Abby Sunderland: Brave girl, questionable choice

If, at the age of 16, my daughter wanted to sail around the world by herself despite warnings from sailing experts that she’d be crossing the Indian Ocean during the most dangerous weather conditions of the year, I would tell her, order her and, if necessary, beg her to wait a couple of years.

If she insisted on doing it anyway, I’d compliment her bravery and then lock her in her room, chain her to a tree or slip sleeping pills into her oatmeal.

Abby Sunderland of Thousand Oaks said before leaving Marina del Rey in January that her parents were “trying to scare me out of” taking the trip, but her mom and dad, Marianne and Laurence, apparently gave in. Oh, darn, honey. Sure thing, if it’s what you really want to do.

Maybe the parents of seven couldn’t figure out how to say no to their daughter after allowing their son to do the same thing when he was 17, and it makes you long for the days of truancy officers. So what happened?

Abby ran into a storm between Australia and South Africa, with 25-foot waves and 70-mph gales, and her boat's mast apparently snapped like a twig. The good news is she survived, which we know because she was spotted from the air.

Qantas Airways sent a jetliner to look for her along with dozens of harbor patrol spotters, and fishing vessels were changing direction to rush to her aide. To echo the sentiment of some readers who’ve been weighing in at latimes.com, and wondering how this doesn’t come under the category of “reckless endangerment” by the parents, I hope Qantas and anyone else involved in the search sends the bills to mom and dad in Thousand Oaks.

And what’s with Qantas?

I often can’t get an airline to give me a seat assignment six months out from a flight, and these guys drop everything and send up a posse to look for a kid with irresponsible parents?

Look, I’m all for letting kids take smart risks, but this was a stupid one.

I’m no expert, but I’ve done enough sailing to know that when you’re on the water, six dozen things you’ve never even thought of can go wrong at any time.

Just a couple weeks ago, the body of an experienced, 57-year-old sailor washed up in Long Beach after he tried to sail alone from Santa Catalina Island to Marina del Rey in a storm.

She’s a brave kid, this Abby Sunderland.

As for the parents, I don’t know how old the rest of their kids are, but where will mom and dad draw the line on around-the-world trips? Let’s hope they don’t have a 10-year-old who gets the bug next.

-- Steve Lopez

Tell Steve what you think about this issue by commenting below.

Photo: Abby Sunderland

Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[your kidding arn't you]

The point is why are my tax dollars paying for this irresponsible delinquent to become famous. Its not like she is raising money for charity or anything noble in nature. What if everybody decided to become a sailor young or old and felt like being famous . Its a free lunch paid for by all of us. As for the parents, they are as irresponsible as the children. To be fair to them they probably have never had control of their children regardless of their statements, but should be ashamed of themselves for supporting it anyway and obviously being ignorant to the consequences both human and financial. Am I glad there not my parents I dont think I would feel safe and I certainly wouldn't allow them near anybodys elses children either.

[Mary Twane]

It is obvious the reason her parents let her do it is because they are stupid...as in, anyone with seven children and an eighth on the way is stupid.

(Anyone who bares that many children (basically more than one or two) is beyond selfish and not very intelligent. Our planet and its finite resources will not be able to sustain the rate of population growth perpetrated by families such as the Sunderlands. Humanity is essentially raping Mother Nature to support its ever-increasing needs (consider the example of the Gulf oil disaster and its root cause - an ever increasing need for more oil by humans)).

[Trooper]

Driving a car and sailing a yacht across the ocean is not a fair analogy. One is an everyday thing, while round-the-world sailing is for experienced, highly seasoned veterans. Maybe you can make the analogy closer if you speak of driving a car through a category 4 hurricane or a tornado. Then, no parent would allow a 16-year old to drive a car either.

[Ed Forbes]

I think there is more envy then anything else in the article.
Abby can do what most adults would be too scared to even try.

[David Neal]

Lopez,

If Abby were your daughter, she would not be equipped to undertake such an adventure. Abby, clearly had the skills to undertake this voyage, as evidenced by her demonstrated abilities, the choices she has made, her clear thinking and preparedness in the events that have come her way. She didn't survive this merely thru luck! She has lived more in the past four months than you have Lopez in all your cautious years.

