Examinator, do you know what this kid is going to do? It doesn't sound like it.

If you do know, then leave the red herrings out of it please.

She will be doing the typical "round the world" trip, used by many races, & single handed "adventurers".

She will get down into the 40s, & sail, down wind, around the world, dipping down, a bit further south to round the horn, & perhaps Tasmania, to avoid Bass Straight.

Since the clippers retired there are no shipping routs down there, although there may be a few ships in the Tasman.

No shipping means no pirates, & I don't think there are too many terrirosts down there either. No percentage blowing yourself up, with no journalists to report your big bang. She will be so far from anywhere, that without a beacon, transmiting her position, even a squadron of search aircraft would have trouble finding her.

If the radar signature of her yacht is so small, that a bulk freighter can't see her, pirates, if there were any, would struggle, too.

These unassisted passages mean no stops, in ports, so she won't be near much habitation at all, & a very long away from any outboard mounted pirates.

Her main problem would be a big wave, in the wrong place, at the wrong time. I have a mate who's bigger yacht was turned over, just off Newcastle NSW, so that type of stuff is just luck, & can happen anywhere.

Hasbeen,

You may be correct.

We in Aust, via our media only hear about the the spectacular ones
remember the piracy of the Russian ship in the Baltic?

As I said a person I know, an ex SAS (lone sailor) was attacked by wannabe pirates crossing the Atlantic. A 28 yr veteran big ships' captain (small crew)had problems with pirates in the Pacific Nth of the horn.
Not all attacks are in the Middle east, Asia,or in the Timor Sea.

Piracy and terrorism ARE world issues today in our post "911 response" world. Are they odds on? No! but Red herrings? not really. To not to factor that and a million other risks many heightened by the age/vulnerability but not factoring them in naivety wanton and denial. The risk is way more risky/dangerous than local east coast sailing. Consider the whole argument I put up not pick cherry pick to discredit the opinion.

My lack of regard for this type of stunt still stands as does my questioning of the wisdom of allowing a less than 18 yo (legal age the age they can make the decision for themselves.) to do such pointless risks.
Likewise I distrust role models of this kind. IMO They don't achieve anything...except the wow ego factor.

Clearly you believe it proves something which is fine but I don't.

It is amusing that some who imagine that this sixteen year old is competent enough to understand the risks and make informed consent to this dangerous voyage recently decried NRL footballers for taking advantage of a 'vulnerable' eighteen year old women who pursued them for sex.

What is so different about sex that women, especially those accepted as adult enough to make informed decisions to vote and undertake legal contracts, cannot make informed consent and men have to be responsible for them?

Possible loss of life to be the youngest to circumnavigate the globe solo for attention-seeking mum and dad is no problem, but womanly regret (will they still love and respect me?) the day after adding a few more celebrity footballer scalps to her belt is a tragedy and the men involved should be castigated. Go figure!

Cornflower

Awesome!

You have managed to link NRL sex scandals to a young yachtswoman's ambition to circumnavigate the globe.

I doff's me cap at what can only be considered:

'TENUOUS SEGUE OF 2009'

NO NO NO! Just another little rich gal getting what she wants.
As in the past it will cost the taxpayers millions for the navy to make a rescue.
An another case of 'Stage perants'

Cornflower,
I see the apparent irony and the point you're making and raised an interesting more analytic thread to the topic . Why the apparent conflicting logic.
I guess it all goes back to the cultural conditioning, at this level it emphasises Yabby's point about the effect of hormones on the still developing adolescent mind. Having said that it still doesn't fully justify total abandonment rational considerations of the issues in our societal context.

Personally I would level the same standards on Males and females.

I have seen it argued that nature hasn't yet caught up to our intellectual/cultural perspectives/capacities i.e. we were never genetically intended to live as long as we do and therefore breed at a younger age for a time when breeding was a risky activity. Like the TV show said adolescents/ young adults are seemingly made to engage in risky behaviour. This creates conflicts with our post bestial cultural reasoning, duty of care and risk assessment .

The net result is this discussion topic.