One more time.

Capt. Bill1

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2017
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100821/ap_on_re_eu/eu_portugal_young_sailor
 
hopfully she will hit the southern ocean in summer
 
Note that she is not running non-stop. She is making the trip in several "legs".
 
While I support the independance and durability of our children this is getting rediculous. Who really believes that a 14 year old has the knowledge or wisdom to be alone sailing around the world. I am sure that she has years and years of experience and blah blah blah. Fact is grouwn men with experience 3x her age go to sea and still have problems. This isnt a story of her abilities, it is a story of parents putting there kids in harms way. Ever been in 50ft waves????
 
While reserving comment on whether or not this particular individual should make the trip, it is a rare youth that has the physical strength and stamina to make such a voyage safely. This is in addition to the required very broad ( plus the specialized ) knowledge needed.

I wish her a safe journey.
 
Looking at the route it looks to me like she's avoiding the southern oceans and the Capes all together using both the Suez and the Panama canals.

Be that as it may, I agree this trend is getting silly. What's next? A 12 year old? I fear it will not stop until someone dies.

Bob
 
yes she is taking the more usual cruising route instead of the non stop racing route. Starting her Atlantic crossing now puts her in the peak of hurricane season.
After that only pirates in the Indonesian and horn of Africa areas should pose unusual risks.
 
I am all for the adventure of youth... Heck, just read robin lee Graham's "Dove.". I may pack my son up next month when he turns 8 to do the great loop solo! Who am I kidding- I would not be able to resist going with him! That's one thing- why aren't the parents thinking it's fun and going with them? If my kids had a burning desire to sail the world it would not take much to encourage me to shove off with them! :)
 
I read the Dove when it first came out and while I was pretty young myself at that time, I remember how immature I thought Robin was and never thought he fully understood the implications of what he was attempting but was rather just a young boy pretty much out of his element at sea.
That having been said, times and maturity rates have changed dramatically over the last 45 years since Robin sailed that little Ranger sailboat into history.
The youth of today, in my estimation, are so far ahead of what they were when Robin started his quest in 1965 in both terms of maturity and knowledge that when you couple that with all the advances in boats, navigation and communications there is little doubt that attempting to break old records at a younger age seems to me to be very plausible.
I wish Laura safe passage in her quest.
 
HMMMM.

--If I have my vasectomy reversed
--my cancerous prostate re-inserted
--manage to grow some little white swimmers
--find a hot Swedish model to bear my young
--have her give birth at the dock
--strap the kid in a nordhaven motorsailer
--with an auto-pilot
--and mega gallons of breast milk

You think that could bring an end to the nonsense?

Where does it end?
 
quote:

Originally posted by KiDa

Where does it end?





When one of them doesn't make it and is never seen again.

We humans have an insatiable urge to push the envelope, no matter what it is. We tend to continue to push until there is a disaster.

Bob
 
quote:

Originally posted by rnbenton

quote:

Originally posted by KiDa

Where does it end?





When one of them doesn't make it and is never seen again.

We humans have an insatiable urge to push the envelope, no matter what it is. We tend to continue to push until there is a disaster.

Bob








I have no problem with a person of the age of consent pushing the envelope.

Call me old fashioned, but parents signing a consent form for a kid barely at puberty to do something an adult may (or may not) think twice about is reckless behavior on the part of the parent.

I wish the sailor fair winds and following seas. She'll need them.
 
"If Laura completes the voyage, any record she claims would be unofficial and likely to be challenged. The Guinness' World Records and the World Sailing Speed Record Council have decided they will no longer recognize records for "youngest" sailors to avoid encouraging dangerous attempts."

It's about time, maybe this will help keep parents from putting their children in harms way for publicity
 
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