Thoughts, prayers, good vibes or whatever floats your boat to Abby Sunderland!

[cbayer]

Courageous, alive, thoughtful, motivated and loved by everyone who knows her and many who do not - this is the description of Abby.

May she be safe.

:toast:

[Mz Pip]

1. ...

[NYC_SKP]

2. Aye, aye!

:thumbsup:

May she be found safe and sound, sweet girl.

:toast:

[gateley]

3. Yes. Let's not give up hope. nt

[david13]

4. She will be found safe, but wet and weary. Maybe a few bruises,

but this young lady knows what to do out there. It's just a question of time. The Australians are well known for their rescues out there. It is a great distance, but already they are moving.
dc

[joe black]

6. Gods speed to all.

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Any word since they said she'd lost contact and set off some alarms?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. For Abby Sunderland!

May she be safe...

And found, very soon.

:toast:

[depakid]

8. Unfortunately, it was going to take a tragedy for this sort of nonsense to stop

Hopefully, this one will end without a loss of life.

[david13]

9. Not sure what you mean by that. People of all ages, genders, etc.

have sailed the seas from the beginning of time, and will continue to do so, until the end of time.
So be it.
dc

[depakid]

10. This business of parents and teenagers wanting to be "the youngest" to do some dangerous thing

Like sail around the world solo or climb Mt. Everest, etc. when they ought to be in school doing what teenagers do.

[liberation]

11. There is a big difference between "sailing," and "circumventing the world alone."

It took humans a few thousand years of sailing until we were able to sail around the globe, and the first time half of the people with far more experience and respect for the oceans did not even make it.

I hope mother nature was merciful with this kid and she is found safe and sound just having learned her lesson, shame on her parents for not teaching her the proper respect.

[david13]

38. Shame on you and your parents for not teaching you the proper

respect for her and her parents.
If you don't fail, you are not trying enough.
A life of never trying anything is no life at all.
And do not say she is not old enough.
You are not god and you do not have the jurisdiction to say how old she has to be. Her parents do, and did, and they were right.
Respect means you should respect her ambition, her striving to do something.
What is not respectable is a goofball kid who sits around the house and never does anything.
dc

[mopinko]

14. oh come now

such extraordinary families deserve our thanks and support. i have an extraordinary kid or 2, but not like this kid. any human that wants to test their limits deserves respect.
kids like this are not getting the appropriate education guaranteed to all children. being gifted does not count. bad parents get beat up pretty good around here. parents that raise extraordinary children in an extraordinary manner at least deserve not getting beat up on.

hope she is safe and sound. from what i have read about her, she is well equipped to handle this, and will, no doubt, take home a large lesson of the sort that they do not teach in school.

[depakid]

17. IMO such parents ought to be looked at by Child Protective Services

[Pithlet]

19. I agree.

Way too dangerous. It was ridiculously irresponsible. But now that it's done I hope she is found safe.

[LibDemAlways]

20. Yep. She's a minor. Her parents are responsible for

for her well being. Sending her out by herself to circumnavigate the globe is, at the least, foolhardy and stupid. I hope she survives.

[depakid]

22. Her born again Christian father prayed about the decision & concluded the Lord was in control

Her father, noting that the family is born-again Christian, told the paper they had carefully considered and prayed about the decision. He said he provided guidance, preparation and encouraged a spirit of adventure.

Sailing the ocean can involve periods of "sheer terror," he acknowledged. But ultimately, he said, "The Lord is in control of everything."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0611-abby-sunderland-20100611,0,5376286,full.story

[LibDemAlways]

28. I know. "Let go, let God." Neat trick to absolve

himself of responsibility for her ordeal. I'm glad she's been found safe, but it doesn't make her parents any less culpable. I have a 17 year old daughter. I don't let her ride around on the freeway by herself! What the hell is wrong with these people?

[mopinko]

27. i think your standard might require all parents of children who let them

play high school football, and perhaps other sports, to be examined by the government for fitness. kids die every year at the hands of the coach.

i think your attitude of not taking risks, or allowing kids to take risks is a path to mediocrity at best, and stunted children dried up like raisins in the sun at worst.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

30. She is home schooled, so no one knew she was missing. Was this a "rite of passage"

in her family as her older brother did it at 17? She is one in a family of 7 children (with another on the way). Did she really deep down want to do this, or to shine in her father's eyes as she is one of a pack?

I have mixed feelings about CPS getting involved because the trauma of that can be harmful.

