Location: Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles Discussion Forum

Discussion: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World

Category: Discussion Forum / Off-Topic

Report thread
Watch thread
Share this

1 2 3 4 5 | Next > Last

MetalHunter	Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 5 2010, 8:43 AM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 5 2010, 8:50 AM EDT She is the young Sarah Connor? Dutch teenage sailor Laura Dekker, 14, set sail for Portugal on August 4, after winning a year-long battle with child welfare authorities worried over her ambition to become the youngest person to sail the globe solo.... Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you? Keyword tags: None
tscc1000	1. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 5 2010, 5:40 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 5 2010, 5:40 PM EDT "She is the young Sarah Connor? ... Dutch teenage sailor Laura Dekker, 14, set sail for Portugal on August 4, after winning a year-long battle with child welfare authorities worried over her ambition to become the youngest person to sail the globe solo...." She is no bad-ass and no Sarah Connor. She's just a pubescent 14-year-old (!!) girl, whose blind ambition and thirst for glory obviously is even stronger than her parents' sense of responsibility. Not an inspiring example at all imho. BTW, why not sending a 12-year-old? Wouldn't it be even more "heroic"? leaves headshaking Post reply Do you find this valuable?
SurfingEagle	2. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 5 2010, 7:07 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 5 2010, 7:07 PM EDT "She is no bad-ass and no Sarah Connor. She's just a pubescent 14-year-old (!!) girl, whose blind ambition and thirst for glory obviously is even stronger than her parents' sense of responsibility. Not an inspiring example at all imho. BTW, why not sending a 12-year-old? Wouldn't it be even more "heroic"? leaves headshaking" Agree with this ^ She's not old enough to make that kind of decision. Her parents are responsible for making those kind of decisions, and they are idiots. That's an ambition that can easily kill a person even someone that's really experienced at sailing alone. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Losa78	3. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 5 2010, 8:10 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 5 2010, 8:10 PM EDT I thought you guys were gonna joke about whether if this girl was Thomas Dekker's family or not... Anyway, I'll be sure to see if she makes it here to Portugal or not, and when she does I'll give her a little spank for being such a naughty crazy chick. The things I'm willing to do for you guys, srsly... ;) Post reply Do you find this valuable?
SurfingEagle	4. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 5 2010, 10:02 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 5 2010, 10:12 PM EDT "I thought you guys were gonna joke about whether if this girl was Thomas Dekker's family or not... Anyway, I'll be sure to see if she makes it here to Portugal or not, and when she does I'll give her a little spank for being such a naughty crazy chick. The things I'm willing to do for you guys, srsly... ;)" Come on Losa, the gravity of that situation can't possibly escape you that much. "Naughty and crazy"? It's not like she's sneaking into an R rated movie without permission. She's going out to deep sea in a one man sail boat alone not para-sailing on the sunny beaches of the Florida Keys. Early teenagers have no concept of death which partially explains why they drive a 100 MPH in a 35 MPH speed zone. Didn't a teen girl just try this same thing like a month or two ago, and she almost died. They had to rescue her, and it took several days to find her which she probably lucked out on. So, yeah, her last name is Dekker too. That's really cute. There's probably a million Dekkers. It doesn't change the fact that her parents are negligent and should go to jail for allowing their daughter to put herself at that level of risk just to break a record which I think is really sad. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
MetalHunter	5. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 3:07 AM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 4:32 AM EDT "Didn't a teen girl just try this same thing like a month or two ago, and she almost died. They had to rescue her, and it took several days to find her which she probably lucked out on." No, this was a crazy 17-year-old Aussie, Jessica Watson, who successfully completed her solitaire, non-stop, and unassisted trip around the World on 210 days. She was 16 when started the voyage. And no, she wasn't rescued. She lost the communication unit and the people believed she's in danger... Post reply Do you find this valuable?
