Girl Sailor

[Methanolandbrats]

Being rich does not immunize a person from being stupid.........good thing the wind and not the pirates got her.

[cameraman]

Being rich does not immunize a person from being stupid.........good thing the wind and not the pirates got her.

You got a link or something to go along with that:saywhat:

[grungex]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100611/ap_on_sp_ot/lost_sailor_found

Her parents should pay every dime this is costing.

[Gnam]

16 year old California girl trying to sail around the world solo, lost contact yesterday in the sea between Madagascar and Antarctica.

Rescue ships are more than a day away and she is presumed lost at sea. *found alive & well :thumbup:

I disagree about the stupid part. She sailed from California down to Chile, around Cape Horn, and across to South Africa. Along the way her boat was knocked down twice and hit by a rogue wave. She knew the dangers and could have bailed at any time. She chose to continue.

[dando]

16 year old California girl trying to sail around the world solo, lost contact yesterday in the sea between Madagascar and Antarctica.

Rescue ships are more than a day away and she is presumed lost at sea.

I disagree about the stupid part. She sailed from California down to Chile, around Cape Horn, and across to South Africa. Along the way her boat was knocked down twice and hit by a rogue wave. She knew the dangers and could have bailed at any time. She chose to continue.

They have made contact with her and she is OK having lost her main sail.

I also disagree with the stupid part...like Lindberg, Earhart, Fossett, etc. this is a daring attempt to achieve an objective. Kudos for trying. Now if you are trying a stunt with a balloon and a child.... :saywhat: :mad:

-Kevin

[Methanolandbrats]

You got a link or something to go along with that:saywhat:

Way too may to list........it's all over the nooz :gomer:

[dando]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/lost_sailor_found

-Kevin

[Methanolandbrats]

They have made contact with her and she is OK having lost her main sail.

I also disagree with the stupid part...like Lindberg, Earhart, Fossett, etc. this is a daring attempt to achieve an objective. Kudos for trying. Now if you are trying a stunt with a balloon and a child.... :saywhat: :mad:

-Kevin

They were not 16. Anyone who lets a 16 year old girl sail around the World and through the Indian Ocean alone is a ****ing idiot. Hell, she should have stopped in Somolia for supplies. This is a classic example of more money than brains and an attempt to buy their way into the Guinness Book of Records.

[TrueBrit]

Hell's bells at 16 I wouldn't let TB jr go to the mall by herself...

BTW her take on this is that her parents are "effing stupid" (I blame the mother for her foul language) and that if she wanted to go around the world at 16 she should have got a passport and nicked my credit cards to do it...

[Steve99]

The observers aboard the search plane — a chartered Qantas Airbus A330 jet that left Perth early Friday — spoke with her by close-range VHF marine radio, western Australia state police spokesman Senior Sgt. Graham Clifford said.

He said the jet faced a 4,700-mile (7,600-kilometer) round trip from Perth to Sunderland's boat, which is near the limit of its range.

Qantas spokesman Tom Woodward said the airliner flew five hours out to sea to reach the area where the beacons were transmitting, then maneuvered for another hour before spotting the 40-foot (13-meter) yacht.

That can't be cheap. The family should have to pay for these efforts.

[indyfan31]

She didn't need more "supplies", she has enough on board to last another two weeks. She also had 3 different radios/phones, two different emergency beacons, along with some pretty sophisticated nav and survival equipment. 30 ft waves knocked the boat over several times until the mast broke, and with it the satellite antenna. She's probably more prepared than her brother was when he did it last year. Anyone who thinks she doesn't belong out there is talking out of his porthole.

[Methanolandbrats]

She didn't need more "supplies", she has enough on board to last another two weeks. She also had 3 different radios/phones, two different emergency beacons, along with some pretty sophisticated nav and survival equipment. 30 ft waves knocked the boat over several times until the mast broke, and with it the satellite antenna. She's probably more prepared than her brother was when he did it last year. Anyone who thinks she doesn't belong out there is talking out of his porthole. Ya, all that will do her a lot of good when she's pinned to the deck by criminals, killed and thrown overboard.

