But Mom, he got to sail around the world!

You're the on making the claims, back them up.

What would you raise the age of driving to?

 

Okay, so two girls died flying planes once. Now can you explain how, from that, you extrapolate the odds of this girl dying in a sailing accident?

 

Then sign your kids up, if you have them, for flight lessons, mountain climbing on Everest and sailing the world or even across a great lake.

 

Driving is a lot different than sailing around the world.

But just to show how insane this boating thing is to me, would you let a 16-year-old drive by themself on a day trip to NYC or a city 500 or 600 miles away?

 

One has definitely killed a lot more kids.

 

depends on the kid, not all 16 year olds have the same maturity level. My initial reaction would be no but every 16 year old is different.

 

This seemingly simple concept gets completely overlooked, for some reason.

Does being a parent automatically convert everyone's perception into "MY KID!!!" and prevent them from understanding that other kids might be, you know, a little different?

 

Karl Wallenda started walking tight ropes when he was six and didn't hit the pavement until he was in his '70s. His family took it in stride:

"Life is being on the wire; everything else is just waiting."

--Rick Wallenda

 

I wouldn't let a kid drive to New York because

1) Driving dangerous, and I'm not at all convinced sailing is automatically more dangerous

2) Most of the fundamental errors in judgment teenagers make happen when they are dealing with other people. A big city is the worst place to be.

 

Here's a complete, updated story on the situation.

Note: The dad's name is misspelled, however. It should be Laurence. I know this because I looked at my nephew's FB page last night.

It was eerie, because I called up his "friends" list, and whose was the first name I saw on it? Yep, Abby Sunderland...

The rest of the family is on there, too. Based on what I know from my brother and his wife, this really is a good family with great, nice kids, and good parents who care about them.

This is not a Balloon Boy situation, at all.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/37621453/ns/today-today_people/?GT1=43001

 

Good parents who care about their kids would not let a 16-year-old attempt to sail around the world by him/herself.
They should be arrested for child endangerment.

 

O.K., I'll play.

Assuming the last post was not a joke, and knowing that the proper authorities were well aware of this trip before it ever launched (it wasn't a secret, you know), EXACTLY WHEN should the arrest be made?

--- When the parents give their consent for the trip?
--- When the boat leaves the dock?
--- When the first emergency beacon is signaled?