[Buffalobob]

Her planned route took her from Southern California south then around Cape Horn (South America's southern tip) where, according to the American Sailing Association Executive Director Charlie Nobles "you can literally have waves of 100 feet" if the weather turns nasty. From there, Abby would head into the Southern Atlantic, known for having the roughest waters on the planet - and where she apparently ran into trouble this week.

"It is dangerous," Abby said at the time. "But you have to kinda understand what you're getting into and be ready for it."

Her father says Abby is ready for the challenge, observing that, "She's pretty much been in training for this her whole life."

Abby notes she "decided to do this when I was 13 years old." And, to critics who say she's too young and the trip too dangerous, Laurence Sunderland asserts, "I don't agree with them. Not everybody should be put into a box, the boxes of society."

I hope they have to pay the costs for the rescue effort. When it is over they should be charged with child endangerment.