BTW... Over a century ago, my then 16 year old great grandmother came to the US with just her 10 year old sister. Back in 1890, that was also a very dangerous thing to do, but it was being done. In my great grandmother's case, it was a matter of survival and in Abby's case, Ego.

[Codeine]

24. I disagree. Vociferously.

I have nothing but admiration for a young person with that much bravery, confidence, and skill. There is nothing about her that is childish -- she, like many young people her age, is an adult. Throughout the vast majority of human history she'd have been considered an adult.

My hat is off to this inspirational young woman.

[depakid]

31. I think you're foolhardy- reckless and thoroughly irresponsible

and hope you're not a parent.

It's one thing to sail from So Cal to Catalina- and quite another to sail into the southern ocean in the middle of winter in a boat not designed for solo travel. She and her family are fortunate that the Aussies and know how to pick fools like her out of the water.

[Codeine]

32. Bubblewrap is no way to live. nt

[depakid]

33. You seem to have no sense whatsoever of proportion

seems to afflict a lot of people these days. I just hope this near tragedy puts a stop to this "I want my child to be the youngest to do ________ (pick some unreasonable and extreme thing).

[Codeine]

34. I would contend that

you are the one lacking that sense of proportion, and a profound misunderstanding of when a person can begin to be an adult, but we'll just have to disagree. Obviously mine is the minority view here.

[Seneca]

37. I'm with you

There are countless children and teenagers with REAL problems all over the world, put into peril through no fault of their own, and everyone gets their cookies frosted over a privileged white American teen whose "daring human achievement" is motivated by the disease of conceit and instant fame. Who is going to foot the bill for her rescue? Why should it even *get* any coverage? This isn't Lindbergh, Earhart, Armstrong or the Wright Brothers breaking new ground. It's the Colorado balloon family without the deception. But media attention whores just the same.

Yes, it is good and well that she is alive. But now, let us hear no more about it.

[one_voice]

12. Hoping she's found..

safe and sound.

:toast:

[Saboburns]

13. I salute the young lady, and her deision to do it

Godspeed young lady.

[dmr]

15. I've got high hopes for her!

:kick:

[cherokeeprogressive]

16. Wishful thoughts for Abby, but when men were steel and ships were wood, many a Sailor

went to a watery grave while facing less than 25 foot seas and 60 knot winds, even with the teamwork of "all hands on deck".

Abby might have been a very good Sailor under most circumstances, but the sea is a terrible bad place and in my Humble Opinion, no one should attempt to face it alone.

I hope with all my heart that Abby is returned home safe and sound, and I also hope that this is a teachable moment for people like the Sunderland parents, who think their children are invincible.

[roguevalley]

18. God bless and keep her safe.

[bliss_eternal]

21. sincerely hope she's found safe...

:)

[Contrary1]

23. She's alive! n/t

[Chemisse]

25. Encouraging news this morning mt

[pinto]

26. Teen sailor Abby Sunderland is found alive by spotter aircraft

Teen sailor Abby Sunderland is found alive by spotter aircraft

The 16-year-old Thousand Oaks girl trying to be the youngest solo sailor to circle the world had lost contact with her family early Thursday in the southern Indian Ocean.

A spotter jet over the Indian Ocean late Thursday made contact with 16-year-old Abby Sunderland, the Thousand Oaks solo sailor who was adrift in rough seas and heavy winds in her quest to circumnavigate the globe, a spokesman for the teen's family said.

The Qantas Airways jetliner with dozens of harbor patrol spotters on board made radio contact with Sunderland.

Her boat was upright, but the mast had been knocked off by rough seas. She was in good health and had plenty of food and was waiting for the arrival of a fishing boat in about a day, said Jeff Casher, a technical advisor for the voyage.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0611-abby-sunderland-20100611,0,5457878.story

[Subdivisions]

35. That's great news! Just saw this reported on MSNBC. Glad she's ok. n/t

[spanone]

29. whatever floats HER boat

[cbayer]

36. Thanks so much to everyone!

Whatever you do or don't believe it, it sure didn't hurt to send all these good feelings her way!

:hi:

[david13]

39. It was a young lady who knew exactly how to take care of business,

and her parents who got her the best and most capable boat. I cannot believe anyone would try to discourage her and her parents.
dc

[bliss_eternal]

40. thank *you*, cbayer....!

...for this thread to send good vibes her way. so pleased to hear she was found safe!

:hi: