Sheryl.....as parents, we make decisions concerning our kids, and have to live with the results. In the case of your son, it was supporting him in a "career" choice and what he wanted to do with his life.....a big difference between that (he still had to wait till he was 18 to actually "serve"), and the 16 yr. old girl trying to get into the record books (and from looking at her website, make some money off it)..... Society sets certain ages where people are able to do things (like vote, drink, get married, sign a contract, etc.) without parental "involvement"....whether we agree on that specific age for each individual event or not. You permitted him to enter the Marines, probably knowing that he wouldn't be able to go into combat until he was 18, when he would be able to make the decision on his own anyway. Would you have made the same decision if you knew the Marines would allow him into combat at 16, or 17? My kids make decisions that I sometimes disagree with, but I have no way of stopping them since they are both over 18.....all I can do is support them, maybe give them advice they might actually hear and take, and be there if something goes wrong. I still differentiate between that and facilitating a 16 yr. old doing something that has a VERY high risk of bodily harm, and possibly psychological harm.
I'm going to go out on the limb here and say that it would appear from her parents facilitating everything (big bucks for the boat, electronics gear, prep for the voyage, and a repair earlier in the voyage).....that maybe they were living vicariously through their kids (including the 17 yr. old son) and looking to make a buck off it??????? Maybe I'm wrong.....
Like I've said earlier, we all have are own opinions on the matter.....no matter how we handle it, as parents, we will have to live with the results!