R22 Discussion Group

Ben,

I've never met this Moses you talk about. Is he another Rhodes owner? (just 
 kidding people). 
Age is not the issue here. The sex of the person is not the issue. When you 
 have a will to try something that is extremely difficult and not within 
the  capabilities of most people, AND it's well thought out, well financed and 
 doesn't inflict any damage on anyone else, I say you should be able to do 
it.  Growing up in Wisconsin I was fortunate to attend a summer YMCA camp. 
It was one  of the best times of my life. I learned important skills such as 
canoeing,  taking long (2 week) canoe trips, sailing, fishing, swimming, 
using a diving  bell, horsemanship, archery and.22 cal target shooting.
All of those experiences were things I had never done before. My life  
probably wasn't in tremendous danger doing any of those, but I learned a whole  
new set of skills. Things that have made me a better person today. Don't 
bridle  our youth. Exploration is as old as man. Yes, this one is extreme and 
out of the  norm, but don't prevent her from doing it.

Rummy

In a message dated 1/28/2010 2:53:21 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
bencittadino at gmail.com writes:

Rummy;

I would like to zero in on what I believe the  most interesting part of this
story is. If we were talking about a  competent (meaning mentally competent)
adult then I'm with you all the way.  People ought to be able, without
interference from anyone, to take risks  and have adventures so long as they
don't endanger others. My problem comes  from the idea of children getting
into things that are inherently  dangerous. Being a lawyer, I've been in the
"line drawing" business most of  my life; at least I've been in the business
of figuring out where the line  is ,or ought to be in the realm of human
activity. Does society, the  government if you will, have any responsibility
to protect children from  their own folly, or the folly of their parents?
Ever? I'll bet there are  many things we could agree that ought to be 
illegal
for children, even  smart, trained, skilled children. I'll bet we could 
agree
about an age that  would be just too young to let that child try to sail
alone around the  world. So where should the government draw that line?
Should parents always  have the last word? I can see that since 18 is the 
age
of "majority" in  most jurisdictions, and this kid is almost 17, that
somebody might make the  judgment to let her try to sail around the world
alone. However, I do think  myself that it is irresponsible and creates a
greater risk of involving the  sea rescue resources of many countries than
seems reasonable. I would draw  the line at 18 years. Would you draw any 
line
at all or just judge each  case on an ad hoc basis? Can agree that Moses'
mother was guilty of child  abuse casting him off to float away in a reed
basket down the  river??

Best,

BenC 

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Jessica Watson