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Don't know if you've been following the story about Abby Sunderland, but she's a local 16-year-old who just had her attempted solo circumnavigation of the globe cut short due to a bad storm. There's been a lot of discussion around the media about whether or not parents should let a 16-year-old girl sail a 40" boat around the world by herself. Some are calling it child endangerment. Others are saying "good for her", and bemoaning the fact that there aren't more kids like her these days.
Personally, I'm with her parents on this one. I think if a kid that age has the skill, experience, maturity, and determination to take on something like this, all power to them. Yep, the kid could die. And the same fate could happen walking to school or driving to the mall. She's grown up on and around boats. She's probably a better sailor than most of her peers are drivers, yet millions of kids that age drive every day. (I was driving solo across the state of New Mexico at her age, and with my parents' blessing.) She had state of the art equipment, and she did all the right things when her boat became crippled. She handled the crisis like a well-experience sailor would. My hat's off to her.
What's your take?
Personally, I'm with her parents on this one. I think if a kid that age has the skill, experience, maturity, and determination to take on something like this, all power to them. Yep, the kid could die. And the same fate could happen walking to school or driving to the mall. She's grown up on and around boats. She's probably a better sailor than most of her peers are drivers, yet millions of kids that age drive every day. (I was driving solo across the state of New Mexico at her age, and with my parents' blessing.) She had state of the art equipment, and she did all the right things when her boat became crippled. She handled the crisis like a well-experience sailor would. My hat's off to her.
What's your take?