[Gnam]

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/1931/girlsailor.jpg

Man, that is as close to BFE as it gets.

At least she's not pregnant. ;)

[cameraman]

Ya, all that will do her a lot of good when she's pinned to the deck by criminals, killed and thrown overboard.

She is multiple thousands of miles from Somalia and the pirates, she was going from Cape Town to Australia through the openest of open oceans. There are no pirates or anybody else for that matter where she is sailing.

[devilmaster]

from the BBC article... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10291246.stm


But veteran Australian sailor Ian Kiernan echoed the concerns of others that she would be sailing through the Indian Ocean when weather conditions were at their most treacherous.

"I don't know what she's doing in the Southern Ocean as a 16 year old in the middle of winter," said Mr. Kiernan, who himself has sailed solo around the world. "Its just foolhardy."

[cameraman]

Maybe they'll find the København while they are looking for her...

[Elmo T]

Would she be more safe sailing through the Indian Ocean in winter if she was a 30YO male? :rolleyes:

Rough seas aside, she is probably safer at sea than walking alone through any town.

And her parents should be no more or no less responsible for the cost of the rescue than if it was any other sailor.

[Gnam]

Maybe they'll find the København while they are looking for her...

http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/polar/k%C3%B8benhavn.htm

There be monsters there.

[opinionated ow]

Would she be more safe sailing through the Indian Ocean in winter if she was a 30YO male? :rolleyes:

Rough seas aside, she is probably safer at sea than walking alone through any town.

And her parents should be no more or no less responsible for the cost of the rescue than if it was any other sailor.

The comment was more to do with the actual sea. The Indian is a bastard at the best of times and especially in winter when it and the Southern Ocean concoct the glorious winter most parts of this continent get. I can't be bothered to get out my ATPL met notes to explain that more but it is a big one.

[cameraman]

http://www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk/polar/k%C3%B8benhavn.htm

There be monsters there.

She was better looking than that model suggests..

http://www.wrecksite.eu/img/wrecks/kobenhavn_1928.jpg

[Methanolandbrats]

She is multiple thousands of miles from Somalia and the pirates, she was going from Cape Town to Australia through the openest of open oceans. There are no pirates or anybody else for that matter where she is sailing.

Oh really, no ****? Thanks a bunch for the geography lesson. Nobody ever gets hijacked on the open ocean.:shakehead

[cameraman]

Oh really, no ****? Thanks a bunch for the geography lesson. Nobody ever gets hijacked on the open ocean.:shakehead

Nobody gets hijacked where she is sailing. Nobody.

[Michaelhatesfans]

fight! fight! fight!

:laugh:

[dando]

Nobody gets hijacked where she is sailing. Nobody.

Never under estimate the Penguins of Madagascar. :gomer:

-Kevin

[Steve99]

And her parents should be no more or no less responsible for the cost of the rescue than if it was any other sailor.
I would say the same for anyone who sailed/hiked/climbed into dangerous conditions for no good reason. Why should the taxpayers have to pay for it all.

[Cam]

Nobody gets hijacked where she is sailing. Nobody.

Yup. Even Somalian pirates aren't stoopid enough to be in that part of the world at this time of year. Rounding the cape is one thing. Making it across that stretch of water is another.

[Elmo T]

I would say the same for anyone who sailed/hiked/climbed into dangerous conditions for no good reason. Why should the taxpayers have to pay for it all.

You have no idea. Nothing you see on a TV drama can match the stupidity of real life. :shakehead

[Cam]

I would say the same for anyone who sailed/hiked/climbed into dangerous conditions for no good reason. Why should the taxpayers have to pay for it all.