MetalHunter	6. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 3:20 AM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 3:26 AM EDT "1) She is no bad-ass and no Sarah Connor. She's just a pubescent 14-year-old (!!) girl, whose blind ambition and thirst for glory obviously is even stronger than her parents' sense of responsibility. Not an inspiring example at all imho. 2) BTW, why not sending a 12-year-old? Wouldn't it be even more "heroic"?" 1) Well, I think the blind ambition and thirst for glory is a more inspiring example about the performances of the young Homo Sapiens Sapiens than a whiny retard crying on lack of a girlfriend. 2) Why not? I think this will be next stage, anyways... ;) Post reply Do you find this valuable?
MetalHunter	7. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 5:09 AM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 5:23 AM EDT Well, seem like that our little girl is not exactly an angel... Solo sailor girl found on Caribbean island --------------- A 14-year-old girl, who hopes to become the youngest person to sail solo round the world, has been found safe and well on the Caribbean island of St Maarten, two days after being reported missing. According to the Telegraaf, Laura Dekkers had left a note for her father, whom she lives with, and withdrawn €3,500 in cash from a bank account. She was reported missing on Friday by youth social workers. Laura was put under court supervision in October, after judges said her plan had not been properly thought out. THe Volkskrant quotes a spokesman for the family as saying Laura had been in a 'downward spiral' since the court ruling, and felt everyone was against her. Social workers said all was being done to get Laura back to the Netherlands as soon as possible and find 'appropriate accommodation' for her. --------------- Then, she sailed from Netherlands to Caribbean islands... She sailed across the Atlantic Ocean without family consent? Look like she's a little witch... ;)) Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Losa78	8. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 9:49 AM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 9:49 AM EDT "Come on Losa, the gravity of that situation can't possibly escape you that much. "Naughty and crazy"? It's not like she's sneaking into an R rated movie without permission. She's going out to deep sea in a one man sail boat alone not para-sailing on the sunny beaches of the Florida Keys. Early teenagers have no concept of death which partially explains why they drive a 100 MPH in a 35 MPH speed zone. Didn't a teen girl just try this same thing like a month or two ago, and she almost died. They had to rescue her, and it took several days to find her which she probably lucked out on. So, yeah, her last name is Dekker too. That's really cute. There's probably a million Dekkers. It doesn't change the fact that her parents are negligent and should go to jail for allowing their daughter to put herself at that level of risk just to break a record which I think is really sad." Surfing Eagle, I thought the purely humorous, light and teasing nature of my post wouldn't possibly escape you that much either... Maybe the "naughty and crazy" words weren't a good choice of mine, but you'll excuse me because English is not my first language... Not even the ";)" smiley proved to be a sufficient hint, apparently... :( Anyway, as MetalHunter already posted, this adventure was not something without a thought or thorough preparation and not even without the intervention of high authorities and courts, all in a country as civilized as the Netherlands. Sure, those guys are a little liberal there, but it's their culture, and if the authorities cleared this girl, who are we to still keep judging? Besides, I'm sure there will be many people and technical means monitoring the whole trip very closely all the way, to make sure nothing bad will happen. She will make 26 stops along the way, it's a three-year trip and she will stop during hurricane seasons. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
SurfingEagle	9. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 12:53 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 2:13 PM EDT "No, this was a crazy 17-year-old Aussie, Jessica Watson, who <b>successfully completed</b> her solitaire, non-stop, and unassisted trip around the World on 210 days. She was 16 when started the voyage. And no, <b>she wasn't rescued</b>. She lost the communication unit and the people believed she's in danger... " No, I was talking about Abby Sunderland who attempted to follow in her brother's footsteps Zac Sunderland who unofficially became the world's youngest sailor to sail around the world under the age of 18. The World Record Council closed that record at 18 y/o and no longer accept any further attempts at breaking that record. Neither Zac Sunderland nor Jessica Watson were officially recognized as the youngest person to break that record as they closed that record. Also, Jessica Watson did not follow the official route. She later stated that she didn't follow the official route because she knew she would not be officially recognized by the World Record Council. Abby Sunderland had to be rescued in the Indian Ocean two months ago in June while attempting to break the record for youngest sailor to sail around the world. "On June 10, 2010 while sailing in heavy seas and high winds in a remote area of the Indian Ocean, her sailboat was dismasted and she activated her two manual emergency EPIRB distress beacons, triggering a search and rescue effort. She was rescued two days later, almost four and a half months after setting sail from Marina del Rey" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abby_Sunderland Post reply Do you find this valuable?
