateur video to news networks, we all knew it would be a hoax and the father would be behind it, for the purpose of publicity for himself.

either way i don't think it has anything to do with money (other than profiteering parents). we're gonna pay for the coast guard whether they sit around waiting for the radio to go off or whether they're actually rescuing someone.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Neal,

The CG ships sitting in port doesn't burn as much fuel as it does trying rescue someone.


The airplanes sent out to rescue that girl yesterday certainly burned more fuel.

Beyond that, often as in the case of this girl, those rescue teams put their life on the line in bad weather whether on the ships or the airplanes because someone's kid was trying to set a world record?

I agree it's for a few minutes of fame and glory and some profiteering.....maybe too much desire to puff up one's ego.

[paul cottingham]

I dunno. My grandfather fought in world war 1 (yes 1) at the age of 15. My father was 17 or 18 when he volunteered to serve in Europe during ww II. He wound up training other young men (and some much older than him, I imagine) to go overseas. I figure if you are old enough to die for your country at that age, you can probably sail a boat around the world at that age too. I take the fact that she survived that storm as pretty good evidence that she was old enough and experienced enough to take on this adventure.

[mike holden]

John,
First, not too many years ago, 16 was an adult.
Second, I dont believe that sailing with a radio is solo sailing, Joshua Slocum certainly did not have a radio.
Third, as long as people give these showoffs attention, they will continue. See the boy who hid in the attic while "his" balloon drifted away for an egregious example.

So, while I think that what they do is praiseworthy, it is so only when completed, and if they fail, and die, trying; then that is the consequence of the attempt.

Solo, should be solo, call me when you get there, if you are not back in x months, we will miss you, good luck!

If people choose to put themselves in harm's way, then rescue attempts should be nonexistant to minimal. Save the rescue teams for those that are in peril through no fault of their own. This would also put meaning into their accomplishment - you cant defy death if you dont actually defy it.

Not PC, but my thoughts,
Mike

[Rob Steffeck]

I dunno. My grandfather fought in world war 1 (yes 1) at the age of 15. My father was 17 or 18 when he volunteered to serve in Europe during ww II. He wound up training other young men (and some much older than him, I imagine) to go overseas. I figure if you are old enough to die for your country at that age, you can probably sail a boat around the world at that age too. I take the fact that she survived that storm as pretty good evidence that she was old enough and experienced enough to take on this adventure.

When your grandfather was 15 and in the service, was he alone? Was he making life and death decisions or were they being made for him? If he was a 16 year old seaman in the Navy, would they have put him in command of a ship and send him out alone? I think the answer is no, no matter how much experience he would have had on a boat.

I have no problem with children trying to do amazing things. I would have had no problem with this girl trying to sail around the world with her father on board. Sailing around the world solo, especially at the time of year she departed, carries a huge amount of risk with the chance of death. That means that the parents were ok with the risk. To me, the benefit of a world record is not worth the risk of losing your daughter.

[paul cottingham]

Fair enough. I still believe we have turned teens into china dolls who need to be protected from themselves instead of trying to make them into independent autonomous people.

[Prashun Patel]

If people choose to put themselves in harm's way, then rescue attempts should be nonexistant to minimal. Save the rescue teams for those that are in peril through no fault of their own.

My thoughts too, Mike.

[Montgomery Scott]

At 18 a person is allowed to decide if he wants to join the military and die if necessary with or without a parent's consent.

[Kent A Bathurst]

.......those rescue teams put their life on the line in bad weather whether on the ships or the airplanes because someone's kid was trying to set a world record?..........

Ken - sorry, dude, but........IIRC she was in 30 foot swells and 20 kt winds, with the winds heading to gusts up to 60 kt. Sail lost, boat eventually dismasted. I am unclear how the sailor's age comes into that - as the gods of sky and weather, do Zeus/Jupiter seek out boats on an age-specific scale, or something like that? An older master sailor would have had clear sailing? Capt Ernest M. McSorley of the Edmund Fitzgerald would disagree - if only he could.

I know 16-yr olds that are fools, and 16-yr olds that are wise beyond their years. I know 55-yr-olds that are wise beyond their years, and 55-yr-olds that are fools when compared to the wise 16-yr-olds.