Jessica Watson's Round-the-World Voyage

[Ocean Girl]

I have been in a 70 knot storm in the Atlantic so it probably close to half as extreme as what she saw (or even a quarter!). Anyways, in those conditions you go from proactive to reactive sailor. There is nothing left to do but hang on down below. If there is a freighter out there she wont see it in those conditions, she might get a glimpse but not really enough to determine a change of coarse. Plus she can't really change coarse without endangering the boat further. In my storm I saw a freighter off my stbd forward quarter, I lost it until it was off my port beam! The freighter had crossed my bow, and even though I scanned frantically looking for it, I never saw it.

These are survival conditions that is what makes the Horn so vicious. I cannot imagine doing anything but hanging on when my storm was raging. Hanging on was work, it isn't snuggled up reading a book, it is wedging yourself one way for a few minutes until you come loose and then you have to readjust and wedge yourself another way. My spot was the foot well of my chart table, the bunks were too big, I kept getting thrown up onto the cabin top. You can't see, the rain and spray is like a sand blaster. you can't even crawl, the boat is like a bucking bull. You really take a big risk going out on deck unless it is crucial. If she was on deck when the rogue waves hit....I for one and glad she has the common sense to stay where it is safest.

Godspeed Pink Lady!
Erika

[acesails]

Hi,
Jessica has a Jordan Series Drogue built by Ace Sailmakers.

It has Spectra 12 strand as the rode, and weighs under 14 lbs without
10-15 lb weight for tail end.

[RichardInMd]

Somebody wanted more info on how the boat was set up Here is a link to the best info. It is written by Don McIntyre, and shows how Jesse is really ultimately behind this thing.

Article

Richard W
Maryland

[KiwiGuy]

Somebody wanted more info on how the boat was set up Here is a link to the best info. It is written by Don McIntyre, and shows how Jesse is really ultimately behind this thing.

Stunning article, no wonder she was so confident before she left. A pretty exceptional young woman, to have assembled and inspired the team as she did.

[RichardInMd]

Originally Posted by KiwiGuy

Stunning article, no wonder she was so confident before she left. A pretty exceptional young woman, to have assembled and inspired the team as she did.

I would agree!

Richard W

[rover88]

What has dyslexia got to do with anything and why on earth would anyone even broach such a subject? Also, who gives a rat's posterior about who writes or edits her blog? Somewhere on her site it mentions that her mum "cleans up" her reports. Big deal!! I've seen some pretty sloppy writing here, so maybe we should all get an editor!

Here's the cold hard - an only relevant - fact: Jessica is doing what very, very few people in this world will ever do and she's doing it pretty da*n well!

[KiwiGuy]

Isn't there some statistic that more people have gone into space than have sailed solo around Cape Horn ??

[Tim_H]

Its getting competitive out there:

MARINA DEL REY, Calif. (CNS) -- Sixteen year old sailor Abby Sunderland was escorted out to sea Saturday by an entourage of boats as she sets sail for a record.

Abby Sunderlund had a look of "resolution" on her face as she sailed out of the marina, determined to take on a voyage that she has been longing for since she was 13, spokesperson Matt Tolnick said .

"Throughout the press conference she was very confident. She knows about the risk. I think the basic message was to not give up on your dreams," Tolnick said. "There were close to a dozen boats escorting her out. The Sheriff's Department and Los Angeles County lifeguard boats were a part of the send off, beeping and sending out water."

Sunderland could become the youngest person to ever complete such a voyage.

The Thousand Oaks teenager, who had been waiting for the local weather to break, will be headed south, rounding Cape Horn and braving the Southern Ocean, which is known for having the roughest seas on the planet. She will have to take everything she needs with her, and she plans to sail unassisted and nonstop.

She will be in a high-tech open-ocean racing design called Wild Eyes -- an Open 40.

From Cape Horn, she will head east into the South Atlantic and around the Cape of Good Hope, through the Indian Ocean and back into the Pacific. Abby is roughly two months ahead of Jessica. Jessica was 16 years and five months old when she departed on her voyage. Abby, on the other hand, was 16 years and three months old when she departed on Saturday.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by paradix

Hi Barnie,

As mentioned previously, I know Jessica personally.

