But Mom, he got to sail around the world!

TJ Simers was ripping this family a new one last year when she first launched on this...can't wait to see his response now.

 

I don't take up too much issue with the parents for allowing her to take on this adventure, however, I don't understand how this boat wasn't equipped with the *very* best technology to avoid losing all contact.

 

As a father, it's hard to argue that anyone who was sane and loved their child would allow them to do this.

Parents are supposed to protect their children, not encourage them to risk their life for fuck all.

 

And fuck the parents who allowed their kid to climb Everest.

Fuck them, and fuck anyone that gives them a column inch or a sound bite.

 

It's hard to say they are getting what they deserve...but.....ignorance and carelessness equal..this.

 

Please. I guess we should allow first graders to drive to school because it would be an adventure to see if they could get the car out of the parking lot. Nobody wants their kids strapped to a computer all day but exposing your daughter to 30 foot waves by herself is absurd. No different than leaving a baby in a car. Negligence is negligence.

I'm sure she could handle a boat fine off the coast of sunny San Diego but imagine the fear in this girl's head when she realized she was going to die.

Was the adventure worth it?

 

From reading the family's BLOG! ... http://soloround.blogspot.com/ ... it sounds like the problems affecting her could have hit the most-experienced solo sailor on the planet - engine problems combined with 20-25 foot seas.

It's possible her age might not have played a role.

 

I'm sure she can handle 30-foot waves, too, and has handled hundreds in the 6 months she has been at sea.

Given the spirit of adventure in these kinds of people, she probably was more angry than scared (cue the Lt. Dan storm scene from Forrest Gump). You cannot simply project your emotions on people who live by a completely different set of emotions. If she felt the same kind of fear as you, she never would have attempted the voyage in the first place.

Some people feel trapped and smothered and, in effect, not living if they AREN'T pushing the envelope. Oftentimes these are the people in the world who accomplish the most. We cannot really relate to them because, frankly, we are not wired like them.

 

Where is the line between doing something because we can and rescue squads chasing idiots around the globe at taxpayer expense? How much is too much of either?

 

BT, I get what you saying but this kid is 16. Is pushing the envelope is worth the risk of death at this age? Do you think when she is drowing she the adrenaline rush was worth it?