SurfingEagle	10. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 1:27 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 1:37 PM EDT "Surfing Eagle, I thought the purely humorous, light and teasing nature of my post wouldn't possibly escape you that much either... Maybe the "naughty and crazy" words weren't a good choice of mine, but you'll excuse me because English is not my first language... Not even the ";)" smiley proved to be a sufficient hint, apparently... :( Anyway, as MetalHunter already posted, this adventure was not something without a thought or thorough preparation and not even without the intervention of high authorities and courts, all in a country as civilized as the Netherlands. Sure, those guys are a little liberal there, but it's their culture, and if the authorities cleared this girl, who are we to still keep judging? Besides, I'm sure there will be many people and technical means monitoring the whole trip very closely all the way, to make sure nothing bad will happen. She will make 26 stops along the way, it's a three-year trip and she will stop during hurricane seasons." Losa, you're attempt at humor did not escape me. I just didn't think it was funny :\| ... :) What MH just posted sounds like she's a rebellious teen rebelling against her parents and the Netherlands authorities. I love it when people use a judgment "who are we [you] to judge" to suppress the good judgment of others as if all judgments fall into the category of "let he, who has never sinned, cast the first stone." A judgment is just a thought and an opinion, and last time I looked, there is no law against thoughts... yet. Sure, some people have no moral authority on a subject based on what they do. But, I never encouraged any kids to sail around the world. And no, there is no guaranty that there will be many people monitoring the trip while using expensive monitoring equipment. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
SurfingEagle	11. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 1:35 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 1:48 PM EDT cont These kids are not getting sponsorship from out side sources, because their sailing attempts are not officially recognized. For the most part, these kids are getting money from whatever private sources they can muster. Abby Sunderland was not being closely monitored. Thus, she was lost for 2 days, and no one knew whether she was dead or alive during that period. It was pure luck that she didn't end up dead or completely lost at sea never to be found. Bottom line, these kids making these trips are not officially recognized because the World Record Council probably does not want 10 year old's out there circumnavigating the globe. There is no point to what they are doing except to get media attention. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Losa78	12. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 4:00 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 4:00 PM EDT "1) Losa, you're attempt at humor did not escape me. I just didn't think it was funny :\| ... :) 2) What MH just posted sounds like she's a rebellious teen rebelling against her parents and the Netherlands authorities. I love it when people use a judgment "who are we [you] to judge" to suppress the good judgment of others as if all judgments fall into the category of "let he, who has never sinned, cast the first stone." 3) A judgment is just a thought and an opinion, and last time I looked, there is no law against thoughts... yet. Sure, some people have no moral authority on a subject based on what they do. But, I never encouraged any kids to sail around the world. 4) And no, there is no guaranty that there will be many people monitoring the trip while using expensive monitoring equipment." 1) Good to know. I wasn't sure. I thought that had been at least remotely funny... Awww... 2) The local authorities and courts allowed her to do this. It's THEIR judgment I was saying we all should respect and not claim to do a better one. I didn't pretend to say anything falling into the category of "let he who has never sinned cast the first stone". I didn't understand that one. 3) Amen to that, my friend. That's why we're all here posting and replying to each other, with no flames, bannings or anything, no matter how wildly OT this topic it (and it sure is). (to be continued, darn word limit) Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Losa78	13. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 4:01 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 4:01 PM EDT (continuation) 4) Hmm... I got this from Wikipedia, under a "Laura Dekker" search: "At 14 locations Dekker will be met by a support team that follows the same route. It will also help her along difficult spots such as the Panama Canal. An Iridium tracking system onboard will allow a team in the Netherlands to monitor her course closely. This route is not necessarily less risky compared to the non-stop route of Jessica Watson or the two-stop route of Abby Sunderland. This is because the risk of colliding with a ship or to run aground is much larger near land than on open ocean. Also the risk of being a crime victim is larger in a port city than on the sea. Dekker will still have to cross the big oceans. On the other hand she will avoid the stormy roaring forties, and she will avoid the hurricane seasons which otherwise makes latitudes 20-30 dangerous." I'm not too worried. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
tscc1000	14. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 4:59 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 5:00 PM EDT "... I'm not too worried." Servus Losa! ;-) Oh, it's not about worrying actually. If something goes wrong, I would say: "Blame yourself!!" After all it's her (or her irresponsible parents') crazy decision and crazyness is not generally forbidden. ;-) I posted because I don't think that such an urge for attention should be called "bad-ass" or is decent as an inspiring example for other kids in any way. That's all. Btw, wish you a nice weekend! Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Losa78	15. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 5:31 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 5:31 PM EDT "Servus Losa! ;-) Oh, it's not about worrying actually. If something goes wrong, I would say: "Blame yourself!!" After all it's her (or her irresponsible parents') crazy decision and crazyness is not generally forbidden. ;-) I posted because I don't think that such an urge for attention should be called "bad-ass" or is decent as an inspiring example for other kids in any way. That's all. Btw, wish you a nice weekend!" Servus, TSCC1000! ;) Yes, it may be craziness from this girl's parents to allow this adventure, but at least they do so with a court's explicit permission. Parent's craziness can be forbidden and restricted to them when it's in their minor's son or daughter's best interests. A court has ruled here that the parents were free to decide whether to allow this or not, and they did. There has been a debate and a long decision by trained people carrying all the facts. If this can be called bad-ass or an example or not is up for debate and is a matter of subjective opinion. The overall tone I see on the news is an excited and exciting one about this feat, somewhat. To be quite frank, I was a bit surprised with the clearly negative opinions and views here on the matter (well, it's only you and SurfingEagle, but still...). I was expecting to see maybe a little more support and excitement, coming from young people and all, but I was wrong. More opinions may yet come. You guys are entitled to yours. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
SurfingEagle	16. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 6:13 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 6:13 PM EDT "I'm not too worried." Oh give it up, Losa. Fourteen locations covers how many locations in all the oceans of the world? Tracking her course on a device is not going to save her from getting killed. All that's going to do is allow them to maybe find the spot her boat sank. If a team is going to follow along with her the whole way, fine. I don't think that's gonna happen. It would cost too much money to have a substantial boat full of trained rescue people at the ready to save her. It's pointless anyways. She will not be given the title of youngest sailor except in the media and in public opinion while at the same time a lot of the public's opinion will not support it. So this is all basically a 14 y/o girl's hobby. Why would anyone even take this seriously much less put out the money to manage it. Her is the bottom line moral dilemma. It doesn't matter how much a kid has been sailing or how good they are or whether she will receive assistance. The best sailor in the world can be killed by the ocean. If the ocean can create storms that destroy entire cities and coast lines, it can kill the best sailor in the world. The difference between an adult and a child in this case, is that an adult is responsible for themselves, and they can rationally make the choice to risk their lives in such a venture. A child is not responsible to make their own decisions concerning their safety. And even if they were more mentally developed, they still need to wait until they are an adult to make those kind of decisions just like everyone else. They can still break a sailing record, when they are adults, by doing it faster than everyone else or doing more trips around the world than everyone else. Why do they have to be the youngest? It just sounds like a lot of stupid over indulgence of a child's dreams and wishes. If she was my daughter and she wanted to sail around the world, I would say "over my dead body". EOS Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Losa78	17. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 6:34 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 6:36 PM EDT "Oh give it up, Losa. <edited for space>" I see you're getting maybe a bit too worked up over this, man, so I won't piss you off about it too much more. I'm just gonna add that along with the 14 meets with the support team who will ride along with her, Dekker will make a helluva lot more stops, being: Lisbon, Madeira, Gran Canaria, Barbados, Grenada, Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, Colón (Panama), Panama City, Galapagos, Marquesas, Cairns, Darwin, Bali, Singapore, P h u k e t, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Sudan, Egypt, Crete, Sicily, Mallorca, Gibraltar and Lisbon. We have to remember this is the Netherlands and Dutch people we're talking about here. They're pretty liberal, advanced and open minded over there. This girl's parents and the legal authorities permitted this to happen, and the girl seems mature enough to know what she is doing. That's enough for me. I see you think differently. Fine. Just please don't be worked up or too offended by my posts or make too much of a big deal out of this as you already did in the past, please, man. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
SurfingEagle	18. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 7:20 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 7:22 PM EDT "They're pretty liberal, advanced and open minded over there. " Let's just say they are liberal but "advanced" is leading the witness. I don't care how smart she is or how mature she seems to be. It's not the issue. That doesn't remove the possibility that she could be lost at sea. She will be all alone at times and anything can happen. No one will be there, potentially, to help at certain times. That is very risky. I don't care what those authorities agreed to. They are stupid. And this proves nothing. What does all this prove? She is defying the will of the World Record Council. She will not be counted as the youngest anything. It's BS. It's an act of rebellion in this sense that it will not count officially but she's going to do it anyways. That's just like the mind set of a teenager. And the parents and so called authorities have just given up on it and are letting her do what she wants. That's all that's really going on. Any ways, I am not mad. I am adamant. She's not my kid. It's not going to effect me if she is killed. But I do think it sets a bad example for the way people handle children these days. I think people are stupid these days. It's like a kid has to die before people understand that they shouldn't let kids do certain things. It's not just happening in this case, it's happening all over in a number of ways. But again. I am not mad. Just saying. Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Losa78	19. RE: Badass 14-year-old Laura Dekker is sailing around the World Aug 6 2010, 7:31 PM EDT \| Post edited: Aug 6 2010, 7:31 PM EDT "Let's just say they are liberal but "advanced" is leading the witness. I don't care how smart she is or how mature she seems to be. It's not the issue. That doesn't remove the possibility that she could be lost at sea. She will be all alone at times and anything can happen. No one will be there, potentially, to help at certain times. That is very risky. I don't care what those authorities agreed to. They are stupid. And this proves nothing. What does all this prove? She is defying the will of the World Record Council. She will not be counted as the youngest anything. It's BS. It's an act of rebellion in this sense that it will not count officially but she's going to do it anyways. That's just like the mind set of a teenager. And the parents and so called authorities have just given up on it and are letting her do what she wants. That's all that's really going on. Any ways, I am not mad. I am adamant. She's not my kid. It's not going to effect me if she is killed. But I do think it sets a bad example for the way people handle children these days. I think people are stupid these days. It's like a kid has to die before people understand that they shouldn't let kids do certain things. It's not just happening in this case, it's happening all over in a number of ways. But again. I am not mad. Just saying." Whatever you say, man. From everywhere I've read (including BBC or the Daily Telegraph) they're saying it WILL count towards a world record count or bid for the Guinness Book, so that's already something and not a pure whim from a silly girl. Are they wrong? Anyway, I hope we're still back here three years from now, when this ends, posting about how this turned out. LOL Peace, man. I'm glad you're not mad. Just no need to be so adamant either, imho. ;) Post reply Do you find this valuable?

1 2 3 4 5 | Next > Last

JavaScript must be enabled in order for you to contribute to this site.
To start contributing, enable JavaScript by changing your browser options, then try again.

Home