To those ninnies whining for the Sunderland family to pay for the cost of her retreival .. I must remind all these "taxpayers" .. that 99.9% of the time .. it is us taxpayers that fund the endless, repetitive training that those who might undertake such rescues spend the vast bulk of their careers preparing for. It must be a very welcome relief to those to dedicate their lives to these missions, to actually have an opportunity to put their skills to use. The amount of funds spent on actual rescue situations pales in comparison to the the sums forked out annually to prepare for just these situations.

[Cobrarog]

It must be recognized that Abbey Sunderland and Jessica Watson of Australia, plus sundry other young people who are determined to fulfill dreams and aspirations at young ages are not rare. The rarity comes with the parents who are supportive of their offspring, who nurture and encourage them to meet the challenges required to fulfill those dreams. That is the difference between youngsters who take on those challenges, spend all of their waking moments thinking, planning, practicing and learning everything they can in preparation for the challenges ahead. These young ladies cannot be compared (and many bloggers have tried) to the overweight, smoking, drinking, paint sniffing, useless couch potatoes that is so prevalent among teens in today’s society. These ladies have prepared, even to the point of diesel mechanics training, rigging, etc. etc. well beyond the normal sailing skills of the vast majority of sailors around the world. The parents cannot be faulted for letting the reins go. No doubt, mistakes were made. If there is any blame to be laid, it is for not calling a delay of the completion of this trip, when the stop was made in Cape Town. There were countless warnings by sailors with experience in that part of the world who protested the timing of this trip. You don’t go down into the Southern Oceans during the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere due to the ferociousness of the weather and the seas. Those warnings were ignored and now, with 20-20 hindsight, I have no doubt that Team Abbey would have heeded those warnings and delayed for a few months. That is all spilled milk at this point. The most important thing is that Abbey is alive and well, thanks to the power of God looking after her. It is very unfortunate that Abbey’s dream has been shattered but I am certain that we have not heard the last of her or of Jessica Watson. The world needs more people like Abbey and Jesse, Zach Sunderland, Jesse Martin and Mike Perham. For that to happen, the world needs more supportive parents like the Sunderlands, the Watsons, Martins and Perhams. They are the kinds of parents who are preparing our future leaders. Now naysayers: What have your kids accomplished and where are they headed? Do you even know where they are right now or what they are up to? Take your kids to church. Take a lead from the above families and give your children a chance to excel and to develop to their fullest potential. If you do, the world will be a much better place to live and our jails will be less crowded.

[Marilyn McLeod]

Writing from Canada and very grateful that this young woman is safe. However, as a wife of a rescuer, I am so troubled by the fact that the captain of this fishing boat fell into the ocean in their effort to bring Abby aboard. Do people realize how dangerous that is? Only a few news agencies have even reported that. Abby's Mom actually laughed at the fact that the airbus flew over her daughter and made light of that. It is not my intent to bash the parents here, as anyone with kids knows it is a tough job. But it is a very good thing that these people are Born Again Christians, as they will no doubt continue to require people in high places. Perhaps knowing your congressman will jump with tax paid manpower
isn't enough for the Indian Ocean.

[Ed]

Abby's parents are a couple of nutjobs. When they were told about Australian taxpayers having spent more than $200,000 looking for their daughter they defended their decision, saying they were a family of "adventurers, not accountants''.

"We don't live inside a box - we do things,'' said Abby's Australian-born father, Laurence.

"Some people are accountants, some people are librarians, our family is full of adventurers. I wouldn't want to try to turn them into librarians.''

I agree with Steve Lopez here. Let these wacko parents get slapped with the bill and have them pay the French and Australian taxpayers for wasting their time looking for their ego-driven daughter. It was a waste since Abby said she'll do it again and her father said he'll fully support her giving it another crack at it.

[Wendy Steward]

The part that rankles me is that we're all being encouraged to drive hybrid cars, use CFL lightbulbs etc. to reduce our carbon footprint. On the surface, a wind-driven yacht would seem not to be burning any fuel to speak of. But the three ships and the aircraft scrambled to rescue Ms. Sunderland? It sort of takes away my enthusiasm for combining car errands and reducing utility use in small ways, when others are so vastly over-using fossil fuel resources.

Ms. Sunderland says she'd do it again - yes, one more time, she would have ships and aircraft diverted hundreds or thousands of miles to rescue her. Couldn't she just feel humbled and grateful that they did it once for her, and vow never again to be such an egregious waster of energy resources?

[denialator]

Great assessment for the armchair protaganists to ponder.

