13-year old girl wants to sail around the world...alone

[Cataboo]

My little niece works for a center that gives shelter to young girls that are victims of sex/people traffickers. Believe me, a 13 year old blond virgin, is excellent merchandise.

Isn't one of the primary motives of the pirates to kidnap for ransom? I'm assuming they would think they could fetch quite a sum for a 13 year old girl.

This sort of reminds me of 10-15 years back where there was a 7 or 8 year old girl that was trying to be the first 7-8 year old to fly across the US (with her father & coach in the plane). But anyways, there was a crash and they all died...

And her mother was tearfully proclaiming that the girl had died doing what she loved to do and what she wanted to do... Really, a 7-8 year old had independently made it her life's goal to become the first 7-8 year old to fly across the US?

I think most kids can dream about sailing around the world, and don't need to dream about being the youngest one ever to do it. I think adults plant those types of ideas.

but anyways, if it were my daughter - if she was annoying and all teenager like, hell yeah, I'd let her sail around the world. Maybe she'd be over her angst before she got back. But if she had angst, she probably wouldn't want to sail around the world.

There's a lot of people that don't let their 13 year olds stay home alone - we definitely don't let our 13 years olds live alone for 2 years... and if parents did leave their 13 year olds to live alone, they'd probably be thrown in jail and have their children taken away from them... So, I really don't think she should be allowed to do it now... And I really don't see how it would be anti-climatic to make her wait till she was 16-18 to let her sail around the world solo... I mean, she's still getting the opportunity to take 2 years to sail around the world!

[channlluv]

As the mother of an 11-year-old much like Sarah's 13-year-old, I have to agree with her. As I was reading, I was thinking, "Oh, h*ll no."

I just came off a two-month road trip with my daughter where she and I drove across the country and back together. We did it last summer, too. I highly recommend this kind of bonding trip, and if we were sailors, I might consider a long voyage with just the two of us, but to let her go off alone? Capable sailor or no, she'd need to stop in ports along the way, and those ports are rife with exactly the kind of people I try to shield her from. I don't even want to think about what pirates would do to a young girl alone on the open sea.

No. No. No.

Roxy

[Cataboo]

Sounds like she's abandoning her dutch citizenship in an attempt to get away from their authority:
http://trueslant.com/bartbrouwers/20...ail-the-world/

[mtomm]

I don't know. Skipping two years of girl teenage angst.

Where do we sign up?

[withm]

In 1985 Tania Abei did it at age 18 (though I had thought she was younger but apparently not.) Her story was chronicled in Cruising World magazine and as I recall was fraught with "stuff" happening. She eventually wrote a book about her adventure, called "Maiden Voyage."

I think a really really gutsy, and able 18 yr old is pushing the envelope here. A 13 yr old? This sounds more like an adolescent's motto - "I want... I want."

Tania's articles were fascinating. Just reading them fulfilled my wanderlust. There is a LOT of ALONE time on a boat.... After the excitement wears off, and the first storm on the open ocean, I'd expect many potential round-the-world sailors to call it a day and limp home.

A 13 yr old? Sheesh. I'd have to say NO if it were my daughter.
=======================
From Amazon - Reviews of "Maiden Voyage"
From Publishers Weekly
Challenged by her German-Swiss father, an 18-year-old New York City bicycle messenger in 1988 became the first American woman, and the youngest person, to sail alone around the world. In this jaunty account of her journey, she veers between the perils of solo sailing, her relationships with her separated parents and the death of her mysterious mother. Aebi, writing with freelancer Brennan, reveals her lack of sailing knowledge and experience, describes the heavy seas and weather she endured, her numerous problems with malfunctioning equipment, the countries, people and cats she encountered and a sympathetic French-Swiss whose boat sometimes accompanied her own. The story is so compelling that sailing enthusiasts will read avidly on to the triumphant finish. Literary Guild alternate; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This is the story of an 18-year-old New York City girl and her exciting solo circumnavigation of the globe on a 26-foot sloop with only a cat for company. Aebi had little previous experience, so most of what she learned was "on the job" and from people she met en route. One of the most appealing aspects of this particular single-handed sailing account is Aebi's naivete and the caring response that she encountered all over the world. Her 27,000-mile, three-year trek is usually attempted only by practiced sailors, and her survival was achieved by pluck, inventiveness, helping hands, and a good deal of luck. Armchair sailors will cheer and dream a little and veterans may only shake their heads. Recommended.
- Susan Ebershoff-Coles, Indianapolis-Marion Cty.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

[andtckrtoo]

Wow... One of the companies I worked for brought in Neal Petersen for a motivational speaker. (he wrote Journey of a Hope Merchant). He was a poor kid from South Africa (mixed race, I believe), who managed to build himself a boat and enter one of the world's prestigious solo around the world races. Man, the stories he told about being on the sea alone - the things that happened to his boat that he had to repair, the storms he had to deal with and the sheer loneliness of being that long by oneself - and he was in a race. I just could not imagine wanting my daughter to experience that.

