Hellobee Boards

I don't really have an opinion but I read pages of mean comments yesterday!

FYI...the coast guard sank their ship on purpose. They lost steering and the 1 yo was sick so they needed rescue.

I feel uncomfortable about it, but I do not think it makes them unfit parents in any way. My biggest issue would be the importance of good sleep for a baby...that would be hard to ensure on a boat and it sounds like the baby did have a hard time.

I agree that there isn't anything inherently wrong with going sailing with young children, but attempting to sail around the world with a 1 and 3 year old seems like poor judgment.

@blackbird: well the article said this has been their life for 7 years and they lost their "sailboat and home" - meaning they lived on the boat?

I don't really think it's a big deal. That is just the way they live their life. They took appropriate precautions and called for help when they needed it.

It's important for me to be a reasonable distance from medical care. 900 miles from shore with a 3yo and a 1yo...that's not something I'd be comfortable with.

@mrsrain: +1. I totally agree.

It's easy to get caught up in our idea of what is culturally okay and not okay. I view someone living on a boat and sailing as a different type of "culture". They seemed very responsible and sought medical attention at the right time.

I just think about how often kids need to go to the pediatrician at that age. Even without other kids' germs, things pop up. So I can't imagine feeling comfortable, personally, with being 900 miles off shore like that, being on the water for so long. That being said, I would never berate them or mean comment. It may be something I wouldn't do, but it's not illegal, so who am I to judge?! They're sailors, not me. Glad they were able to be saved.

I am okay with their decision to sail around the world with small children. Doesn't affect any of the day to day decisions I make with respect to my son.

What kind of rubs me the wrong way about the whole situation is the resources used for the rescue. My assumption is that they're paid for by our tax dollars and I question the use. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying they should have been left to die out there, but there should be some kind of private rescue insurance. I know I can purchase insurance if I am visiting another country in case i need to be medically airlifted out.

@looch: This was my issue as well, the resources that were necessary for rescue and the related costs.

@looch: Sometimes I believe there can be a "bill" for services like this. Probably not covering the entire amount and taxes cover the rest but still.

I wouldn't do it, personally...but that's just me. I don't care what other people do and don't judge. I would be way too nervous being that far from land even if it were all adults. The sea scares me though.

@lawbee11: I totally agree, the context here makes a big difference to me. I don't have a problem with sailing and I think it's awesome to introduce kids to that kind of thing...but no, I don't think it's wise to sail around the world with toddlers where you have no easy way of returning to land should an emergency arise. I don't see how any weighing of the pros and cons would have came out in favor of that choice considering that mom and daughter both tested positive for a salmonella infection less than 10 days before departing on this trip.

That being said, it's not really any of my business and I know that - it's their life. The only part that's really affecting others here is the finances used to save them, and I totally agree with @looch: that there should be some kind of private rescue insurance. I cringe to think of how money this could cost if there were more families making decisions like this, causing expensive rescues to become more common.

Wow I had a big fight with DH about this last night. Well not that big but it was big for us. We finally agreed to disagree.

He thought it was totally bad parenting and they were horrible people. I said that is not fair... if the baby didn't get sick you probably wouldn't have even thought of that.

One of my points was also they are spending a lot of time with their kids and we only really see LO on the weekend and at night. So they have that going for them.