As soon as I heard of the 16 year-old girl who got lost at sea trying to circumnavigate the globe, my first thought was “WHO IS GOING TO PAY FOR THE RESCUE OPERATION?” which has so far cost $300,000. My second thought was, “What is the parents’ angle or dysfunction?“ Well, the family is claiming to be broke so they sure as hell aren’t going to pay the cost. I personally believe that every time one of these adrenaline junkies gets into trouble and requires a rescue effort, they should foot the bill themselves, especially since many of them are rich enough to waste time on this foolishness. I’m not sure what the international rules are but I hope these fools are held accountable.
In this particular case, today’s STAR story tells you what the parents’ angle is. It’s the same as all incompetent parents these days: Get a “reality” TV deal. Great…
Laurence Sunderland, right, and his son, Zac talk to reporters outside the Sunderland home, Saturday, June 12, 2010. (Mark J. Terrill/AP)
Broke dad cut TV deal for teen sailor’s story — Reality TV show about daredevil family and documentary about Abby Sunderland’s journey
The father of Abby Sunderland, the teenage sailor who was trying to break the record for the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe, has signed a deal to do a reality show about his family called Adventures in Sunderland.
According to Magnetic Entertainment’s website the “family oriented adventure show” is based on the lives of the Sunderland family. The website says the show will “follow the family in their day-to-day lives as shipbuilder Laurence Sunderland and mother/teacher Marianne try to balance work and family.”
The deal was cut after his daughter Abby set off on her journey on Wild Eyes and the reality television crews were in their home four months ago, according to the New York Post’s website.
Abby set sail last January but was stranded in the Indian Ocean last week after storms wrecked the mast of her sailboat. The storm knocked out her satellite-phone reception. An international rescue effort was launched.
The 16-year-old was eventually found and she is aboard a French ship, making her way home. She is supposed to be transferred to another boat tonight. It is going to take a least a week for her to make land.
Sunderland, it appears, has also negotiated a deal with Magnetic Entertainment to do a documentary on his daughter’s trip. The website is also promoting the documentary.
According to Magnetic Entertainment’s website Abby Sunderland “has been waiting to fulfill her dream since she was thirteen years old while having to watch her older brother Zac set the record as youngest solo-circumnavigator first. That record having being broken by Britain’s Perham in 2009, she now plans to reclaim the World Record for the Sunderland family. To do so, she is in a race to beat older Australian Jessica Watson who embarked on her own voyage three months prior to Abby.”
In an interview Sunderland said the reality show was “the last thing on his mind” when his daughter’s solo trip around the world began. “The wheels in motion for this trip had actually started when Abigail was 13 years old,” he said in an interview on his driveway outside his home.
As to the show itself, he said: “We thought it might be a good idea if it was encouraging kids to get out there and do things.”
Sunderland confessed to the Post, he was broke.
He defended letting his daughter take the risky journey. “I love my daughter dearly,” he told the New York Post. “I love the passion of sailing dearly, and this was about Abigail following her dream.”
Neighbours have said that the Sunderland family – with the seven children, all of them home-schooled – has been a curiosity in the community. According to a local resident, the family rarely leaves the house or talks to neighbours.
On her blog, Abby entered this entry yesterday:
“Aboard the Ile de la Reunion. Everything is going well out here. I’m still getting used to walking around on board and it takes both hands to keep myself from falling up and down the narrow halls. I’m still having trouble typing on this key pad but I’ve got a few more days to get the hang of it.
“Everyone on board has been really friendly. They have come a long way out of their way to help me and I am so thankful that they did. My mom has told me about all that the different rescue groups did to help find me. So thank you to all of you. I had only hoped that a ship would pass by me within a few weeks. I am really in awe. Thank you to everyone involved….
“I have started writing. At first I decided that I wasn’t going to write a book. But then I started to think about all the good times Wild Eyes and I have had together. All that’s left of the voyage of Wild Eyes are my memories, eventually they will get fuzzy and I won’t remember all the details. I don’t want that to happen. Wild Eyes and my trip have been the best thing I have ever done or been through and I don’t ever want to forget all the great times we have had together, or the bad ones for that matter.
“The story of Wild Eyes is over, but my story is still going. I’m still out on the ocean headed to a little island called Kerguelen and then will be on another boat for ten days up to an island near Madagascar. From there I will eventually make it home.
“So, on goes my adventure! Abby”
Upon reading this article I felt a number of mixed emotions.
I agree with RR that it is unfortunate that we are spending so much money on the rescue efforts but sympathize with Abby as well.
I guess I feel a bit sympathetic because I coudl see myself doing something like this. I guess when you are young the world is your oyster. You want to take the world on and conquer it. You want to feel empowered and I guess Abby was trying to do that. Had she been a success, everyone would have applauded her but because she failed and it costed us a lot of money as taxpayers, we are complaining.
This story doesn’t ange rme as much as others have. It is nto as though Abby intentionally planned to get lost or faked a scheme like the “Balloon Boy” story-then I woudl feel outraged. She simply had a dream, thought she could achieve it and went for it.
Sometimes in life you need to take risks to feel alive. YOu have to get out there and say “Hey I did it” or at least tried because if you don’t, you will regret it for the rest of your life. On this premise, I salute her for jumping into the water (no pun intended) and trying to pursue her dream – even though the end result was a costly one.
Thank you for your comments, RJ. I agree that it’s inspiring to see people of any age trying to live out their dreams. However, I think her parents are idiots and glory hounds. And neither they nor Abby think that they should be responsible for any of the cost involved in salvaging her boat and saving her reckless life (apparently, the law says they AREN’T responsible…). I also question her motives, as she was trying to beat her brother’s record for being the youngest person to circumnavigate the globe. I don’t know about this family. No, they’re not the balloon clan, but something doesn’t seem right (although my spidey sense isn’t tingling with them).