My daughter is 16 and she's intelligent, strong, resourceful, creative ... But sailing across the Atlantic and Pacific is a far cry from sailing across the North Sea. If anything happens, she could be days from rescue. And the pirates - oh she's a juicy little tidbit. Heck, there's a reason I won't let my 16 year old walk in areas of downtown San Jose by herself - let alone purposely navigate her way through pirates?! I know the alternative is Cape of Good Hope which is very treacherous but seriously.

[kermit]

I believe that this girl is as mature as any 18 year old. Growing up on a sailboat makes her responsible and mature for her age. My husband and I have spent time sailing in the caribbean and these sailing kids are amazing! I would let her go, and knowing the technology available today, she is only a phone call or GPS track away.

[Biciclista]

ok, ok, i stand corrected. I was just thinking if i was a Somali pirate I would be looking for huge tankers and rich cruise ships, I might not even care about a little sailboat. But I guess I get tired of people thinking 13 year old girls need more protection than 13 year old boys. 13 year old boys would be good meat too.

I wouldn't let either a boy or a girl of mine set sail FOR TWO YEARS at that age. She might be the greatest sailor in the world, but she's still a child and lacks the maturity to make good decisions in life and death situations.

[kenyonchris]

NFW.
NFW.
NFW.
No matter if my kid is a rocket scientist, a rockstar, and has the sailing skills of Captain Bly. It is the OCEAN. You make a mistake, you get sick, you encounter lusty pirates, you are vulnerable as an ADULT.
NFW, and I believe in letting them take risks and become independent. But not this. This is why there ARE laws, because parents like this actually CONSIDER letting a CHILD take such risks. TWO YEARS!! NFW.
Just FWIW, a friend of mine and his family sailed this route. It was incredibly risky but they had THREE competent, skilled sailors in the wife, husband, and teenage son. They went equipped with weapons for the very real possibility of pirates, and the whole thing took almost three years to plan. Listening to them plan it out, I can't imagine a child doing this alone.
NFW. DId I say that?

[Cataboo]

I believe that this girl is as mature as any 18 year old. Growing up on a sailboat makes her responsible and mature for her age. My husband and I have spent time sailing in the caribbean and these sailing kids are amazing! I would let her go, and knowing the technology available today, she is only a phone call or GPS track away.

a phone call or a gps track is still a long ways away when it's in the middle of the ocean and you have to call the right person to manage to divert the closest ships or helicopters to go find her.

[Jones]

I have a 13 year old daughter and she can be amazing: responsible, kind, organized and mature. She can also be completely dependant and irresponsible, you never know what you will get with a 13 year old girl.
There is no way I would ever let my daughter do anything that would take her away for 2 years she still needs parents everyday.

[Kiwi Stoker]

As a New Zealander (the citizenship she is trying to get) I am really upset that she thinks our government and social agencies would be so stupid to allow her to do this.

The NZ government denied permission to a solo canoeist/kayaker who wanted to go around Antarctica on his own as the NZ government would have to pay to bail him out in a rescue mission if he departed from NZ shores.

It puts NZ in a bad light....

[BikeDutchess]

My goodness, and here I'm worrying about letting my newly-licensed daughter drive herself 5 miles to school...

I thought the comment someone made in response to this article was right on:

She shouldn’t go — not only for safety reasons and questions about the judgment of a 14-year-old, no matter how good a sailor, but for the sheer fact that children (and she is still a child) should learn that you have to wait for some things. Why do we push everything earlier and earlier so we have 2-year-olds with art in prominent galleries and 14-year-olds crossing oceans? What’s the hurry?

Although I have to admit Dove is still one of my favorite books...

[Tuckervill]

I would just like to say that we're not talking about ANY of your real or hypothetical children.

We're talking about a girl with a very specific set of skills, resources and experiences. She was born while her parents were spending 7 years sailing around the world together and living at sea. She has been asking to do it since she was 6 years old. I read up on it, and there is actually ANOTHER 13-year-old girl from Australia about to take off on her own voyage around the world.

These are not just any girls. They are unique, in unique circumstances (rich, maybe?). How could they NOT do what they were destined to do?

I always think it is interesting that a parent "lets" a child do something out of the ordinary that others always think that it hasn't been thought through or researched, etc. Do you think they haven't thought about pirates? Schooling? Repairing the boat?

I certainly wouldn't want to be the one who stood in their way, on some totally assuagable and compensable fear.

Karen

[Cataboo]

Are they actually rich? I got the impression that the Netherlands girl has sponsors that are willing to pay for her trip... Since it's going to be a "record"
chances are, those sponsors won't be there when she's 18 or so... Personally, I think sponsorship of those records are irresponsible... after this girl or the australian 13 year old does it, is it okay for a special 11 year old with a specific set of skills who was destined to do it, to set off alone to sail around the world?

Is she actually destined to sail a boat around the world while she's 13 or is she just destined to sail a boat around the world at some point? I don't question that she knows how to sail, I just question why when she's 13?