As one of the taxpayers that will be paying for this rescue, I would much rather my money go on something like this than rounding up the bloody asylum seekers that approach our waters, pretty much daily lately, in much less seaworthy vessels than the girl is in.

[grungex]

She's safe, so let her parents go get her. :irked:

[Insomniac]

Seems like a bad idea when a rogue wave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave) could come out of nowhere. But, if you know the risks and are willing to take them, it's your choice.

e: I remembered the rogue wave thing from a discovery special on "killer waves", then saw this link on drudge:

The boat is upright but the rigging is all down, which means she was probably rolled by a rogue wave.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/12/worldupdates/2010-06-11T192301Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-492259-4&sec=Worldupdates

[Cam]

Seems like a bad idea when a rogue wave (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogue_wave) could come out of nowhere. But, if you know the risks and are willing to take them, it's your choice.

Calculated stupidity? :\

[devilmaster]

Regardless of her age or gender....

I've sailed in some rough waters, and everyone i've ever sailed with that has rounded the horn or sailed the southern ocean have all said the same thing.

The middle of the North Atlantic in winter was child's play in comparison... and thats on a warship.

She could be a great sailor, perhaps been doing it since 5. Maybe Dad tought her well. But when others who have sailed solo around the world question her timing and choices, then honestly so will I.

[Methanolandbrats]

Nobody gets hijacked where she is sailing. Nobody.

OK Mr. Know-it-all, you got a teenage daughter? Put her in a ****ing boat and launch it and make sure the trip is all over the Global news so every lowlife on the water knows about it. Good idea? Sure it is. I have teenage daughters and I coached soccer for years, not one girl I have ever met is mature enough to do this. Oh, but I'm sure Miss Sailor Sparklepony has had a bottomless debit card since the day she fell out of her mom and she's been told how capable and special she is too. What a ****ing joke, it's nothing but a publicity stunt and ego stroker for her ****ing retarded parents. They make the typical "sport" parent look sane. Geebus Christ, anyone who thinks this is a "good" idea is an idiot.

[indyfan31]

You're comparing a teenager that you've never met, that's sailed half way around the world on her own, to a bunch of teenagers that play soccer. And you're calling Cameraman a knowitall.

[Cam]

Darwin didn't win this time. Rescued (http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/teenager-in-good-health-after-rescue-drama-20100612-y4bd.html?autostart=1).

[FTG]

It's five years before she's allowed to legally sip a beer. The parents are idiots. The Guinness Book of Records should get rid of those "youngest" records. Just encourages stupid parents to get their kids killed.

[opinionated ow]

It's five years before she's allowed to legally sip a beer. The parents are idiots. The Guinness Book of Records should get rid of those "youngest" records. Just encourages stupid parents to get their kids killed.

No I disagree entirely. By Australian law you're deemed responsible enough to move out of home, leave school (except in NSW), have sex and by default be a parent. Is that right? I don't know but I do know this-you can't wrap everyone in cotton wool, that leads to nanny state situations. IF the girl really wanted to do it and her parents backed her entirely (i.e. if it was HER decision) then I have no problem with her doing it.

The perfect example of that is Jessica Watson-the Aussie girl who did the same thing and finished it last month. She made the decision that she wanted to go AND she had the backing of her parents. They assembled a crack support team and they planned for every contingency. This girl Abby, I'm not convinced it was her decision to make the attempt, especially after I heard her father speak. But the main issue and the reason she needed to be rescued is because they didn't prepare properly. My limited meteorological knowledge that I gained studying for my Air Transport Pilot License taught me that most of Australia's crap winter weather comes from the Indian Ocean. To have a small yacht out there in the middle of winter is absolutely ludicrous and bordering on insane.

It all comes down to preparation. Jessica Watson was as prepared as possible and she did it safely. Her boat withstood mother nature's fiercest but her team and her chose the route wisely to factor for weather amongst other things. I'm not convinced that Abby's attempt was anywhere near as well planned.

