So, on my way to sailing solo around the world.....
 

So, thankfully the 16 year old solo sailor (she had a support team somewhere in there) was found alive after 25 hours of search and rescue efforts.

The good thing:
"Rescue boat nearing stranded teen sailor. She will likely give up dream of sailing solo around world, spokesman says."
Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/376214...#ixzz0qae09ztH

The dumb thing is that her family was interviewed because (as expected) people wondered if a 16 year old should be sailing alone. That's the first thing I wondered when she went missing.

Her father's/family's response:
"Sailing and life in general is dangerous. Teenagers drive cars. Does that mean teenagers shouldn't drive a car?" Laurence Sunderland said. "I think people who hold that opinion have lost their zeal for life. They're living in a cotton-wool tunnel to make everything safe.”
SRSLY? :rolleyes: Okay. He's operating on as much of an extreme as helicopter parents who don't want their kids to ever fall down. There is a middle ground, people.

Her brother actually did it the year before, and the situation that happened would have probably affected a grown-up the same way.

I don't know, on one hand, I'm not letting my kids do it, on the other, if i'd had that kind of dream... well I don't know I would have wanted to do it too.

my husband and i sail and have owned a few sailboats in our day, but you don't have to be a sailor to know that those parents(at least the dad) were in this for the publicity their daughter's feat would garner them. i don't believe it was the girls dream as much as it was the dad's. the son missed setting a record by just a bit for being "too old", so i suppose that the daughter was the dad's next best hope.

drolefille, you are right, the demasting of the boat could have happened to anyone-and it does during every round the world race. i hope the parents have to pay for the extraordinary measures used to rescue their daughter, but i am glad that she is alright.

They do say how skilled of a sailor and how mature she was, but still, 16 is so young to go around the world on a small boat. I wouldn't let my kids do it, the risks are way too high. The ocean is incredibly dangerous in itself, and on stops she would be by herself in a foreign country. Wouldn't it be much safer to sail around the world with dad on board? Screw setting a record, there is so much risk in doing it solo, and I think making the journey with someone would be just as rewarding and probably even more fun. I am just glad she's safe.