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Old 22-08-2009, 12:02   #76
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I am afraid that whilst I will celebrate the first time it is done, subsequent attempts are just people seeking their 15 minutes of fame - perhaps they should sign up for Big Brother instead

Alternatively I could perhaps seek sponsorship for the first non-stop circumnavigation whilst wearing a red shirt
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Old 22-08-2009, 12:08   #77
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I too am against more government intrusion into our lives. I am more of a libertarian than a Democrat or Republican. I though completely disagree with the irresponsible continuation of breaking this record by younger and younger sailors until one of them dies. Part of being a libertarian is accepting responsibility for ones actions and parents are responsible for their children until they turn 18. If a parent sends their kid off to sea unsupervised, the parent is responsible if the child dies, not the child. Its not a child's choice if they want to go or not, its a parents choice and their responsibility if something happens to their child.
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Old 22-08-2009, 14:04   #78
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I'm in perfect agreement with that but the question is who shall decide the safe age to do this. That is a very slippery slope I will gladly detour.
i2f
I agree, and would suggest anyone trying to prevent the Honorable Mr. Saito from doing it again wear body armor durring the atempt.
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Old 22-08-2009, 17:25   #79
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Quote:
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I too am against more government intrusion into our lives. I am more of a libertarian than a Democrat or Republican. I though completely disagree with the irresponsible continuation of breaking this record by younger and younger sailors until one of them dies. Part of being a libertarian is accepting responsibility for ones actions and parents are responsible for their children until they turn 18. If a parent sends their kid off to sea unsupervised, the parent is responsible if the child dies, not the child. Its not a child's choice if they want to go or not, its a parents choice and their responsibility if something happens to their child.
A fellow Libertarian here too David. As such, I obviously must agree completely about the Responsibility and Accountability, if something happens then the parents should have to answer some pretty big questions in a formal and not exceptionally friendly room. I do not believe our legislators need to waste time, money and hot air making more laws. There are already far too many on the books that can be used. When a kid finally dies in one of these attempts (I too, believe its only a matter of time, age and experience level may well not even play a factor, statistically, it has to happen sooner or later) then it needs to be determined if the parents were negligent, was age and lack of experience the primary factor in loss of life? If a jury of their peers concludes 'Yes' then that jury of their peers can determine what punishment is fit.
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Old 22-08-2009, 19:20   #80
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Seen Pictures of the guy...agree completely;

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David M
I'm in perfect agreement with that but the question is who shall decide the safe age to do this. That is a very slippery slope I will gladly detour.
i2f
I agree, and would suggest anyone trying to prevent the Honorable Mr. Saito from doing it again wear body armor durring the atempt.
Not trying to take the thread off topic (further), however this guy (yes, at HIS 'age') is NOT someone I'd choose to tangle with;
Not to mention he'd have You on Your butt looking up w/1 of those fancy leg sweeps before You could snap Your fingers. The guy can walk around on his hands for 15 minutes at a stretch...says it "keeps him in 'touch' with his balance, for sailing"...I'd be lucky to pull off 15 seconds...at almost half his age!

Further agree with other posters that that this continuous seeking of breaking age records (in the youthful direction), While Christian went to the entertaining extreme is a recipe for disaster. We're parents and responsible for our children, because they aren't smart or experienced enough to make 'adult' or intelligent choices for themselves.
People don't contemplate (or do so "enough") the fact that the sea is no place for inexperience or poor choices. There is no forgiveness w/60' seas, and they do happen, in places far from land. It's another world out there then...a violent world that doesn't care who built Your vessel, or where You were heading. Survival becomes of the fittest, most experienced, smartest and sometimes, simply the "luckiest".
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Old 27-08-2009, 16:17   #81
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Heard on CNN today…It appears a Dutch 13 year old is now ready to set sail on a solo circumnavigation, but luckily the Dutch Social Services have filed a restraining order preventing the child from leaving port and are condemning the parents.

As much as this might offend someone’s idea about civil liberties, I totally agree that sometimes children need to be protected from their parents, no matter how well meaning and adventurous their support might be.

