Jessica Watson's Round-the-World Voyage

[Wotname]

Ocean Girl,
There really is no way that one can sail RTW unassissted without sailing around Cape Horn. The only other way to get past the Americas is the Panama Canal and it is impossible to transit the canal SOLO UNASSISSTED; so until the Northern ice cap melts, one has to sail the Horn.

[cooper]

hey ocean girl,
as a broad spectrum question......as applies to ALL sailors who ply those waters........The anwser is the same !
As to the boat, there are plenty of discusions on GZ curves and righting moments...I am sure that Uncle Gord has a million examples that he can provide, the internet has a stack of the various ....and probably one for this particular boat and model. it is interesting that other young round the world record challengers have chosen boats that have a some what less reliable set of righting curves....the particiants are older and male....

[Ocean Girl]

Not dissing the boat guys, was just curious. I ask these questions to discuss it. I love to talk design/storm tactics, so that was all I was trying to do. I know where to get the capsize ratio (1.93 I think). I just wasn't sure of her exact design because I thought there were two different 34s made?? I understand some of the defensiveness due to the previous threads but I am not trying to plod over a well worn path on a closed thread.

Paradix, thanks for the pic, and yes, that is considered a modern underbody design. I think that is one of the best design for cruising (though I have a full keel ). She has made some good time, do you figure January/February for the horn? I only have the pilots chart and one chart of South America/the horn.

Painter- wow too cool! It is great to hear from someone with experience rounding the horn, What kind of vessels were you in? east bound? What was your highest latitude?You said november and july, so I am assuming not the time of year jessica will hit it? My mom passed the horn on her way to Antartica, she was on a Big 200-250 footer research vessel.

Wotname-I am not touching that with a ten foot pole

Normally, us sailors love to expand and even exaggerate the storm conditions or the size of the waves. The biggest storm I have encountered so far was in the Atlantic with 70 knots of wind and monstrous waves (though some days when I tell the story it shoots up to 80 knots ). Anyways, I have the feeling the horn is one place where exaggeration is unnecessary.

Does anyone know of her chosen storm tactics? weather windows aside, what do you guys think would be a good plan?

Erika

[sneuman]

My experience does not include high latitudes, so I can only guess. From what I've read, Painter is right, there are plenty of people who have passed the Horn in relative benign conditions.

But, as a whole, the Southern Ocean is going to be a huge challenge for her. The cold is going to zap her energy and impair her decision making. It's one thing to be out there in 30-40kts. in temperate climates, quite another in the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

So you can see why I wish she'd sail a different route......

Originally Posted by Wotname

Ocean Girl,
There really is no way that one can sail RTW unassissted without sailing around Cape Horn. The only other way to get past the Americas is the Panama Canal and it is impossible to transit the canal SOLO UNASSISSTED; so until the Northern ice cap melts, one has to sail the Horn.

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

.......Wotname-I am not touching that with a ten foot pole.....

Hmm…after re-reading my post and OG’s comment (above), I see I have not expressed myself very well and may have inadvertently given the impression I was re-hashing the old ground of solo etc. This was not my intention and I apologize if my post was read this way.

The point I was intending to make was in reference to JW’’s proposed route and OG’s general question as to its suitability or otherwise. My point being JW must sail around the Horn as there is no other possible option for her.

Of course this may have been self evident .

[paradix]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Hmm…after re-reading my post and OG’s comment (above), I see I have not expressed myself very well and may have inadvertently given the impression I was re-hashing the old ground of solo etc. This was not my intention and I apologize if my post was read this way.

The point I was intending to make was in reference to JW’’s proposed route and OG’s general question as to its suitability or otherwise. My point being JW must sail around the Horn as there is no other possible option for her.

Of course this may have been self evident .

Personally I just thought OG was reacting to your mention of the icecaps melting, and wanted to avoid being drawn into the inevitable yes-it-is no-it-isn't argument about global warming!

[osirissail]

Actually the north polar route is available for the summer season - a cruiser went through this summer. However it would add significant mileage and months as you still have need to circle Antartica. She could go through the Beagle Channel or Straights of Magellan but that would inside the territorial waters of up to two countries with the requirements to check-in/out. So her route is the only viable route from her home country.

[TaoJones]

Originally Posted by osirissail

She could go through the Beagle Channel or Straights of Magellan but that would inside the territorial waters of up to two countries with the requirements to check-in/out. So her route is the only viable route from her home country.

