What Abby Sunderland Achieved From Her Journey?

I don’t quite think so—I just think the U>S> media made more of it—Don’t get me wrong, both girls did a wonderful job, but you have to think of Abby’s timing, I think it was just a little too late in the season, and problems with the boat didnt help either

The USA media paid little or no attention to Abby Sunderland while her voyage was underway and ONLY became interested because of the failure. As for Jessica Watson, she had thousands around the world following her successful voyage for 7 months but again the USA media paid her absolutely no attention; I guess because she was Australian.

Hype anything to the extent the media did after Abby’s boat was demasted and what would you expect? The numbers above do not surprise me whatsoever as it is typical of the media.

If Abby had drown and been lost, now that would have really gotten their juices flowing and the above comparison would have been double that.

Let’s see…notoriety for being a success, or notoriety for being a failure. It’s my guess that the successful circumnavigator will go much further than the one who failed due to poor planning and greed to steal the record.

I followed Jessica’s blog but then started following Abby’s too.
What a difference. Jessica had problems but they were fixable. Poor Abby’s boat had one major problem after another. I would say equipment failure from the get-go was what held up her journey and put her behind in sailing the ideal season.

Media are often more interested in disasters than achievements… Drama makes sales! The US media make a fuss about Abby because she is American, mostly. Her ill-prepared journey, rushed only to try setting a “youngest” record, with an improper boat, and departing MUCH too late (about 2 months) had to turn into a disaster. That was an attempt to get famous and make money. On the opposite, Jessica’s voyage had been prepared carefully for two years, she had the best boat, and departed in due time. Her maturity and her sailing skills made the rest. The two attempts are totally different. You can’t compare a foolhardy run-out to make dollars and a genuine human and sports challenge. Abby is a poor girl. Jessica is a gem.

Failure can sometimes lead to success but not in this case. Abby has gained notoriety not success. Notoriety due to a foolhardy, ill-conceived and reckless attempt to gain a record seemingly at any cost. Jessica Watson is a success. A success due to meticulous planning and a flawless attitude.

This is a very inaccurate assumption.
This is not a per-capita poll. People can easily be counted more than once.
Being well known doesn’t mean worldwide acknowledgement.
There are plenty of people on Allstars shows in America and England that people like myself have never heard of.
Web traffic has also moved on with technology. It’s just another statistic.

I like Abby, she has guts and is a very different 16 year old to the many I know in my community. She’s a champion in my books just for that significant achievement alone.

Jessica will be remembered for her increadible character long after the press has had their fun sensationalizing Abby’s misfortunes. And if I remember right, 75,000 or more people turned out to give Jess a hero’s welcome home. There’s definitely no lack of popularity for Jessica.