[QUOTE=Jupiter Sunsation;3133122]I disagree. I suspect she is going to be like last year's Olympic winner in some oddball event. Makes headlines for a few days and is soon forgotten.


Shawn White. The kid gets more pu$$y than the Humane Society and makes more money from endorsements (Amex, Red Bull etc) than most of us will make in a lifetime. But I digress.

Carry on.:drink:

I was chatting with my wife about this last night.... few points we discussed and agreed upon.

1. Age doesn't matter, I would have let her do it.
2. For me the ability and skills to run the boat is not the issue, she's probably better than most.
3. Since she is under age and as a parent I am responsible for the safety and well being of my children. To take on such a task the parent should make sure she has the proper support network to keep her safe should something happen... You know, like how an abulance and EMT's are always onsite at a kids football, basketball or other sports...... Some type of rescue boat or support system should have been "nearby" to rescue her if there was a problem... IN this case, she may not have even needed to be rescued since she was found alive and well but no one would have lost contact with her. I'd never send my kid out to do something like that by themselves.

So in summary, my wife and I wouldn't stop her from doing something but what we would mandate, since we're still responsible for her, is that it done properly and as safely as possible with the proper support network.... If that support network cost $500K and I didn't have the cash to support it well, then she can't go..... :)

That was my point of mentioning Phelps, other than him (he is the equivalent of Michael Jordan/Tiger Woods) how many other Olympians are household names and have success dirived from it? Those 2nd/3rd level Olympians make the paper for a day or so then fade off into the distance just like this girl will. Even if she broke the record it is just a matter of time until someone younger tries to beat it and then she becomes just another past record holder.

Most military guys/gals live below the poverty level..... The Army is full of low level enlisted men that live in base housing that rivals section 8. I think your point was "ranked military" go on to successful careers. My brother in law graduated from West Point, currently a 2nd Lt. and has been in the Army since college. He will be successful no matter what he does but for now the Army is the place for him to be. However his base is full of losers that probably joined the military to stay out of jail and get free healthcare!

[QUOTE=xconn92;3133159]
Ah......you got me! I think all that success was there long before the Olympics and the Olympics were a side event to his regular career. When Jordan played for the US you could make the same arguement. Phelps doesn't have a swimming career, he was solely swimming for the Olympic gold.

+1, At 16 years of age she is a big girl. She is more likely to die in a car accident or a jetski accident. I would venture to say that she probobly knows more about boating than 98% of the people on this site.

98%? Is that because Sunkin isn't here anymore?

[QUOTE=Jupiter Sunsation;3133172]My brother was on the Olypic sailing team. He did not even race in the olypics but you better beleive that if some one sees that on his resume they are impressed. When you go up against people for an interview it means a lot that you were at the top of your game/sport, no different then some one that is an Eagle Scout or some one that goes to West Point. My wife hires for JNJ and she LOVES military people especially Marines.

She is alive and most of use would never have taken the risk. Outstanding!

Ok quick list I put together from some quick searching: I am sure some of these names will ring a bell? I think you will notice a trend of attending some high end schools and careers?

1) Eric Heiden
Olympic Moment: Dominating the headlines by winning all five speed skating gold medals at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

Post-Games Career: After Heiden walked away from the ice, he became a professional cyclist and even raced in the 1986 Tour de France. He later attended medical school at Stanford and became a successful orthopedic surgeon. Fittingly, he’s been the team physician for the U.S. Olympic Speedskating Team at the last three Olympics

2) Brian Boitano

Olympic Moment: Taking gold in men’s figure skating at Calgary in 1988.

Post-Games Career: Currently hosting What Would Brian Boitano Make? on the Food Network. The show features Boitano cooking for his friends, and it’s set to open its second 10-episode season next month.

3) Sonja HenieOlympic Moment: Winning three straight ladies’ figure skating golds between 1928 and 1936.

Post-Games Career: The Norwegian ice princess parlayed her massive success on skates into a big-money silver screen contract with Twentieth Century Fox. Henie’s draw as an actress and ice skater was so great that during the 1940s she was raking in around $2 million a year, which made her one of the world’s highest earning women. She and her husband developed a collection of modern art that eventually became the Henie-Onstad Art Centre near Oslo.

4) Jean Vuarnet Olympic Moment: Winning gold for France in the men’s downhill at the 1960 Squaw Valley Games.

Post-Games Career: You might not recognize Vuarnet’s face, but you might have worn his shades. After his big win in the downhill, Vuarnet agreed to help market an upstart French eyewear company’s wares under his last name, which led to the big success of Vuarnet Sunglasses

5) Bjorn DaehlieOlympic Moment: Piling up 12 medals (eight of them gold) in cross-country skiing between 1992 and 1998.

Post-Games Career: The Norwegian skier is apparently nearly as good at investing as he was at flying across the snow. His real estate and fashion company investments have allegedly helped Daehlie amass a fortune in excess of $30 million since his retirement from skiing.

6)The 1980 US Hockey Team
Olympic Moment: Toppling the favored Soviet squad in the Miracle on Ice en route to a gold medal.

Post-Games Career: Twelve of the 20 members of the team eventually made it to the NHL, and some were pretty successful there. Neal Broten won a Stanley Cup, was the first American to score 100 points in a season, and made two All-Star teams. Ken Morrow racked up four Stanley Cup wins while playing for the New York Islanders.

7)Peggy Fleming
Olympic Moment: Grabbing figure skating gold at the 1968 Grenoble Games.

Post-Games Career: In addition to her work as a skating commentator, Fleming and her husband also own Fleming Jenkins Vineyards and Winery in California. The vineyard ships around 2000 cases of wine a year.

8) Shawn White

As has been mentioned international man of mystery and puzzy magnet. :D

Great post. No two kids are the same, every so often you will run into a child that is wise beyond their years.

I dont think I could have sanctioned this trip for mine. But I cant say I would prohibit it for another.