toad_oftoadhall
Well-Known Member
Or would the open 40 be fast enough to route away from the worst of the weather? I reckon a lot of people going RTW would choose a faster boat every time.
Abby Sunderland starts her attempt on the RTW, Solo, Non-stop.
- Thread starter lenseman
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Or would the open 40 be fast enough to route away from the worst of the weather? I reckon a lot of people going RTW would choose a faster boat every time.
Blueboatman
Well-Known Member
I am amazed at their energy but then healthy kids have lots of that. And what about low boredom levels, short spans of attention and lack of mates to hang out with 'out there' except via facilebook etc?
I can't help but think that without good comms this phenomenon would simply have zero appeal to any 13/14/15 year old for more than a brief minute or two.
Just as, 30 years ago-or one generation- the prospect of singlehanded sailing RTW without the advent of reliable selfsteering made it a nono to most adults!
The world moves on.
I can't help but think that without good comms this phenomenon would simply have zero appeal to any 13/14/15 year old for more than a brief minute or two.
Just as, 30 years ago-or one generation- the prospect of singlehanded sailing RTW without the advent of reliable selfsteering made it a nono to most adults!
The world moves on.
lenseman
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Abby Sunderland had to abort her Solo RTW Non-Stop last Tuesday due to quite a few things failing on her yacht Wild Eyes. She had only travelled a distance of approximately 900nm.
She has just spent 4 days in Cabo Mexico, a port on the most southerly tip of the California peninsula but departed at 1000am local time on Saturday 6th February.
As she is still north of the equator, she is going to attempt for a second time to circumnavigate the globe non-stop but her return port will now be Cabo and not Marina del Rey California.
She has just spent 4 days in Cabo Mexico, a port on the most southerly tip of the California peninsula but departed at 1000am local time on Saturday 6th February.
As she is still north of the equator, she is going to attempt for a second time to circumnavigate the globe non-stop but her return port will now be Cabo and not Marina del Rey California.
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webcraft
Well-Known Member
Abby's back at sea
Doesn't sound like she any major problems - lack of electrical generating capacity to keep all the technology going seems to be the main one, with windspeed and AIS not working either. Abby is back at sea now though. I can't help thinking that her team could have worked out power requirements versus generating capacity more precisely before she left.
Jessica is over two thirds of the way from the Horn to the COGH, although avoiding a storm in the Southern Oceasn has pushed her a little North of her intended track. She's had no wind instruments since the knockdown off Cape Horn, but doesn't seem to be fazed by it.
- W
Doesn't sound like she any major problems - lack of electrical generating capacity to keep all the technology going seems to be the main one, with windspeed and AIS not working either. Abby is back at sea now though. I can't help thinking that her team could have worked out power requirements versus generating capacity more precisely before she left.
Jessica is over two thirds of the way from the Horn to the COGH, although avoiding a storm in the Southern Oceasn has pushed her a little North of her intended track. She's had no wind instruments since the knockdown off Cape Horn, but doesn't seem to be fazed by it.
- W
lenseman
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I agree with both your comments and I can't help the deep down feeling that Abby, like her brother Zac, seems to be little bit casual and less prepared for venturing out onto the big oceans of the world.
Ubergeekian
Well-Known Member
I wonder if there was a bit of hasty preparation in the interests of that "Youngest" title.
tcm
...
Um, i think some people here are imaging that the parents have a great deal of say in the matter. If the person is right for it, there's almost nothing that will stop them.
I have kids 17 and 20, and the youngest a few years ago fondly floated the idea of being a professional footballer, and what did i think? I said that he could do whatever he wanted - but that premier league footie for him was unikely - because if he was going to be amongst the best footballers, he'd have been out with a ball at every opportunity from a very young age, the car would have football dents, neighbours going bonkers at ball being thwacked on their wall and into their garden, everything. But he wasn't like that. And the fact that he was asking my opinion was not a great sign - if he was really determined the first i'd have heard is some football scout whatever after a trial etc. He'd have moved it along the line with his own enthusiasm. He wouldn't ask me as if hoping I'd make something happen.
Given the single mindedness, i would have thought 16 is easily old enough. I think that ellen macarthur would have gone around britain and around the world much earlier given more pocket money to save up, for example.
Yes, i think experience rather over-rated, especially by older people.
Also, note that there's not much time limit - they can sail very defensively, no problem. Sailing is pretty easy, really. Even some quite fat ole lardy blokes can do it. Sailing faster than anyone else, well, that's harder and riskier, but not an issue with this sort of adventure.
Some say that life is about the powerful surging enthusiasm of youth and all its consequences - adventure, danger, sex, love and more. Older people might have lots of money and power and friends and family but it seems that many if not all criticisms of young sailors are based on envy of that youth and/or or of not having seen something done before. But world class swimmers have to train over six hours a day year in year out by the age of six to make the Olympics, and do so willingly. World-class olympic gymnasts are in their early teens. I'm surprised Nelson was as old as 12 before going to sea - there'll have been much younger.
The "attention span" and "loneliness" arguments are baseless generalisations where logic points the other way. Somehow fine for everyone to make these comments about ALL young people with sideways 'and you parents know what I'm talking about eh?". But I have known a few young people aged under ten (in fact under six as well) just fine with their own company, concentrating on some task for interminable hours and days, far more so than older people who are conditioned (school, working) to be in larger groups for a longer time than any junior member of a small family. The most specious argument is to call all young people "children" and then shriek "they're only children!!" - but ... we're all children.
