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What say you? Would you permit your child to sail around the world solo when still in high school?

My answer: depends on the kid. Abby Sunderland has proved herself more than capable of successfully making the trip and neither she nor her parents should be admonished for this journey.

My daughter? No. By the time she was 16, I would trust my daughter with cooking and taking care of animals but navigation - at least at her present path - is not one of her strong suits.

RUIT -

It sounds like she had the sailing skills, but I am hearing reports that this boat was too small and not really up to snuff for this kind of trip. Supposedly she had equipment problems and had to dock in Mexico for repairs? Have you heard any of this?

True dat. She lost any hope of the record at that point. I,m with RUIT-wouldn't dream of allowing my daughter to do it even if she had proven herself a great sailor and the equipment was right. But no real problem with those who do- the 13 yr old who just summited Everest is another example of this trend. I do think a lot of the reason is the parents' egos but that kid made Everest so who's to say he didn't want it as badly as dad and mom?

I've taken my daughters climbing, certainly a high risk activity, but only with a competent guide and me along which decreased the risk significantly.
Out there in thousands of miles of ocean? Nope- wait til you're 18 and sponsored!

The parents' decision either shows irresponsibility or an incredible amount of trust in their daughter. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say it's the latter. If I had a child of that age and that ambition and I actually agreed to let her go, I would only do so if I had contacts all over the world so that at no point would she be more than a day's travel away from somebody I know. Way too many variables than can be taken into account for one person in a rather small boat to accomplish this feat, so emergency help must be available at any given time.

That being said, I was cheering for Abby from the beginning. How can you not be cheering for somebody with such ambition?

I have no problem with her (or anyone capable) going.

As for the size of her boat, I read that it was a 40' yacht. The one that the Australian girl Jessica Watson sailed around the world was 35'. Besides, I would think there's a limit as to the size of boat that a single person could navigate.

The part I DON'T understand, and maybe someone with sailing experience could explain it to me, is why she would do the trip in the winter. Wouldn't the seas be calmer in warmer weather? Although I guess then you'd have to worry about hurricanes.

I don't know. I just thought it was weird to go in winter.

I can see both sides on this. I grew up sailing on Lake Erie. Lake Erie is a shallow lake and the conditions could change anytime. As a sixteen year old, I could have sailed across from Erie to Port Dover by myself, but only if the lake conditons were not at a small craft warning.

To do what she was attempting, would have been unthinkable for me. The conditons she had to experience or prepare for are nothing like a Great Lake.

Glad she is fine and hopefully she can achive her dream.

I'm going to go with a "never" on this one. As much as I love teenagers (in a platonic and professional way), I can't think of a single one, even of the "more-mature-than-most" variety, that has the cognitive development to handle a trip like this on his or her own...

With a guide boat next to him or her the whole way? Maybe... A big maybe... But solo? Never.

Not to get off topic..... but Saxy, heard this story on All Things Considered and thought of you.
Students With Autism Learn How To Succeed At Work

It is about the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. Is it part of the public system in Baltimore or private?

Then there's the boy who wears record 215 pairs of undies.

"In the wake of 16-year-old Abby Sunderland's dramatic rescue , it seems kids are looking for safer, more realistic goals. Case in point: over the weekend, a 10-year-old Westchester, New York boy attempted to break the world record for wearing the most pairs of underwear at one time." CNN

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/2 ... index.html

Tech83 wrote:Then there's the boy who wears record 215 pairs of undies.

"In the wake of 16-year-old Abby Sunderland's dramatic rescue , it seems kids are looking for safer, more realistic goals. Case in point: over the weekend, a 10-year-old Westchester, New York boy attempted to break the world record for wearing the most pairs of underwear at one time." CNN

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/video/2 ... index.html

That's AWESOME.

As for KKI, it is private, but does partner with a few other schools in the area. I think that it is linked to the Hopkins Hospital system, but don't quote me on that. I had a friend who worked at the Institute and loved what it did for kids.