>>>>Her boat is only 40 foot - and she had been dealing with winds of up to 60 knots and seas of up to 25 foot.
>>>>
>>>>40foot boat + 60 knot wind + 25 foot waves + 2 dumb (or at least irresponsible) parents = 1 dead 16 year old girl.
>>>>
>>>>>The southern ocean is the last place I'd want to be in a small boat this time of year, it was bad enough in a 130,000 tonner. They didn't plan the trip well, 130ft seas aren't fun.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/10/teen-sailor-missing-at-sea/?hpt=T2
>>>>>>
>>>>>>This is no surprise to me at all - I sort of figured this was going to happen to her. Not sure how I feel about the parents letting her do it either.
>>>
>>>
>>>Looks like its ok being 16 after all
>>>
>>>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/us_and_canada/10291246.stm
>>
>>I saw that as the lead story on cnn.com's home page first thing this morning. She's safe. What a great way to start the day. She sent out the distress signal after her mast snapped. The boat is not doing any more sailing, obviously, but is afloat and seaworthy. A French merchant ship is on the way to rescue her. Someone said that it was fortunate that the French ship was (somewhat) nearby because there is very little merchant activity in that part of the ocean.
>>
>>Do you think this girl is ever going to have any trouble getting a job? What spunk! And clearly a more capable sailor than some of the speculation had it. When your mast snaps off there isn't much you can do but send out a distress signal, and that's exactly what she did.
>
>One of the most difficult parts of being a parent is knowing when to back off and not let your 30 40 50 year old safety concerns take over.
>

You said it. If you want uncertainty as a constant companion, just have a kid. It's natural to want to protect your children. It's also important to let them grow and flourish. If you think about it, the goal of a parent is to help the child get to the point that they don't need you any more. I have seen a lot of overprotected kids have a rough transition to adulthood, and I attribute that to insufficient experience in managing their own lives. Obviously you don't hand the car keys to an 8 year old. But many situations, especially by the late teens (this girl will be 17 in October), are not black and white.

>Talking with an old friend at the weekend about how when younger any car or motorcycle would be taken out straight away to see what it would do. Now its how far will it go on a gallon of petrol.