And of course - we're talking about just one or two very rare people here. I'm not saying that all or most or many young people could sail rtw. But some could, and likely more than do now.
Given this, I would say that there's likely to be someone (possibly from a less nannified area than europe) able to sail rtw aged 11 or 12. I'd expect to see it happen within 20 years maximum. I'd be amazed if posters hereabouts have correctly predicted the end of history in this matter, just because, well, er, come on, be reasonable. I'd bet that a 14 year old will do it within 10 years.
"Ending badly" - um, well, yep for the individual parents. But sailors old and young have died for years without putting off all the others. As always, the risk is part of the attraction. That's why occupations such as fireman and racing driver are very attractive. Some but not all older people see risk more negatively because (especially less successful people) have experienced lots of painful failure and rather less of the unmatchable soaring feeling of success, winning, achieving that is a result of that driving force, exhibited most powerfully (but not exclusively) by younger people.
if you can't stop them without using force and/or calling the social services, then I say get out of their way and/or buy them the damn boat.
PS - Yes, I bought my lad loads and *loads* of footballs.
I have kids 17 and 20, and the youngest a few years ago fondly floated the idea of being a professional footballer, and what did i think? I said that he could do whatever he wanted - but that premier league footie for him was unikely - because if he was going to be amongst the best footballers, he'd have been out with a ball at every opportunity from a very young age, the car would have football dents, neighbours going bonkers at ball being thwacked on their wall and into their garden, everything. But he wasn't like that. And the fact that he was asking my opinion was not a great sign - if he was really determined the first i'd have heard is some football scout whatever after a trial etc. He'd have moved it along the line with his own enthusiasm. He wouldn't ask me as if hoping I'd make something happen.
Given the single mindedness, i would have thought 16 is easily old enough. I think that ellen macarthur would have gone around britain and around the world much earlier given more pocket money to save up, for example.
Yes, i think experience rather over-rated, especially by older people.
Also, note that there's not much time limit - they can sail very defensively, no problem. Sailing is pretty easy, really. Even some quite fat ole lardy blokes can do it. Sailing faster than anyone else, well, that's harder and riskier, but not an issue with this sort of adventure.
Some say that life is about the powerful surging enthusiasm of youth and all its consequences - adventure, danger, sex, love and more. Older people might have lots of money and power and friends and family but it seems that many if not all criticisms of young sailors are based on envy of that youth and/or or of not having seen something done before. But world class swimmers have to train over six hours a day year in year out by the age of six to make the Olympics, and do so willingly. World-class olympic gymnasts are in their early teens. I'm surprised Nelson was as old as 12 before going to sea - there'll have been much younger.
The "attention span" and "loneliness" arguments are baseless generalisations where logic points the other way. Somehow fine for everyone to make these comments about ALL young people with sideways 'and you parents know what I'm talking about eh?". But I have known a few young people aged under ten (in fact under six as well) just fine with their own company, concentrating on some task for interminable hours and days, far more so than older people who are conditioned (school, working) to be in larger groups for a longer time than any junior member of a small family. The most specious argument is to call all young people "children" and then shriek "they're only children!!" - but ... we're all children.
And of course - we're talking about just one or two very rare people here. I'm not saying that all or most or many young people could sail rtw. But some could, and likely more than do now.
Given this, I would say that there's likely to be someone (possibly from a less nannified area than europe) able to sail rtw aged 11 or 12. I'd expect to see it happen within 20 years maximum. I'd be amazed if posters hereabouts have correctly predicted the end of history in this matter, just because, well, er, come on, be reasonable. I'd bet that a 14 year old will do it within 10 years.
"Ending badly" - um, well, yep for the individual parents. But sailors old and young have died for years without putting off all the others. As always, the risk is part of the attraction. That's why occupations such as fireman and racing driver are very attractive. Some but not all older people see risk more negatively because (especially less successful people) have experienced lots of painful failure and rather less of the unmatchable soaring feeling of success, winning, achieving that is a result of that driving force, exhibited most powerfully (but not exclusively) by younger people.
if you can't stop them without using force and/or calling the social services, then I say get out of their way and/or buy them the damn boat.
PS - Yes, I bought my lad loads and *loads* of footballs.
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magic-martinh
Well-Known Member
Abby might not be "alone and frightened at sea" now, but it is almost inevitable she will be in the future. Best of luck to her. I was talking to my wife the other day about crossing oceans. She thinks it is hugely dangerous. I pointed out that, having crossed oceans by yacht, I thought there was more danger involved in cycling around town. Just my thoughts.
MapisM
Well-Known Member
Whilst I can't disagree with your conclusion, I'm not sure that the driving force behind these things is just the powerful surging enthusiasm of youth and all its consequences - adventure, danger, sex, love and more.
These days, the cultural models along the lines of "either you get rich and famous while you're young or you're stupid" also play a major role. Which ain't so romantic, is it?
Ubergeekian
Well-Known Member
There are also a lot of pushy parents who live vicariously through their children. Combined a set of parents desperate for fame and money with an enthusiastic but immature child and you have a recipe for disaster.