1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Would You Allow Your 16 Year Old to Sail Around the World ???

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by righteousdude2, Jun 14, 2010.

?
  1. Yes

    4 vote(s)
    17.4%
  2. No

    17 vote(s)
    73.9%
  3. Only with me on the chase boat

    1 vote(s)
    4.3%
  4. The parents need to be brought up on neglect charges

    3 vote(s)
    13.0%
  5. It depends on the maturity of the teen

    2 vote(s)
    8.7%
  6. Only if there were a lucrative television and book deal waiting at the end

    1 vote(s)
    4.3%
Multiple votes are allowed.
  1. righteousdude2

    righteousdude2 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2007
    Messages:
    11,154
    Likes Received:
    242
    Faith:
    Baptist
    It's been all over the news, especially since the teen turned up missing late last week. Thus the question -on this post-it poll - is simply this: Would you grant your daughter, or, son, permission to sail around the world (solo, no chase boat) ???

    Please respond to the poll as well as feel free to post your comments. If you'd be opposed to letting your teen sail around the world, tell us why. And, if you were to fully support such a trip, tell us why.

    Thanks.

    Pastor Paul :type:
     
  2. Peggy

    Peggy New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2009
    Messages:
    285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Heck, no. I just read that the family was being filmed for a reality show - which was one of the reasons that the girl was allowed to go on the boat. For TV. Sheesh. To risk your lovely daughter's life for the sake of a reality TV show is criminal. What is society coming to? Can't we value the lives of our children more than money?
     
  3. righteousdude2

    righteousdude2 Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2007
    Messages:
    11,154
    Likes Received:
    242
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I hHear You, Peggy

    Don't forget to take the poll. It is now up for readers to visit and complete. Again, I think you are right on with your response. Will be interesting if others agree with us. :wavey:
     
  4. Gina B

    Gina B Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2000
    Messages:
    16,944
    Likes Received:
    1
    That would depend on a LOT of factors. Different people mature at different rates.
    The skill of my daughter, the safety precautions, all that would have to be taken into consideration.
    I personally think it's silly to risk your life for something that isn't profitable. For her, it sounds like there was profit involved. So after determining everything else, what is the risk vs the profit? Is it worth the chance?

    I'd definitely consider it. I'd also more than likely end up saying "not until you're legally old enough to make your own decisions."

    I'm still trying to drill into my kids that their decisions are theirs to make. They're getting old enough for that now. We just had a little conversation the other day where one asked if I'd "allow" her to do something when she was older. I pointed out that she'd be allowed to do whatever to wanted. It wouldn't make it right, but I think it finally got through to her that as she's getting more decisions to make on her own, she's getting more responsibility for the consequences of those decisions.

    At sixteen, I'd expect my kids to be able to make and be responsible for the majority of their decisions. Sailing around the world? It's probably safer than lunchtime in an inner city public school, but nobody has brought people up on neglect charges for letting their kids go to school and get harassed and bullied by gangs and thugs.

    So that's my final answer. I don't know. I definitely don't think the parents did anything wrong, from the information given so far.
     
  5. Crabtownboy

    Crabtownboy Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 12, 2008
    Messages:
    18,441
    Likes Received:
    259
    Faith:
    Baptist
    If the kid was mature and was an expert sailor then, yes, I would will them well and see them off at the dock. I can think of much worse things a 16 year old could be doing than sailing around the world.

    Sailing around the world has been a very long desire ... but I know that I will never do it. There are several trips I'd like to make ... not sailing ... that it is doubtful I'll ever be able to make.
     
  6. abcgrad94

    abcgrad94 Active Member

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2007
    Messages:
    5,533
    Likes Received:
    0
    Faith:
    Baptist
    It would depend on many factors, such as the maturity and skill level of the teen, confidence in his/her safety knowledge, etc.

    I think we have forgotten that many 16 and 17-year olds lied about their age and went halfway around the world to fight during WWII, under more dangerous circumstances than the girl mentioned in the OP.

    We have to let our children grow up sometime. That said, my mama bear instinct wouldn't let my girls do it at that age--a son, maybe, but not my girls.
     
  7. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    May 30, 2006
    Messages:
    20,914
    Likes Received:
    706
    Actually, this is not true. There was contact about a TV deal but nothing was ever finalized.

    Many people sail around the world and have done it solo. I'm a coastal sailor and honestly would not allow my child of ANY age to do this (of course I'd not have the ability to stop them once they got older but I could absolutely try....). My husband's dream has been to sail to Bermuda but after taking a cruise there in hurricane force winds just a week ago, he's rethinking that dream. We've been through lots of storms and I have to say, it's not fun.

    However, if my GROWN daughter wanted to do a circumnavigation with a group of others on a good blue water boat, I'd have to bite my tongue and allow it.
     
  8. pinoybaptist

    pinoybaptist Active Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2002
    Messages:
    8,136
    Likes Received:
    3
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I voted yes, and depending on the maturity of the teen.
     
  9. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2003
    Messages:
    38,982
    Likes Received:
    2,615
    Faith:
    Baptist
    #9 Salty, Jun 14, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 14, 2010
  10. John Toppass

    John Toppass Active Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2008
    Messages:
    1,080
    Likes Received:
    8
    I would have to say NO! IMO, parents have no business letting a minor child do anything where the probability factor that something could go seriously wrong is higher than the success rate. While I do not think the parents should be criminally charged, I do not think they are candidates for the SMART PARENT AWARD.
     
  11. Peggy

    Peggy New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 27, 2009
    Messages:
    285
    Likes Received:
    0
    Sailing around the world is not a game. It is very dangerous. Many things could go wrong, even for the most experienced sailor. I love my daughters too much to let them risk their lives for some foolhardy adventure.
     
  12. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2004
    Messages:
    7,406
    Likes Received:
    101
    I said:
    Yes
    Only if I was in the chase boat
    Only if there were a lucrative television offer

    Seriously, you add the last one and I'll vote for that every time ;)

    But for the first two I don't have a problem with it. We put teens in epistemological boxes enough as it is. There's no reason that a teenager can't do great things.

    As for the current situation, what a blessing from God that she was found alive. That said, why wasn't there a chase boat? Seriously? It would be a requirement for me.
     
  13. annsni

    annsni Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    May 30, 2006
    Messages:
    20,914
    Likes Received:
    706
    A chase boat would have to be a power boat and there are very few power boats that could run an engine for as long as it would need to in order to stay with a sailboat going across large bodies of water. Additionally, a sailboat has a keel and is better able to handle large water (waves) whereas there are not many "chase boat" sized boats that are blue water. Finally, sailors are a proud breed. Never before has there been a chase boat for a solo circumnavigation and I'm sure no captain who was looking to solo would allow one. Who would know if they gave aid at any time? There would always be questions....
     
  14. saturneptune

    saturneptune New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 16, 2006
    Messages:
    13,977
    Likes Received:
    2
    No, I would not as a parent let my 16 year old sail around the world. The key word is "as a parent." It is none of the business of the news media, bleeding hearts, or the it takes a village types. My child, my decision.
     
  15. mcdirector

    mcdirector Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    8,292
    Likes Received:
    11
    I said no. I'd tell my sweet darling that 18 was around the corner and that was great goal for that time of her life.
     
  16. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2003
    Messages:
    15,549
    Likes Received:
    15
    My wife got a pilot's license before a driver's license. There are many minors who are doing things that adults are not equipped to do.
     
Loading...