But Mom, he got to sail around the world!

Sadly, I think it may.

 

So would I. So would almost everyone else.

That's why we basically just exist. We don't really live. Wish I had whatever it takes to live a little more. Most of us acquire that about 30 seconds after we are diagnosed with a terminal disease.

 

So if you don't risk your life sailing around the world at age 16, you're not living?

 

Better get busy sailin' or get busy dyin'.

 

I really don't understand that philosophy, BTE. There are many ways one can take risks, whether it be in love or navigating the ocean. I took the biggest risk of my life this past year, one that will effect me forever. And I didn't need to strap on a life vest and put a sea captain's life in danger in order to do it. And if I had made this same decision when I was 16, I guarantee you it would not have worked out...

 

So you're not Abby Sunderland. She's not you. That's the point.

She's doing what SHE wants to do. It's HER life. And her family supports what SHE wants to do.

If you had wanted to do something at 16 and your parents had supported you or prevented you, that would have been for you and your family to decide. Nobody else.

 

Well, obviously Care Bear, you're not special like Abby Sunderland. :

 

And as for the sea captain, he was incredibly brave to do what he did. Guess what? Nobody forced him to do it. Abby Sunderland did not put his life in danger. He put his own life in danger.

If he had decided the seas were too rough to attempt a rescue, he didn't have to do it at that moment. Abby was not in any real danger - her boat was not sinking. If it was going to sink, it would have done so long before he got there.

The captain could have waited, either for the seas to calm down or for more assistance. But he didn't wait. Instead, he did what he felt he wanted to do. And I'm willing to bet it's a story he'll tell, probably with a huge smile on his face, for the rest of his life.

 

Obviously not. I really can't believe there is a debate over this. I can't wrap my mind around it. Not being haughty. Or scornful.

 

And there is your answer. We each have our own set of boundaries ("I will try THIS, but I would never try THAT.").

Some people's boundaries are just, well, more broad.

 

Really? She's a 16-year-old KID. Teenagers want to do all kinds of shit that is stupid, reckless, dangerous, etc. Parents exist, in large part, to protect their KIDS and keep them safe. There's a huge difference between supporting a child and letting a child do whatever he/she wants.

 

Now you're being ridiculous.

As in all emergencies at sea, the nearest boat has a (moral, if not legal) obligation to respond.

It's not like he's going to leave her there to die.

But professionals, be they Park Rangers, members of the ski patrol, or maritimers, don't appreciate it when unprepared amateurs take unnecessary risks that require them to risk their lives to save that of the amateur.