[Indy]

I heart Darwin.

[Insomniac]

Calculated stupidity? :\

Sounds about right. Or simply reckless.

[devilmaster]

Just to add:



The perfect example of that is Jessica Watson-the Aussie girl who did the same thing and finished it last month.


Marty Still, an Australian who built the boat used by the teenage sailor Jessica Watson to successfully sail round the world earlier this year, said that Abby's team had chosen the wrong type of craft for the perilous crossing.

He said her boat had been built for speed, not safety, and would be extremely difficult for one person to sail.

http://www.windsorstar.com/girl+failed+trip+around+world+insane/3142907/story.html#ixzz0qgdts4ip

[edit] Btw, the reported seas at the time were 18-25 ft, with 35 mph winds.... or whats better known as a light gale (sea state 8) on the beaufort.

[oddlycalm]

Tempting fate at sea with a bad plan and the wrong equipment is certainly stacking the deck for a Darwinian outcome. After the chance of setting a record evaporated what was the point of pressing on...? Life is plenty challenging without taking yourself out of the game, but it's like moths to a flame.

We see it play out around here every year on the Columbia bar. Over the decades many large ships have sunk and boats small, medium and large too numerous to name have gone down. The land to the North is aptly named Cape Disappointment. The Coast Guard located their rescue boat rollover training program there because the conditions are so consistently awful. :) At high tide in good weather crossing the bar is like being on a pond, but low tide brings 15-30ft. waves and on most days there is a strong wind as well. In a real storm forget about it.

Every year there are idiots that go out on the worst days and attempt it. Some of these idiots are commercial captains who should know better.

oc

[indyfan31]

I'm curious, where was all this righteous indignance when she started FOUR MONTHS AGO?

[opinionated ow]

I'm curious, where was all this righteous indignance when she started FOUR MONTHS AGO?

I didn't even know she had pressed on once she stopped for repairs until such time as I heard that she needed rescuing. I did wonder when she was due to cross the Indian, but even two or three weeks earlier would have been a fair bit safer.

[BarillaGirl]

I'm curious, where was all this righteous indignance when she started FOUR MONTHS AGO?

I'm with you.

I think the answer is that it's not news until she succeeds spectacularly or fails miserably.

[indyfan31]

I didn't even know she had pressed on once she stopped for repairs until such time as I heard that she needed rescuing. I did wonder when she was due to cross the Indian, but even two or three weeks earlier would have been a fair bit safer.

Same here.

[Cam]

Same here.

Ya know what. We got this far and had to dock for repairs. GBR attempt in tatters. Bugger it. I'm heading straight for the equator and a cushy ride home.

[Don Quixote]

Reality TV show? :shakehead

sailor-abby-sunderlands-dad-signed-reality-doomed-voyage/ (http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/06/14/sailor-abby-sunderlands-dad-signed-reality-doomed-voyage/)

[G.]

Oldest g. heard about the 13 yr old that climbed Mt. Everest this year.



You try to provide for your family, and it's hard to say "no" sometimes.
This wasn't one of those times.:)

[indyfan31]

Reality TV show? :shakehead

sailor-abby-sunderlands-dad-signed-reality-doomed-voyage/ (http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2010/06/14/sailor-abby-sunderlands-dad-signed-reality-doomed-voyage/)

there goes any support I had for the project.

[Gnam]

A Bay Area sailing site makes several good points and has a lot of background on the story.
http://www.latitude38.com/lectronic/lectronicday.lasso?date=2010-06-14&dayid=439#Story4


Latitude 38

But the perceived sin most sailors are likely to find most difficult to forgive is that Abby, either by intent or ignorance, put her life at risk, which meant others would likely have to put their lives at risk, all to satisfy what's beginning to look more and more like a lust for fame and money. Starting the circumnavigation was bad enough. Restarting it in Cape Town, which put her in the Southern Ocean in winter, was more than many sailors can bear.