It is true, at age 16 one has the intelligence, physical abilities, and many have sufficient judgment / discernment to determine and weigh the odds of success in such an endeavor. It's just a shame that Abby's father could not have been more directly involved to the point of participating in logistics and preparations to ensure her sailing vessel would be properly equipped to handle the gail force winds encountered during the journey. I would also agree with one comment citing the fact that southern hemisphere "winter" climate could be the weakest point of the trip. I'll bet the trip was fun! I wish I could have been there myself.

Many times, we must challenge ourselves to the limit, thereby preparing us for the unexpected. This brave, young lady has demonstrated to herself and the world that we are willing and capable creatures without limit as to what we can accomplish when the restraints of negativity and oppressive barriers are removed from the equation. I highly applaud her and recommend another attempt at some later date for triumph over the odds in Abby's desire to conquer status quo and avoid complacency which besets so many of our young people, relegating them to a drone mentality as taught by decadent educators. Establishment mentality and following cookie cutter examples of society provides no chance of advancing technology or adventure. We only live once. We should make the best of that with which we are blessed. Abby is taking this challenge to the max. Hurray!

Please, just think of what and where we would be as a nation if our forefathers had not taken this challenge seriously. Hallelujah! Go for it Abby!

[Greg]

I KEEP THINKING ABOUT THE REAON THIS CHILD GAVE FOR WANTING TO EMBARK ON A VERY DANGEROUS ADVENTURE. IT IS TRUE THE WORLD IS A DANGEROUS PLACE, BUT THIS CHILD LIVES IN ARGUABLY ONE OF THE SAFEST PARTS OF THE WORLD. SO WHAT POSSIBLE REASON COULD THERE BE FOR HER TO PLACE HERSELF IN SUCH A DANGEROUS POSITION? SHE AND HER FAMILY GAVE A REASON THAT IN MY OPINION DOES NOT ADD UP. THIS CHILD AND HER PARENTS DID NOT DO THIS BECAUSE IT WAS NECESSARY OR NEEDED BY EITHER THIS CHILD, HER FAMILY OR EVEN SOCIETY. THERE WAS NO "NECESSITY NOR NEED" TO ATTEMPT THIS TRIP EXCEPT FOR THIS CHILD TO SAY "LOOK WHAT I DID", IN MY OPINION THIS IS NOT A VALID REASON TO ATTEMPT SOMETHING SO OBIVISOULY FRAUGHT WITH DANGER. THIS CHILD AND HER PARENTS SHOULD BE BILLED BY ANY AND ALL AGENCIES INVOLVED IN SAVING HER. ALSO SHE AND HER WHOLE FAMILY SHOULD RECEIVE AND PAY FOR FAMILY COUNSELING.

[Bill from El Monte]

Not 'brave' but reckless.

As well as irresponsible, fixated and considerably irrational.

What might she become obsesssed about next -- having a pet tiger shark in her swimming pool? Robbing a 7-11? Swimming the Pacific backwards? If so, I for one say Go for it and improve the gene pool!

[Trooper]

Note that a fisherman fell overboard and into the rough waters trying to rescue her. Her foolhardiness is putting other lives at risk.

[wedge]

"If she insisted on doing it anyway, I’d compliment her bravery and then lock her in her room, chain her to a tree or slip sleeping pills into her oatmeal."

Do you even understand how terrible this reads? Jesus Christ.

[Seth]

The parents should be prosecuted. This is even worse than the balloon boy incident. If this trend continues, we will be seeing things like infants put on a boats only to the "the first". In this country people are starving for publicity at the cost of safety of their own children, and large companies are ready to take advantage of the situation.

[j a higginbotham]

I sincerely hope Mr Lopez doesn't allow his kids (of either gender) to drive at age 16. That is a lot more dangerous.

[Old Man]

You cannot protect people from their own stupidity. As long as they pay the freight for the rescue they should be able to make all of the bad decisions they want.

[Patricia S]

I agree with SL's take on the situation but that's just my opinion.

What makes me angry is the amount of money and resources that were wasted on someone's reckless behavior. It's the same as when people get ordered to evacuate their homes, they don't, and then they still expect to be rescued -- not matter who else they endanger.

Completely irresponsible and the parents should get the bill. You can do whatever you want, but expect consequences.

