Teenage Sailor Feared Lost at Sea

[NUance]

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A 16-year-old Southern California girl attempting a solo sail around the world was feared in trouble Thursday in the frigid, heaving southern Indian Ocean after her emergency beacons began signaling and communication was lost.

 

Abby Sunderland's family was talking with U.S. and international governments about organizing a search of the remote ocean between southern Africa and Australia, family spokesman Christian Pinkston said.

 

Conditions can quickly become perilous for any sailor exposed to the elements in that part of the world.

 

"We've got to get a plane out there quick," said Pinkston, who was in close contact with Sunderland's family in Thousand Oaks.

 

"They are exhausting every resource to try to mobilize an air rescue including discussions with the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Coast Guard and various international rescue organizations," he said.

 

Abby last communicated with her family at 4 a.m. PDT and reported 30-foot swells but was not in distress, Pinkston said.

 

An hour later the family was notified that her emergency beacons had been activated, and there was no further communication. Pinkston said the beacons were manually activated. link

[Nexus]

Hope for the best.

[T_O_Bull]

Say a prayer for Abby.

T_O_B

[RockyMountainOySker]

Terribly scary. If I remember correctly her brother was the youngest person to sail around the world for a couple months before someone else did it within the last year. She would have beaten the record had she finished.

 

Very sad.

 

(If the OP says everything I just mentioned, sorry I didn't read it)

[Landlord]

What is the desire to have their children sail around the world by themselves?

 

 

This is extremely sad, but I don't really see sound reason why it should have been possible to go bad in the first place?

[Husker_Power]

She has been found!:

CANBERRA, Australia – A 16-year-old California girl who was feared lost at sea while sailing solo around the world has been found alive and well, adrift in the southern Indian Ocean as rescue boats head toward her damaged yacht, officials said.

More: link

[M I K E]

Good to see that she's ok, but don't rich people have better things to do than fund dangerous round-the-world trips for their kids?

[knapplc]

Good to see that she's ok, but don't rich people have better things to do than fund dangerous round-the-world trips for their kids?

 

Exactly! This is a foolish risk for this child. Are children so worthless that we let them do something so dangerous?

[T_O_Bull]

I have thought about this long and hard. I would have a hard time letting a child of mine do this but I have also come to the conclusion that I don't want to raise flowers in a green house, I want to raise pine trees in a storm. When I grew up a ball and a bat were never far from my reach, my bike or the bus got me to where ever I wanted to go and in the fall we played 2 on 2, 3 on 3,

or how ever many we had football on a side yard at the elementary school that served the neighborhood. Two TV stations and no such thing as a video game. We got up in the morning ate breakfast and went out and played. Kids today spend too much time with game players or on the internet that is rather than being a marvelos source of information is unfortunately dominated by porn and a$$holes that want to do nothing other than infect your PC with a virus. Abby and kids like her are the leaders of tomorrow and and I salute all the parents that have faith in their kids and know that they will succeed.

T_O_B

[I See Red People]

I have thought about this long and hard. I would have a hard time letting a child of mine do this but I have also come to the conclusion that I don't want to raise flowers in a green house, I want to raise pine trees in a storm. When I grew up a ball and a bat were never far from my reach, my bike or the bus got me to where ever I wanted to go and in the fall we played 2 on 2, 3 on 3,

or how ever many we had football on a side yard at the elementary school that served the neighborhood. Two TV stations and no such thing as a video game. We got up in the morning ate breakfast and went out and played. Kids today spend too much time with game players or on the internet that is rather than being a marvelos source of information is unfortunately dominated by porn and a$$holes that want to do nothing other than infect your PC with a virus. Abby and kids like her are the leaders of tomorrow and and I salute all the parents that have faith in their kids and know that they will succeed.

T_O_B

an interesting take, TOB.