# Take part in a debate around how young is too young and if it matters..



## duncanm (Dec 21, 2009)

I posted this within another thread but feared it would get lost within the heat of the topic..

I was wondering if anyone would be interested in taking part in a live debate on the topic of young sailors attempting trans-atlantic and world non-stop and stopping cruises?

Ideal but not essential, you should have a relevant perspective:
-You are a young sailor
-You are the parent of a young sailor
-You are an instructor
-You have been on a round the world trip cruising/non-stop
-You have a background in child psychology

Reply if you're interested


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## lapworth (Dec 19, 2008)

Not sure I understand if you don't have the abilty to sail then what does your age have to do with anything?


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## Boasun (Feb 10, 2007)

One limiting factor is mental strength. And usually most kids under the range of 16 to 19 do not have the mental strength for such an arduous task of sailing around the world.
The reason I have an age range there is because everyone matures differently.


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## lapworth (Dec 19, 2008)

My Nephew is 17 Grew up on his dads motor boat and has been sailing the past 2 years with me. My wife on the other hand is 35 and only goes out from June-August. She goes out to get a tan so we only sail with the head sail. If you where to put them out in the middle of no where by them selves I would bet on the kid.


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## 71Irwin32 (Oct 15, 2009)

21 or an emancipated minor, that way their parents can't be charged with a crime....unless they've got some sort'a captain's lisence. Got'a be 16 to solo flght, or drive a car.


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## flatracker (Aug 16, 2009)

*Not the gummits decision*

First off, I truly believe that 13 is waaaay too young to be attempting a solo round the world trip. I also believe that parents who would let a 13 yo undertake such a trip are not being very good parents. But even more than I believe these things, I do not believe it is the gummits job to interfere.


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## Jasper Windvane (Mar 2, 2006)

When I was 17, if someone gave me a sailboat to sail around the world, I would 
instead sail to the next port, load up with my friends, and plenty of beer, and it would be P A R T Y .. !!! Who the heck wants to sail around the world, at 17 I wanted to P A R T Y .. and maybe get very lucky. If the same fool gave me a sailboat at 18,19,20,21,22, .... I would still sail to the next port and P A R T Y !! Spring Break !! On a sailboat !!


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## PCP (Dec 1, 2004)

Boasun said:


> One limiting factor is mental strength. And usually most kids under the range of 16 to 19 do not have the mental strength for such an arduous task of sailing around the world.
> The reason I have an age range there is because everyone matures differently.


I agree, but I would say that if you have de sailing ability, mental strength and maturity *are* the limiting factor.

Kids under 16 are still on the process of personality definition. Put them with such an arduous task, that includes being alone for so many time under difficult circumstances and it can have disastrous effects on his personality, for the rest of their lifes.<O</O


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## Jasper Windvane (Mar 2, 2006)

lporcano's ....... dude, you really need to get out more.


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## bloodhunter (May 5, 2009)

Can't participate in this poll because the alternatives don't relate to each other. If it had been sailing experience and even then ...
What I don't like is that this is a competition to see who can be the youngest to solo around the world. If the kids really want to sail around the world -- solo or in groups -- that's fine with me so long as they don't endanger others. Let them just sail off quietly and get it done or not. However, that's not what's happening.
I just wonder how much of this is the desire to make the sail and how much is the desire to set a record and become famous. Also how much is it the influence of the parents -- an before you say no way, think on those morons who sent their kid up in a home-made balloon so they could have a better shot at getting on a reality show.
And where does it stop -- 12, 10 , 8... I could see a totally automated boat with a really well-designed expert system being operated by an 8-year-old who is good at video games. With luck he or she could make it around the world. 
As for government interference. Well the Coast Guard folk can keep a boat in port if they think it can't handle the weather. But even so it seems that only in the Laura Dekker case did the government interfere. But what do you expect them to do? This case has had wide publicity. If the government didn't act and something went wrong, they would be crucified. So they took the safe way out. 
As for teenagers adapting more easily than adults, I'm not at all sure that's true. I don't feel like searching the web for facts and figures, but from raising teenagers I really wonder. We raised five children, three boys and two girls --all of whom are now adults , married with successful careers -- and as teenagers, none of them handled major changes at all well. It may be that young people don't have the base of life knowledge -- the been there, done that -- to fall back on when facing change. Or may be our kids were just an exception.


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## Jasper Windvane (Mar 2, 2006)

bloodhunter .. you the man. very well thought out posting. 
what would be really funny :: this laura girl goes around the 
world and she is making her big arrival, and then this other 
sailboat come along ... some kid about 12, calls over "hey, 
is that the main channel, I just arrived from sailing around the 
world and I am pooped"..


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## Jasper Windvane (Mar 2, 2006)

Iporcano .. If I remember my sociology, we studied why some tribes fight, and some don't, etc, and I remember that those tribes that lived in very harsh conditions didn't have much time for war, as they were just trying to survive. 
The relationship here is monetary. Young Laura is well off, she has a yacht, and didn't she just take $5,000 from the bank and run off to an island? Another teen, living in a city apartment, single mom, hardly getting by can't even dream of sailing around the world. Yet, the teen who has the least would soon adapt to the lifestyle of the teen with the most very quickly. 
What I wonder; if both sailed around the world, when each told about their adventure, would both see the same world? I doubt it. My guess; the teen who was poor, growing up in a difficult situation, would see the foolishness of the trip, and may not even complete it. The rich teen, who has little in the way of true life experience, would finish the trip and tell everyone how great it was. The reply would be "so what". To better understand this, read Bernard Moitessier (10 April 1925 Hanoi, Vietnam – 16 June 1994 near Paris, France) was a renowned French yachtsman and author of books about his voyages and sailing.


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## sck5 (Aug 20, 2007)

it isnt the sailing part that would make me nervous. I wouldnt want MY 14 year old wandering around the port of a strange city. There are bad people out there and you are likely to spend more time on land than at sea. Street smarts is what that takes and it doesnt really matter how good a sailor you are.


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