I believe that setting a 16 year age minimum would take the craziness out of these totally frivolous attempts
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Old 27-08-2009, 17:54   #82
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Here's a link to the story (w/a bit of "responsible parenting" flair)
As 13-year-old fights to sail the world alone, other parents are left to navigate balance between helping and hovering - St. Petersburg Times

She's wanted to "do it" her whole life...since she was 10...now she's 13 & "ready to go"?
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Old 27-08-2009, 21:35   #83
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I took my kids on a circumnavigation when they were teenagers, but I wouldn't have let them do a solo circumnavigation at the same age. They were inexperienced, and I thought long and hard about how I would feel if they went overboard during our voyage.

There is a difference between a sailing stunt and a voyage of discovery, and age of the sailor is not what separates one from the other.

I don't want nanny governments and social services to tell me what I can do or my children can do. At the same time, every day I meet incompetent parents with immature offspring who are members of the Life Long Disoriented. Those folks need help to just get through the day. Without social services, the children clearly suffer.

I have the feeling that I'm seeing more sailing stunts and less voyages of discovery with these young sailors. It's not always clear.

If I had a single characteristic that I used to judge who should go and who shouldn't go, it would come down to mental toughness. Solo sailors must be mentally tough. They have to be able to persevere in extreme situations. I don't know how you assess that skill in a teenager. If they are mentally tough, their chances for survival are probably good. If they don't have it, they shouldn't go.
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Old 27-08-2009, 21:54   #84
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Totally agree Dave.

Mental toughness takes time and a whole gambit of experiences to keep things in perspective. It is not simply akin to developing calluses on your fingertips when learning to play guitar.

A 13 year old kid is going thru a whole bunch of hormonal changes (especially a girl) and needs companionship and counseling at this stage of their development….Not stressful isolation

The girl’s divorced sailor father has custody and the mother is not involved which makes me wonder what issues the girl is trying to escape from.
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Old 28-08-2009, 10:02   #85
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17 year old Mike Perham was met by HMS Mersey and given congratulations from the royal navy's highest ranking officer upon breaking the Youngest to solo circumnavigate by two months. 17 year old Zac Sunderlund was met by the US Coast Guard, boarded and searched well south of the border and asked if his parents knew what he was doing as he neared completion of his circumnavigation. Quite a difference in attitude and awareness.
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Old 28-08-2009, 13:17   #86
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The Brits are an Island nation with good manners!
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Old 28-08-2009, 14:26   #87
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the ultimate irony

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I have the feeling that I'm seeing more sailing stunts and less voyages of discovery with these young sailors. It's not always clear.
...would be to circle the globe without really experiencing culture other than your own. Even more sad when a 16 year old does it than one of us.
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Old 29-08-2009, 06:50   #88
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...would be to circle the globe without really experiencing culture other than your own. Even more sad when a 16 year old does it than one of us.
Amen,
Travel the world,
experience nothing.

There's a testimonial to "racing".
How to do "something" great and gain almost nothing from it.

There's more to life than breaking records. & every 1 You set WILL BE BROKEN...just ask Mark Spitz.
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Old 29-08-2009, 09:42   #89
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The Brits are an Island nation with good manners!

I will have to second that - London is one big city where folks will take time out of their day to stop and give directions, advice, etc. unselfishly.
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Old 29-08-2009, 21:40   #90
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Quote:
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Heard on CNN today…It appears a Dutch 13 year old is now ready to set sail on a solo circumnavigation, but luckily the Dutch Social Services have filed a restraining order preventing the child from leaving port and are condemning the parents.

As much as this might offend someone’s idea about civil liberties, I totally agree that sometimes children need to be protected from their parents, no matter how well meaning and adventurous their support might be.

I believe that setting a 16 year age minimum would take the craziness out of these totally frivolous attempts
Pelagic, you don't know the details. The girl was born and raised aboard the parents yacht during cruising (incl. a world circumnavigation I believe), plus she has the Dutch sailors blood running through her veins. Kids that grow up aboard like that can breath under water and climb the rigging without bosuns chairs. She has got her own yacht and will probably put any of us to shame out there!

Also, it's the girl that wants it... she wants it so bad that her parents agreed. It is not the parents pushing her to do it for some reason.

I don't know the girl, but I have seen girls her age that could do it, and the technology today makes it much safer than it used to be. I sailed my fathers yacht at sea at that age, many Dutch kids do this, and I don't mean just taking the tiller/wheel a bit. The parents are the passengers, the kids sail the boat. It's the Dutch way of keeping them occupied ;-)

cheers,
Nick.
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