[Nick B]

The majority of the comments posted about this piece lack nuance and miss the point. Like Mr. Lopez, I agree that this is not a black-and-white issue; it is of course important to allow children to pursue their dreams, but it is the job of the parents to ensure that they pursue their dreams responsibly.

Regardless of Abby's supposed skill or the quality of her watercraft, many knowledgeable, experienced, and responsible sailors recommended that she not traverse the southern Indian Ocean in winter.

The Sunderlands were clearly informed by experts of the dangerous conditions Abby was likely to encounter. Like virtually all parents, I am sure they simply wanted to see their daughter realize her dreams, yet their ultimate failing was their decision to allow Abby to make the journey, despite warnings from those most knowledgeable of the ocean's conditions.

I wish Abby nothing but the best in her future adventures, and I hope that she is soon able to realize her goal, under more appropriate circumstances. We can only be thankful that her parents' foolishness did not lead to the loss of her life.

[Lou Bricano]

The posters who point out that a snapped mast could happen to anyone are correct, but they're missing the real point. There are a lot more dangers that could befall this girl - she is a *girl*, for chrissake - than the perils of sailing. The *girl* is a minor child, and it is inherently irresponsible for the parents to send her around the world in this way. I have to wonder about how the civil authorities in the ports she pulls into react to this. If the civil authorities in California found a minor child living alone with no adult guardian, the child would be taken into custody by child protective service agencies.

There is a reason why age makes a difference. If this *girl* were instead a woman of 26 or 36, or any other adult age, she would have the legal right to make this decision herself. The decision to sail around the world in a 40 foot boat is inherently misguided, if not actually stupid - although I think it's stupid - but adults get to make their own decisions; children don't get to make all of theirs.

There's another aspect that all the permissive posters, and perhaps many of those who agree with me, seem to be missing. The father, Laurence Sunderland, is a yacht builder, and I don't mean an employee of Catalina Yachts in Woodland Hills - he has his own business building custom yachts for rich people. This man is PIMPING his daughter as a way of promoting his business. You damned well better bet that all his customers and prospective customers are going to know that his son "Zac" sailed around the world at age 17, and that his daughter attempted it at 16.

When you understand you're talking about a man who will risk his children's lives and welfare in order to sell a few boats, you begin to be suspicious of anything he might say, particularly regarding the propriety of setting up the risk in the first place.

[robert alan]

I agree wth your article 100%

but your not dealing with parents that are interested in looking at the risks and conequences

[robert k thornquist MD]

What a bunch of whiney, head down, wallow-in-the mud people seem to read the LA Times!! If the negative people sending these comments had had any power over the past few millenia we'd still be living in caves and dying before we hit 40. Must be the current LOWER-48 mentality. I'd much rather spend money rescuing somebody with some gumption and a vision than dump more money supporting a bunch of undocumented democrats and their "anchor babies". I'll bet that her parents have paid more taxes in the past few years than most of you unimaginative losers will make in a lifetime.

[Lindy]

Re: 16 years old vs. 18. 18 is probably still too young for this little adventure, but it's better than 16. Neuroscientists have found that the frontal lobes, seat of judgment, are not fully developed at 16 and are still maturing at 18. The issue is not sailing skill or muscles, but of intellectual/emotional maturity. Of course, I question the judgment of these parents, too, despite their years. (Can't help wondering if a need for fame and $$ influenced Mr. and Mrs. Sunderland.)

[Ziggle]

The parents should be brought up on child endangerment charges. Just because a teenager wants to do something dangerous doesn't mean the parents are supposed to say, "Well, sure hone. Go for it."

And I hope this family gets the big bill for the search and rescue, and that they're also charged for leaving the boat tossing around the ocean.

[Rog]

I agree 100%, Steve. Also, what if, the plane sent to rescue this teen glory seeker had crashed and all aboard were killed? Nice. So, Abby has a dream??? Some kids might like to be a professional boxer when they're 15 or enter high speed boat racing or even NASCAR when they're 12. So, what??! Why not wait!! What if Abby succeeded in this dumb quest? Someone 12 might try next with their parents' permission....and they would die. Abby's parents are glory seekers themselves...getting press attention for this folly. And, pretending to give their daughter permission to pursue something she's wanted all her life.(since when? 5? 8? 12 years old?) What if Abby had died at sea? Would her parents fold their hands and say "c'est la vie? She at least lived her dream???" Dumb, dumb, dumb!!!