Kids Hungry for Adventure. 16 Year Olds Sailing the World Alone

Click post title to go to an article about a 16 year old California girl, sailing solo around the world, about to embark into the world's most dangerous waters, rounding Cape Horn, at a time when weather can turn very very nasty.

She says she's not afraid. I bet her parents are going through some worried nights.

Another 16 year old girl from Australia has already gone around Cape Horn and continues her journey sailing solo around the world.

What drives kids to such dangerous treks? Adventure of course and the deep human longing to explore. There's not many places left to explore. Or adventures to be had. Even climbing Mt. Everest has become somewhat commonplace, with climbers facing traffic jams of other climbing expeditions in narrow spots on the trail up and down. Mt. Everest is said to be littered in left behind trash and oxygen bottles now, from climbing expeditions.

Space may be the next and only uncharted place for adventurers.

The two teen girls out on the ocean alone are a world apart from adrenalin junkees, seeking quick fix thrills. I suppose there will always be places to find fixes for adrenalin addictions. The most fascinating I find is the new sport of skin gliding which combines a skin tight suit equipped with wing flaps, base jumping and sky diving. These folks really fly! I can only dream of what it might be like to fly, as they do.

I rented the movie "Hurt Locker" which was filmed under the premise that war is a drug, an addiction. The film follows a bomb tech in Iraq, whose job is to disarm all sorts of bombs. He loves his work, which leads him to take risks with fellow soldiers lives. And, after shipped home, finds he cannot live without the adrenalin rush of that work. He re-enlists, leaving his young son behind at home. The movie deserves its Oscar.

I have been surprised to meet so many young people who signed up for the military because they want to engage in firefights. I had never considered such a reason. I had thought it was a patriotic thing. Many are eager to engage in fighting and feel cheated if that does not happen in their military experience. Maybe war is a drug. Or, at the least, a fix for adrenalin junkees.

If this young girl's boat flips in severe weather off Cape Horn, she will be a speck in the vastness and likely will never be found. She knows this and yet she continues. Like so many adventurers and explorers who have gone before.