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Deja Vu - Solo Yacht Girl Colides with Freighter!

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redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1771 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/09/2009 : 11:19:13

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/09/09/2680368.htm

Maybe soloing without AIS and a radar perimeter alarm isn't a good idea.

Sten

Edited by - on

jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 09/09/2009 : 13:29:29

maybe she should wait a few years...

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piseas
Former Treasurer

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USA
2017 Posts

Response Posted - 09/09/2009 : 14:11:05

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by jerlim
 maybe she should wait a few years...
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Jerry, Dare I say some members would disagree with you. Personally, I agree and parents are crazy to have let her go. To me its child endangerment. They(parents) are lucky she was not killed.
Steve A

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3704 Posts

Response Posted - 09/09/2009 : 14:21:24

Here we go again!

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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4479 Posts

Response Posted - 09/09/2009 : 14:37:21

From her blog, I know she has radar, but haven't found mention of AIS. Since she has loads of sponsors, you'd think someone gave her one. Whether or not she was using them is another question. She says last night at 8:37 PM: <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">"Ok, I better go and fire the radar up , turn the navigation lights on and have one last check of everything on deck before it gets dark. Then I might think about some dinner before grabbing some cat naps of sleep. "<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

http://www.youngestround.blogspot.com/

Single handedly managing being dis-masted in the middle of the night is pretty impressive. I've had my mast come down on a 14' catamaran and it was an unpleasant experience, I'd imagine the mast coming down on a 34' boat's a bit more traumatic.

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redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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1771 Posts

Response Posted - 09/09/2009 : 14:59:27

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Nautiduck
 Here we go again!

Funny how these younguns have bigger and faster boats these days!

sten

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windsong
Captain

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USA
318 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 06:51:10

My 16-year-old daughter called me in tears last week from school because it was raining "really, really hard," and the mean school parking guard wouldn't let her into the student parking lot. She would have to park in the teacher's lot, which was further from the door. She was going to get wet. "Daddy, what do I do?" (Sigh.)

Now we have this plucky Aussie girl dismasted at sea alone at night following a collision with a freighter, and she deals with it. I stand in awe. She's made a believer of me.

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Ed Cassidy
Captain

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USA
365 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 08:24:23

Isn't there some kind of requirement to show lights that indicate the vessel is not under command like something between running lights and anchor lights? If the merchant vessel saw normal navigation lights it might assume the sailboat was being piloted by a human.

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redviking
Master Marine Consultant

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1771 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 09:29:00

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ed Cassidy
 Isn't there some kind of requirement to show lights that indicate the vessel is not under command like something between running lights and anchor lights? If the merchant vessel saw normal navigation lights it might assume the sailboat was being piloted by a human.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I believe that the regs do call for a black ball during the day while at anchor but not underway. There is no light combo I know of for heaving to.

Code flags - like anyone would know what to do with those these days - could be used. I'd say a combo of Foxtrot "I am disabled" and Delta "keep Clear of me" would suffice.

Technically, she should have kept a proper watch, however many a seaperson has been hit while trying to catch some z's. Most admonish sleeping during the day and 15 minute timer at night.

sten

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 10:38:40

Where does it say she was dis-masted? I couldn't find it. "Lost half the rig" or some such was what I read. Rigging damage does not necessarily mean she lost her mast.

Shouldn't she have planned to be awake and on watch while crossing shipping lane? Assuming of course she was in a known shipping lane. Imagine if she were 13...... sorry, couldn't resist.

I understood that she didn't become disabled until AFTER she hit the ship. I'm guessing the ship's master heard it. No real need for those signal flags then.

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Steve Blackburn
Master Marine Consultant

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Canada
1091 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 12:20:05

When will this "youngest to go around" fad stop?

How low will the age get? First it was Zac Sunderland at 16, then this girl and another (from England I think) that I believe is trying to gather money. Even though some are more mature than others there is a correlation between age and the ability to reason and take the right decisions. After all this is the reason why we don't have 13 year old kids driving on the road or going to prison. 18 is called the age of reason, which can be viewed as an average mind you but still I don't think I personaly was anything close to being mature decision wise before the age of about 21, but that's just me. I think it's a fair assumption of mine saying that the younger you are the more invicible/immortal you feel and you take risks that you wouldn't at a higher maturity level.

I remember Zac Sunderland mentioning he had a revolver onboard. So this kid was going through international borders with a gun? How much experience can a 16 year old have when dealing with weather? We all know that the trick to safe sailing is keeping well within safety boundaries when dealing with the weather but when you're on a timeline I guess the strategy is hope, hoping that the weather won't build up and you will remain lucky.

I would be very nervous about my 16 year old daughter coming in contact with shady individuals on fishing boats and the like.

Edited by - Steve Blackburn on 09/10/2009 12:21:46

delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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USA
4479 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 13:20:07

From near the bottom of the article: <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Solo yachtsman and Clean Up Australia founder Ian Kiernan says Ms Watson is a "plucky young Australian" who is obviously well prepared and has survived "an incredibly threatening situation".

"I've nearly been run down a number of times myself and the rules for the prevention of collision at sea state that all vessels must maintain a continuous radio, radar, and visual watch," Mr Kiernan said.

"Obviously as a single-hander you can't do that, but I have on many occasions nearly been run down by ships where there is no radio contact and obviously they're probably reading Playboy at the bridge or asleep in the chair and not looking out."

He says the danger posed by shipping lanes will decrease as Ms Watson gets further out into the ocean, but warns there will still be many dangers ahead.

"There are objects to hit, there are the storm conditions that you get, there are the towering 20-metre seas of the Great Southern Ocean, there is the danger of injury, there is the fact that you've got to maintain your eating regime and your sleep regime because if you run yourself down with sleep deprivation - that's when the knocks start to hurt," he said.

"Looking at Jessica's yacht I see that she's well set up with wind generation for energy, and solar, because it is critically important to you because that runs your navigation equipment, perhaps your self-steering gear and your lights, radar and radio," he said.

"She has handled a very difficult situation - to be dismasted with a full crew is bad enough but to dismasted on your own is - fortunately I've never been dismasted when I've been on my own - but it would be an incredibly threatening situation."<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

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John Russell
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
3444 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 14:02:53

I just wonder why they didn't mention dismasting in their own press release. Mr. Kiernan is right though, it would be an incredibly threatening situation. I just wonder if she actually lost the mast or maybe just a shroud or two. Either way, she's pretty lucky.

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jerlim
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1484 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 14:43:24

I'm w/ Steve...

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Nautiduck
Master Marine Consultant

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3704 Posts

Response Posted - 09/10/2009 : 19:04:02

Steve said: <blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">I would be very nervous about my 16 year old daughter coming in contact with shady individuals...<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

I'm very nervous about my 26 year old daughter coming in contact with shady individuals!!

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bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1776 Posts

Response Posted - 09/11/2009 : 07:02:21

She may be "plucky" she was lucky and the entire thing about being the youngest seems strangely adult (read parent) driven. Robin Lee Graham (who Zac had referenced) never set out to be the youngest -- or event or go around the world -- he set out to SEE the world. His trip took years and my guess is the only reason he finished going around the world was to satisfy the National Geographic, who became a defacto sponsor.
Now we have kids who are pushing for a goal but are missing the joy of sailing the world. Finally, my 16 year old sonis a pretty good sailor -- has raced on big boats at night in squals with 50 mph winds, is fearless, etc. He might even be described as being "plucky" but if he asked me to let him sail around the world I think the answer would be something like "when you can afford all the equipment on your own, and have the time to see the world, lets talk". I think these sagas will continue . . .

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