Hopefully you guys have been keeping up with the recent happenings in the sailing community. But if you havent let me fill you in on what you have been missing. Just recently Abby Sunderland has been attempting to sail solo around the world in her yacht. Many know Abby as Zach Sunderlands little sister. Zach completed his voyage around the globe already and was the youngest teen sailor to circumnaviagate the globe. Now Abby is gunning to take her brothers title. But she had run into some trouble around the Horn of Africa. Currently it is winter in this section of the world. That means huge rolling waves, icebergs and much more. Abby had lost communication with her family and the press. Many were worried even more when two of her beacons went off. This triggered a massive search for the girl. Finally she was able to make contact with her family and they discovered that he mast had snapped in half, triggering her EPIRB beacon. She was rescued within 72 hours and is currently doing good. Jessica Watson of Austrillia is now currently holding the title for youngest solo circumnavigater, but she has company, 14 year old Laura Dekker is gunning to be the next youngest sailor to solo circumnavigate.
Laura Dekker is a 14 year old Dutch girl who's dream had been tied up in the Dutch family courts for almost a year. The courts concern was that the girl was not skilled enough to be able to handle the open sea by herself. The courts and her mother were concerned about her welfare and have had it tied up in court. Her father is supportive of her (parents are divorced). This young girl has quit the background with sailing and I feel that she will be able to handle herself and the boat through the course of her journey. This just goes to show you that no matter how young you are you can still accomplish great things.
With all these kids attempting this great feat, it makes you wonder how the rest of the world views these kinds of things. Alot of people think that these kids are just doing this as a press stunt, but what I think is that they are looking to fill their lives with acheivements and stories that they can be proud to share with the world.
Solo circumnavigation is not an easy thing to pull off either. These kids are at sea alone for the entire duration of their trip and have to sleep in intervals. While they have auto pilots so they do not have to stay at the helm all the time, they do have to check it quit frequently. On top of that, they have to make all meals from free dried food that has to last the entire length of the trip. For alot of teens this would be a great challenge because many simply cannot cook well. Zach Sunderland was one of these kids. He was a poor cook and he admitted to this in one of his videos from the boat. In short this is no easy task what these kids are doing and I applaud them for their efforts!
So who will be next to attempt to break the record? With laura setting sail the age bar is set pretty low. If you are attempting this please contact me. I would love to interview and feature you on the site. Well until next time safe voyages!
Laura Dekker is a 14 year old Dutch girl who's dream had been tied up in the Dutch family courts for almost a year. The courts concern was that the girl was not skilled enough to be able to handle the open sea by herself. The courts and her mother were concerned about her welfare and have had it tied up in court. Her father is supportive of her (parents are divorced). This young girl has quit the background with sailing and I feel that she will be able to handle herself and the boat through the course of her journey. This just goes to show you that no matter how young you are you can still accomplish great things.
With all these kids attempting this great feat, it makes you wonder how the rest of the world views these kinds of things. Alot of people think that these kids are just doing this as a press stunt, but what I think is that they are looking to fill their lives with acheivements and stories that they can be proud to share with the world.
Solo circumnavigation is not an easy thing to pull off either. These kids are at sea alone for the entire duration of their trip and have to sleep in intervals. While they have auto pilots so they do not have to stay at the helm all the time, they do have to check it quit frequently. On top of that, they have to make all meals from free dried food that has to last the entire length of the trip. For alot of teens this would be a great challenge because many simply cannot cook well. Zach Sunderland was one of these kids. He was a poor cook and he admitted to this in one of his videos from the boat. In short this is no easy task what these kids are doing and I applaud them for their efforts!
So who will be next to attempt to break the record? With laura setting sail the age bar is set pretty low. If you are attempting this please contact me. I would love to interview and feature you on the site. Well until next time safe voyages!
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