Paying the real cost of adventure

The spirit of Charles Lindbergh, the true Spirit of '76, has always been an important aspect of what it means to be an American. But the Abby Sunderland sea rescue raises anew uncomfortable questions about where limits and responsibilities for personal adventures ought to be set.

Two central issues cling like barnacles to the 16-year-old girl's abortive effort to circumnavigate the globe alone in a sailboat. The first is whether a 16-year-old should be permitted to attempt a feat of this sort at all. The second is who should be responsible if it fails.

Sunderland's parents have been widely quoted regarding their daughter's ability, her resolve and their faith in both her and God. All that is wonderful, to a point. And that point begins and ends with her age. American society determined long ago that, for the safety of children and others, some decisions cannot be left to parents. A parent cannot let a child under 21 drink alcohol. A parent cannot let a child decide for herself not to wear a seat belt in the family car. A parent cannot let a 14-year-old, regardless of how much he has studied and trained, drive across the country - either solo or with a cadre of experts. Yet society does no more than cluck its tongue at parents who would let a 16-year-old decide whether she's capable of a feat that would be death defying for a person of any age.

Abby Sunderland and her parents state she should be excepted from the common sense and legal expectations afforded other teenagers because she "knows" what she is capable of. What teenager doesn't? More seriously, what responsibility does society have to protect confident children from the indulgence of parents? Was the lost life of Jessica Dubroff, the 7-year-old "pilot" who died on a cross-country flight in 1996, the responsibility of her and her father alone?

The second element of responsibility applies to adventurers of any age. "Lucky" Lindbergh demonstrated that transoceanic flight was possible. What did Abby Sunderland teach us? That teenagers can be highly capable as well as rash?

For that answer, lives were risked and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in her rescue. No one would ever contend that they ought not to have been spent, but one cannot help wondering why the public must be on the hook for the money. Of course, determining such liabilities is easier said than done. No one would blink at the cost, say, of rescuing a family whose minivan slipped off a mountain road on the family vacation. We know rescue operations occur regularly everywhere from hikers on the Appalachian Trail to climbers on Mount Hood. Still, surely there is a way to determine between reasonable and reckless recreations.

Abby Sunderland says she "definitely" will try again to sail around the world. We admire her spirit and wish her well with that goal. But we also hope she doesn't try it until she's reached a more reasonable age of responsibility and she's made arrangements to compensate the people who may be called upon to come to her rescue. No less should be asked of her or any adventurer.