What Real Girls Do

[tekla]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/01/abby-sunderland-teen-on-s_n_444358.html

Now, granted she could die, but if she does it, she's not just going to be awesome, she's going to be a force of nature, cause what in the hell is going to scare her - or tell her she 'can't' do something after this?

[Fenrir]

Then again, how much of her childhood is she missing out on by doing this? Just a thought.

[tekla]

She is 16, long past being a child.  Oh yeah, the answer - five or six months.  So not much.  Gee, she could be at home playing vid games or posting to web sites from her parents basement, so what exactly is she missing?

[Fenrir]

In my opinion, 16 is far from being 'long past being a child'. I dunno, she could be missing out on her teenage years, friendships from school, relationships, general life experiences, etc. etc.? Not all teenagers park themselves in front of a screen all the time (and it looks like this girl certainly wouldn't!)

[tekla]

I don't know, I was working at 16, traveling all around the West Coast.  My kids were doing the same, but in the Midwest.  Taking canoe trips up in the boundary waters, or down the wild rivers in Missouri, I had them on ropes doing technical climbing at 8.  I just didn't want them to be afraid.  Fear is the great killer of dreams.

And I doubt that she has not been basically preparing for this all her life.  She is sailing out of Marina Del Rey, not amateur territory.  And its not a cheep sport, and its also very social - what's a yacht club with out the club?  So its not like she just woke up and thought this.

But most of all, what one learns early from being fearless, is that you have nothing to fear, but fear itself.  She will either do it, or perhaps my die - but hell, most people die without ever trying to live, so what's to lose?  And if (when) she does this, well, it's going to be awful hard to intimidate her.  And she will have something that is the greatest gift we can give ourselves, the idea that what we can do is only really governed by our own notions of what we can do.

[spacial]

Then again, how much of her childhood is she missing out on by doing this? Just a thought.

With respect that's a self defeating comment that presumes that childhood is one thing.

we could equally say, mustn't go to school because she's missing out on childhood, unless we presume that school is part of childhood.

Personally, I am a lot more concerned for her safety. There are pirates in many parts of the oceans now, especially the South Atlantic and all over the Indian ocean. They have exploded in recent years because of the huge ransums being regularly paid.

What thay will do with such a young girl doesn't bear thinking about.

[Nicky]

I think she is awsome. Sounds very capable.

I think she would be gaining much more than she misses. The value of what she will get out of it outweighs it (unless she dies of course)

[Hannah]

In the last six months I've managed to watch about half my "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" dvds and earn a few college credits. So yeah, respect.

I wonder what she needs so much power for on a sailboat though, an xbox perhaps?

[K8]

wonder what she needs so much power for on a sailboat though, an xbox perhaps?

GPS, radio (several), running lights, locator beacon.  She probably has a satellite link, too. 

Hmmm, can't think of much else besides a hairdryer.  (She is a girl, after all. )

- Kate

[V M]

Arrr.....Feisty lil' thing she be.....May her sails be full and the wind at her back and pleasant voyages be

[Bombi]

I admire her for her endeavor but is she emotionally ready for all that isolation? Sailing is a lot of work, with long spells of no visual stimulation and boredom followed by a few seconds of choas when you least expect it.
The Slocum Society stopped recognizing the "youngest" circumnavagator.
Bon Voyage'

[Pippa]

Drool over handbags, shoes and jewellery, mind you, so do I.   

[K8]

Oh yeah, she also probably has electric windlasses.

Good point about the isolation.  I've done similar things (not sailing), and you really have to be strong within your core.  It's all very exciting planning it, but the reality can be devastating.  And if she makes it, the adjustment back to the day-to-day world can very hard too.  I really wish her luck.

- Kate

[tekla]

Sent this to a friend of mine, who did similar dumb stuff, albeit a few years older - but not much (19, alone from LA to Malta, ferrying a boat for a famous movie star) - who told me the record is held by Robin Lee Graham from Newport Beach, who did this when he was 16.  He stopped all around the world. Took him 3 years and 2 boats.  Came back with a wife.  Oh yeah, old school, it was back in the late sixties, before GPS or Loran, so he did it using only a sextant.

Apparently it did not harm him, he wrote a couple of books about it, it was made into a movie, went to Stanford, and moved to Montana, started a building company and does a lot of international aid work.  I spend my 16th, and 17th summers traveling with a band (and being very bad) and most of that turned out to be good, the work, the money, the independence, and all the stuff you learn when you have to rely on yourself, and not other people - or at least in people in your peer group.

I'm just trying to say that you can do pretty much whatever you set your mind to do.  And there are people doing just that.