Is a modern day "Dove" realistic?

[mitch_connor]

If anyone has read the nonfiction book Dove, you know what I mean. A sixteen year old kid circumnavigates the world in 1965. Do you think in today's society, with entry fees and passports, that this would be realistic? It doesn't have to be a sixteen year old boy, even eighteen years old. Do you think the islanders would welcome him as much as in the book?

[imagine2frolic]

My fingers are crossed they would. In my heart, not my knees, I am still 16.....LOLOLOLOL

[Pblais]

Do you think in today's society, with entry fees and passports, that this would be realistic?

Given it was not realistic back then I suppose nothing has changed. Impossible things are done all the time. I've got boots older than 16! One thing that has not changed - being lucky is better than being good and it still counts.

Should anyone have 16 year old children bent on going around the world, I wouldn't send them off any time soon. They might come back!

[mitch_connor]

So you're saying it could easily be done? I'm pretty young and am considering this.

[imagine2frolic]

CAN YOU GET A NOTE FROM YOUR PARENTS SAYING IT IS OKAY TO GO?

[mitch_connor]

I didn't say I was sixteen,*****.

[imagine2frolic]

Well I guess you have no sense of humor either, but here is a thread on just going. Best wishes in your plans, and enjoy the read..........

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ten-13268.html

[Pblais]

So you're saying it could easily be done?

Of course it's not easy.

The part about being 16 only goes so far. You still need to know how to sail and navigate. That isn't something you can be lucky about. I suppose once you started the word would get out and the publicity would help get around political issues, but nothing gets around being 16. Not everyone 16 is able to manage that kind of physical and mental training.

Being 16 means you can believe you can do it. Wanting does not mean doing. It may mean preparing. Doing it means being fully prepared. The idea that just because you want to bad enough is mostly a load. Hopefully, if you really want something you can find the dedication to be prepared to really do it.

[mitch_connor]

All right, thanks dudes.

[Wotname]

Was possible in 1965, wasn't easy.
Is possible in 2007, won't be easy.
Problems will be different, thats all.
IMO

[Charlie]

If you decide to go good luck.. I should've done it when I was 18. I'm not that lucky though.

[Connemara]

Brit kid -- 14 at the time -- completed solo Atlantic crossing last year and now plans circumnavigation.

see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Perham


Granted his Dad was in another boat not so very far away, but ....


Connemara

[liberty16]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Was possible in 1965, wasn't easy.
Is possible in 2007, won't be easy.
Problems will be different, thats all.
IMO

Certainly won't be easy in 2007, since it's 2008.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by mitch_connor

If anyone has read the nonfiction book Dove, you know what I mean. A sixteen year old kid circumnavigates the world in 1965. Do you think in today's society, with entry fees and passports, that this would be realistic? It doesn't have to be a sixteen year old boy, even eighteen years old. Do you think the islanders would welcome him as much as in the book?

First, a few minor points: 1 - Robin Lee Graham did not circumnavigate in 1965, rather, he began his circumnavigation in late 1965. When he sailed back into Los Angeles Harbor almost five years later he was a 21 year old man, in every sense; 2 - Any "islanders" one would encounter would, for the most part, be welcoming if they are approached with respect. A young, solo sailor would probably be more likely to be hassled in more densely populated areas; 3 - The passport and fees thing is just one of those things that one must cope with, especially in a post-9/11 world.

You may not be aware that after meeting Patty, his future wife, somewhere in the South Pacific, IIRC, he lost a great deal of his determination to circumnavigate. It happens. (All males past puberty, raise your hands if you recognize this phenomenon.) It was the firm "encouragement" of his father that got him to move along. When he reached South Africa, he married Patty, and I suspect that knowing she would be waiting at the finish line greatly helped him to continue his voyage.

Also not to be overlooked is the fact that National Geographic magazine was regularly documenting his journey, and that his 24-foot Lapworth sloop Dove was replaced by a 33-foot Allied Luders sloop in the Caribbean. Nor should one ignore the fact that he and his wife made a home and life together in Montana after the circumnavigation was completed.

So it can still be done, without a doubt. But in my mind, number 2, above, is critical - a solo sailor of any age will do best if he approaches others with respect. In my view, calling a complete stranger a moron leads me to believe that you, perhaps, might find this challenging.

TaoJones

[44'cruisingcat]

If anything, I would have thought it would be easier today. GPS, better sail handling systems, better communications..... more expensive though.