# Keep your fingers crossed for Abby Sunderland (16 y.o. lost on round-the-world sail attempt) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682 "2010-06-10T18:34:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/1 "2010-06-10T18:34:08Z")
I don’t think I’d let my [16 year-old go sail around the world by herself](http://www.grindtv.com/outdoor/blog/17943/emergency+rescue+effort+is+launched+for+teen+sailor+abby+sunderland/) but I was also rooting for her. I hope they find her. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/2 "2010-06-10T18:39:41Z")
> [@](#): > > The timing of Abby’s trip was criticized by some because it was going to place her in the middle of the Indian Ocean when the stormy Southern Hemisphere winter was at hand. No shit, Sherlock. Hoping for good news, but jeez! This is truly a “what were they thinking” moment. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/3 "2010-06-10T18:54:21Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > No shit, Sherlock. Hoping for good news, but jeez! This is truly a “what were they thinking” moment. I’m afraid they were thinking “Let’s let our daughter sail the Indian Ocean during its most dangerous, unpredictable time of the year, because she’s still 16 and can still set the record for the youngest to circumnavigate the globe, and by doing so she’ll get her 15 min. of fame, then maybe the family can cash in with a book deal or somesuch” ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/4 "2010-06-10T20:05:15Z")
…wait… Didn’t some girl JUST finish this solo trip around the world? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/5 "2010-06-10T20:22:40Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > …wait.. Didn’t some girl JUST finish this solo trip around the world? Jessica Watson finished a circumnavigation but she is a little older than Sunderland. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/6 "2010-06-10T20:40:00Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Jessica Watson finished a circumnavigation but she is a little older than Sunderland. Is it too late to send my 10 year old off on a solo circumnavigation? I mean, he probably does not want to go, but think of the attention I’ll get! ---
**Author:** ![Kiber](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiber/32/317_2.png) [@Kiber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiber)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/7 "2010-06-10T21:11:42Z")
I can’t imagine letting my (hypothetical) 16 year old daughter take my car to the corner market let alone a quick sail around the globe. I certainly hope she is OK, but I really can’t imagine parents letting her try this. To me, this is tantamount to child abuse. Or reckless endangerment. Or some other legal-sounding term meaning a really bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/8 "2010-06-10T21:23:47Z")
> [@Push\_You\_Down](#): > > …wait.. Didn’t some girl JUST finish this solo trip around the world? [Some more details:](http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNcCJg-kSyZBjLhEB3fRtcYzaQOgD9G8JCQO0) > [@](#): > > Abby soon ran into equipment problems and had to stop for repairs. She gave up the goal of setting the record in April, but continued on. > On May 15, Australian 16-year-old Jessica Watson claimed the record after completing a 23,000-mile circumnavigation in 210 days. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/9 "2010-06-10T22:02:04Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Is it too late to send my 10 year old off on a solo circumnavigation? I mean, he probably does not want to go, but think of the attention I’ll get! Nah, send him up Everest instead. You can’t get seasick on a mountain! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/10 "2010-06-10T22:27:10Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Nah, send him up Everest instead. You can’t get seasick on a mountain! I wonder what the youngest age is to climb the 7 summits, walk to both poles, **and** solo circumnavigate the ocean is…? ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/11 "2010-06-10T22:59:33Z")
I wish her well, and HOPE she is still fighting for her life. I also wish people would take their disparaging remarks somewhere else. ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/12 "2010-06-11T00:40:43Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I wish her well, and HOPE she is still fighting for her life. I certainly do too, but that dosen’t mean that I can’t also think her parents are absolute idiots for allowing/encouraging this extremely risky undertaking, ESPECIALLY at this time of the year when conditions are apparently the most challenging and dangerous… ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/13 "2010-06-11T01:06:31Z")
Well, there are two things here. Letting a youngster try to sail solo around the world. Once you decide to DO THAT, for better or worse, you have a plan of HOW to do it. Offhand, to me, it sounds like BOTH steps were suboptimal in their wisdom. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/14 "2010-06-11T05:51:49Z")
The WA police [sound hopeful](http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/solo-sailor-abby-sunderland-out-of-contact-distress-signal-activated/story-e6freuy9-1225878268539). ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/15 "2010-06-11T07:01:08Z")
Gee, she’s about as far as she could possibly be from any land. Good luck to her. Interesting trip for the Qantas crew, not something they’d do very often I imagine. Nitpick on the story linked to in the OP, Australia doesn’t have a “Coast Guard”, they most likely mean AMSA, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/16 "2010-06-11T07:27:18Z")
The newsheads are reporting she’s been contacted and is alive - no details at present, but that’s still good news. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/17 "2010-06-11T09:56:42Z")
She’s fine and dandy according to the latest news. Australia sent a QANTAS airbus out to look for her early this morning (Aus time) and she has been located, has radio communications and apart from a broken mast that is bobbing about in the water nearby, all is well. There’s a couple of fishing vessels on their way to rescue her (20 hours give or take) but her boat isn’t taking water and she is uninjured. Good news, but I’m really starting to tire of these ‘World Record Attempts’ of all kinds with mere kids doing the shit. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/18 "2010-06-11T10:04:59Z")
You only live once, and now she has a story that could make her college years far more comfortable. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/19 "2010-06-11T10:15:45Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > She’s fine and dandy according to the latest news. > > Australia sent a QANTAS airbus out to look for her early this morning (Aus time) and she has been located, has radio communications and apart from a broken mast that is bobbing about in the water nearby, all is well. There’s a couple of fishing vessels on their way to rescue her (20 hours give or take) but her boat isn’t taking water and she is uninjured. Somewhere, [Robin Lee Graham](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Lee_Graham)’s eyes are rolling out of his head. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682/20 "2010-06-11T10:25:43Z")
The rescue mission has cost half a million Australian dollars and involved three nations. Who will pay for that? Is this going to be eaten by the Australian tax payer, essentially for some idiot’s vanity project, or do these attempts carry some kind of insurance? Never mind the south Indian Ocean, I read that she was heading for the Southern Ocean (!), during Winter. This seems to transcend daring and border on rank incompetence and stupidity. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/keep-your-fingers-crossed-for-abby-sunderland-16-y-o-lost-on-round-the-world-sail-attempt/542682.md?page=2)