“We Find Also in the Sound a Thought, Hearing It By This Distant Northern Sea”

I’m not the only one who quotes poetry after being inspired by the adventures of two teen girls who want to sail around the world. This article in the Sydney Morning Herald starts out with a short selection from Coleridge, then discusses the controversy surrounding the teens’ proposed voyages.

I enjoyed reading these comments from Mike Perham, the British 17-year-old who completed his solo sailing trip around the world last month:

”Is it OK for a 13-year-old girl to sail around the world on her own?” Perham said. ”Is it OK to climb a tree? Both questions have no right answer … Age is only a number. It is what makes the person that is important.”

There’s some good news for Jessica Watson: An Australian minister stated that the government won’t try to stop her after all.