16-yo sailor Abby Sunderland has been rescued

[GAME05]

isn't there insurance for the cost of rescues? and isn't that also why we pay taxes (globally)?

 

i doubt the fishing boat had to go too much out of its way to pick her up.

 

a friend of mine had to get helicopter-rescued off a mountain. the people said the first one was free, but if they had to do it again (he was debating going up again), they would bill him $10,000. he decided not to go up again.

 

if this were an idiot who needed rescuing i might have more reason to say he should pay, but she had the experience and knowledge to do this, so i don't mind so much that the cost was covered. i think for the vague price of exploration and adventuring for its own sake, this was a price worth paying for.

[Baldkin]

So should appropriately-aged (whatever arbitrary number that is) sailors be forced to repay rescue fees? I think it's ridiculous that people are suggesting she should have to do that. That's precisely the kind of operation seafaring rescue forces are assembled to execute. And they're probably funded through taxes. It would be like clamoring that any sailor that has to be rescued in Lake Michigan, or the Atlantic/Pacific off the U.S. coasts should have to pay for the service. How dare they sail & get out to explore the world!

No. People who need rescue shouldn't be forced to repay whatever costs are incurred. People who then turn around and profit off that rescue should have to. She's already signed a book deal, and there's the reality TV show on top of it.

It took them 40 hours to find her. At least 3 flights were made checking on her well being. The costs of which are not insignificant.

 

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/rescued-teen-sailor-abby-sutherland-cuts-book-deal/story-e6freon6-1225879633270

 

A spokesman for federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said a

figure had not yet been calculated on the cost of the rescue effort.

But

it has been reported it could cost as much as $300,000.

 

[thebruce44]

rescue shouldn't be forced to repay whatever costs are incurred. People who then turn around and profit off that rescue should have to. She's already signed a book deal, and there's the reality TV show on top of it.

It took them 40 hours to find her. At least 3 flights were made checking on her well being. The costs of which are not insignificant.

 

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/rescued-teen-sailor-abby-sutherland-cuts-book-deal/story-e6freon6-1225879633270

FYI, the TV show was canceled long ago.

[DougJones43]

This is a tricky one. It's hard to say that since what was being done was "for profit" that it means the family should have to pay for it. I mean, fishing boats are out there trying to make money, should they have to pay any time they need some type of assistance?

 

On the other hand, most people don't exactly find attempting a reality TV show to be making an honest living, so in that regard it's not really the same. And you just know that the family will now end up making a ton of money now for book deals, exclusive TV interviews, etc.

 

I think it would be the ethical thing to do, for the family to donate a good portion of this money to rescue/relief funds. For some reason though, I don't see that happening.

[TooLiveBrew]

People who then turn around and profit off that rescue should have to.

 

She didn't profit off of being rescued, she profited off of undertaking the voyage

[DougJones43]

People who then turn around and profit off that rescue should have to.

 

She didn't profit off of being rescued, she profited off of undertaking the voyage

I'm quite sure a majority of the money she and her family will make from this entire ordeal will be due to going missing, being rescued, etc. That aspect of her voyage is what has gotten the most publicity, after all.

[TooLiveBrew]

That's a good point, didn't consider it like that

[thebruce44]

Its my understanding that the brother's trip cost the family over $150k. It stands to reason they are $300k in the hole now, and the reality show was scraped a long time ago. I have no problem with them trying to recoup some of that or all of it through interviews or books.

[mothershipconnection]

isn't there insurance for the cost of rescues?

 

If there isn't there should be. The problem would be making sure it's globally accepted and paid by everyone. If it could work, it'd make much more sense for those taking the risk to be insured than citizens of other countries having to pay for them.

[TooLiveBrew]

Not the same person, obviously, but 16-yo Laura Dekker (of Holland) became the youngest person to complete a solo yacht trip around the world.

 

http://www.aljazeera.com/...2012121202915337525.html

 

Guinness World Records, an organisation that verifies and compiles data on world record attempts, says it will not verify this particular record, as it does not wish to encourage dangerous attempts.

Dutch officials tried to block her trip, arguing that she was too young to risk her life, and school authorities complained that she should have been in a classroom, not braving the world's seas.

In August 2010, she won a ten-month long court case against child welfare authorities, who contended that she was too young for her safety at sea to be guaranteed.

...

Dekker was born aboard a boat and first sailed solo at age six. At 10, she said, she began dreaming aobut circling the globe.

...

The current record holder is Australian Jessica Watson, who achieved it in May 2010, three days before she turned 17.

Unlike Watson, who circumnavigated non-stop, Dekker sailed from port-to-port, never spending more than three weeks at sea in a single journey.