Any vessel has the right to pass through the territorial waters of a nation without checking in/out as long as no one on the vessel ever makes landfall. See Transit passage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Of course, this does not mean that a vessel might not very well be stopped and boarded by authorities from the country whose waters you're transiting, and that would ruin someone's "solo" and "unassisted" standing, placing a big asterisk on their record-breaking attempt.

TaoJones

[12,800ft]

Any news or maybe "luck"?

Jessica Watson past Norfolk Island
NEWS.com.au - ‎Oct 26, 2009‎
However, Mr Fraser said a tracking device would be added to Jessica's website in the next 48 hours. "That way we will give people an estimate of where she

[paradix]

Originally Posted by 12,800ft

Any news or maybe "luck"?

This from her website yesterday:

"For all of those fans wanting to track her voyage, we are pleased to advise that we will post a tracking map next week which will provide everyone with an estimate of Jessica’s position."

I think they wanted to get her through the first couple of weeks with some privacy and safety. Given the other recent events around the world (see other threads), I guess there's always some risk to publicly advertising the position of a young woman with a high public profile sailing alone. Although she's far from pirate territory, she has been in quite busy waters, and there are opportunists everywhere.

She has been updating her blog every day and the website also, with sufficient information for interested people to work out roughly where she is. From her website today:

"These fast downwind conditions helped put Jessica ahead of her schedule, with the teenager expected to crack 1500 nautical miles sometime today as she sails towards Tonga."

She has had an excellent run with mainly S/SE winds since Norfolk Is.

[12,800ft]

Thanks Paradix!

Should we be monitoring the website or the blog?? Someone might want tell the "team" to sync new news with the blog.

It's an interesting idea they have don't you think?

People sail around the world within eyesight of land disappear and SAR can spend at min. 72 hours searching and cannot find a trace of them.

Yet here we're concerned with people with nothing to do, actually seeking a single boat in the middle of the ocean for whatever reason.

May I ask you what has changed exactly?

Since we're told Jessica's right on track in fact a little bit ahead of schedule owing to the recent winds, what has changed from the pinpoint declaration of "48 hours' from the 28th, to now a nebulous week or so?

Really has a determination been made that from now and say 7 days forward, some unrest is occuring in the territories she'll next be closer to and that is the reason? Has someone devised a formula "x"amount of miles from land * CIA World Book unrest = hours or days before posting the tracking device?

Did you see what the "pirates" did to poor Saito-san as he rounded the Cape? held his boat hostage until the insurance paid out. The entire winter.

RSA is pretty stable.Don't believe there's ever been any piracey or shenanigans there of any sorts.

Thanks!

Appreciate your personal input from the "family" and "team".

[slomotion]

I believe that the RTW "rules" require that she round Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Leeuwin plus cross the equator both ways. Using the Straits of Magellan or the Beagle Channel wouldn't qualify.

[osirissail]

>>>Of course, this does not mean that a vessel might not very well be stopped and boarded by authorities from the country whose waters you're transiting, and that would ruin someone's "solo" and "unassisted" standing, placing a big asterisk on their record-breaking attempt.<<<
Very true - but the Wiki entry is out of date and not true- Since 9-11 the "vessel in transit" also known as "innocent passage" has been dramatically changed. Terrorist prone (countries who "think" they may have a problem) have adopted the USA lead that any ship entering their waters has to "check-in" with "authorities" for inspection and possible boarding unless they do it at a "clearance port." You cannot transit many "territorial" waters using innocent passage unless the particular country has passed "innocent passage" provisions in their laws and regulations. (e.g. the Bahamas has such a law allowing "innocent passage". Trinidad and the USA do not. You must notify officials and check-in or be boarded for "National Security Reasons." The "Safe Harbor Provisions" of the International Maritime Convention have also been re-written since 9-11 to abrogate those provisions if the Nation doesn't want to allow "safe harbor" for "National Security". This came up in other threads about "Q-flagging" through countries where you do not wish to stop and go ashore. New world order . . .
- - To avoid these "political problems" RTW'ers simply stay in International Waters.

[SvenG]

As I posted in another thread, I suspected that Ella's Pink Lady was under power at the time when she struck the Silver Yang. I listed my reasons for thinking so.

Tonight I have gotten information which I trust, which tells me that she was indeed under sail at the time. All I was given was the conclusion, not the evidence behind it, but the source is credible enough for me.

I would have posted this in the locked thread, except it is locked, so for the record I have posted it here.



-Sven

[Stillraining]

12,800'...decend and take a deep breath dude..