As this is a sailing forum and not a medical science forum, I don't think it is the place to be debating whether or not a person you do not know (but I do) has dyslexia, so I'm not even going to go there. I don't think that calling for other experts' long distance view on the matter is appropriate either, on a sailing forum...

I hear your views about storm strategy. Other experienced forum members seem to disagree with you. I'm wondering if you have personal experience of being in the cockpit of a boat hand-steering in these conditions (65kt + winds, 7-10m breaking swells, darkness) and how you think this may have helped the boat and crew. I have read many accounts of solo sailors in these conditions and they all took refuge inside their cabins, after taking care of things on deck to the best of their ability. This is exactly the strategy Jessica took as well.

Hi Paradix,

1) This forum is a public forum and if you think I am not sticking to the forum's rules please report this to the moderators. I will follow their suggestions should they be of the opinion that my posts are not in line with the forum's policy and norms.

2) I do not state Jessica Watson is dyslectic. It was some earlier poster who said she is. What I said was that I do not believe the blog is written by a dyslectic person.

3) This is a cruisers forum, not a sailing forum. So we discuss cooking, pets and bike maintenance here too. And love and fear and home schooling. If dyslexia affects a sailor or if it simply pops up in a post I have the right to discuss the subject too.

4) I am glad to know that you 'know Jessica Watson personally', that you know better than others what is 'appropriate on this forum', that you are 'wondering about' my experience, that you think other forum members are 'experienced' and that you can tell the experienced ones from the inexperienced ones.

5) I am glad to know you get your knowledge from reading accounts. I get mine from crossing the oceans. This explains why our opinions differ.

Regards,
barnie

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by rover88

What has dyslexia got to do with anything and why on earth would anyone even broach such a subject? Also, who gives a rat's posterior about who writes or edits her blog? Somewhere on her site it mentions that her mum "cleans up" her reports. Big deal!! I've seen some pretty sloppy writing here, so maybe we should all get an editor!

Here's the cold hard - an only relevant - fact: Jessica is doing what very, very few people in this world will ever do and she's doing it pretty da*n well!

I could not have put it better,thank you.
Steve.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

This thread has been created to discuss the sailing aspects of Jessica's journey. There is nothing more to be said about whether she should or should not be out there. The fact is that she is out there.

She is a fellow sailor on a very exciting and challenging journey. As a community of cruisers and sailors we now owe her our community support.

Posts not related to her progress update and relating to her journey will be removed.

Thanks for your community support.

I apologize to all community members who found my posts in this thread drifting. I admit I had not read the above quoted preamble prior to posting. Now that I have, I understand my mistake and will try to avoid similar mistakes in the future.

To paradix: Please accept my apology for placing a critical post on a thread clearly marked as 'community support'.

barnie

[KiwiGuy]

Originally Posted by rover88

Here's the cold hard - and only relevant - fact: Jessica is doing what very, very few people in this world will ever do and she's doing it pretty da*n well!

I think it can be safely said that Jessica Watson is handling herself, the whole RTW and media situation and Ella's Pink Lady with aplomb.

In fact having read through all the literature on her project and watched the videos, she has been doing this from the year dot.

A true professional, just a tad younger than we are all used to........

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by RichardInMd

Somebody wanted more info on how the boat was set up Here is a link to the best info. It is written by Don McIntyre, and shows how Jesse is really ultimately behind this thing.

Article

Why isn't that linked to from her pages, or is it ?

Great read.



-Sven

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

I do not state Jessica Watson is dyslectic. It was some earlier poster who said she is. What I said was that I do not believe the blog is written by a dyslectic person.

It was her mother who said it:

" Jessica's determination has special meaning for her mother she says -- struggled with dyslexia since early childhood. Am planning for the strip has helped her develop independence and confidence."...

Taken from the interview she gave to ESPN. The original page is now down but Google cached it at OTL: Jessica Watson Feature . Note that the transcriber of the interview seems to have trouble with spelling :-)


-Sven

[KiwiGuy]

For those who like numbers, Google "Sea State Tables" and check out the the first few entries, esp. Beaufort with pics and all.

Force 9 waves are 1200m crest to crest and travel at 70 kph. In Jessica's words, "WOW"