Jessica Watson's Round-the-World Voyage

[clockwork orange]

Ok,this is my first post on this thread and im happy to see how well she is doing,in fact she seems to be taking everything in her stride and the old 4ksb seems to be holding up rather well too.What i wish i could find on her website thyough is more about the boat and particularly the preperations for this voyage and the equipment,it would be very usefull for others preparing to go offshore, for example Jess made mention of how well her big autopilot worked in those conditions,ive got to say so am i,so it would be nice to know what it is,in fact it would be nice to know when this is all over what worked and what didnt.anyway nice job jess and mr autopilot,keep up the good work.
Steve.

[barnakiel]

(What follows is my opinion, not facts

(I am deeply convinced) This is not a blog written by someone with dyslexia. The spell checker does not solve all problems as the user will often not be able to make choices between parallel spellings (e.g. see vs. sea). In such a case the blog may not be ghost-written but the entries are post edited by a pro editor.

(I do not believe) A dyslectic person after three knock-downs and one roll-over can write such a piece in such a style and time. I have two friends who are dyslectic, one is a doctor of sciences, the other is a journalist. I have edited/corrected the thesis of the first one, and I can see how much work, effort and times is put by the other one into his work. And he is a pro, doing writing for bread on a daily basis.

Once again, the above are my opinions and observations only. Perhaps a specialist in the field of this specific learning/language disability could cast some valuable light on this aspect.

I also do not believe the heavy weather strategy employed by Jessica Watson was adequate to the conditions. She seems to spend a lot of time inside, isolated from the elements, letting the boat 'take care of her'. Earlier she run into a cargo ship, now she got badly knocked down. A boat let to herself will NOT take care of anything, not in the middle of a shipping line, not in a South Atlantic storm.

I know it is very cold and wet out there now, but it is even more so after she got knocked down. This is where we are back to the pre-event discussion on the forum on whether such a young and inexperienced person is ready for such a demanding and potentially dangerous challenge. It will not be any easier on her further down the track and I hope she will find a way to avoid the sort of experiences she has had this far.

b.

[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.

[paradix]

Originally Posted by clockwork orange

Ok,this is my first post on this thread and im happy to see how well she is doing,in fact she seems to be taking everything in her stride and the old 4ksb seems to be holding up rather well too.What i wish i could find on her website thyough is more about the boat and particularly the preperations for this voyage and the equipment,it would be very usefull for others preparing to go offshore, for example Jess made mention of how well her big autopilot worked in those conditions,ive got to say so am i,so it would be nice to know what it is,in fact it would be nice to know when this is all over what worked and what didnt.anyway nice job jess and mr autopilot,keep up the good work.
Steve.

Hi Steve,

If you want to know the details of any specific equipment, I suggest you drop an email to her shore team (their address is on her website). Given that much of the equipment was provided by sponsors, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to let you know the details. They may be more reticent about the details of what is not working so well, for obvious reasons...

[Randy]

I've also thought the blog is being written by someone other than Jessica. But, there is no doubt the boat is being sailed by Jessica.
This part of the Atlantic I believe can be a lot rougher than people expect especially after they pass the Horn. Donna Lange also suffered a knockdown in approx the same area during her solo circumnavigation, she was outside in the cockpit and underwater (barely survived). I don't know that being outside in this instance would have prevented the knockdowns. She didn't say whether she'd deployed a drogue or not; just a stormstays'l.
But, I also don't believe she'd left the boat to itself. It's more the fact that these are the conditions at 45/55 degrees south AND this is the favorable time of year for passage.
Good Luck Jessica!

[paradix]

Originally Posted by Randy

I've also thought the blog is being written by someone other than Jessica.

The blog is being written by Jessica.

[04 Marine]

Quite frankly, does it really matter if the blog is being drafted by Ms. Watson and then cleaned up on shore. Most if not all writers submit their manuscript to the editor who cleans up this and that to make the book more apealing to a market. Look at it like this. She does not get a lot of sleep, is doing a great job navigating her boat through some tricky regions, is under constant stress to make the right decision all of the time. Given those conditions can any one of us get the spelling right when the keys keep moving under your fingers as the boat lurhches from crest to crest and side to side. Personally, I think it great if her shore team is cleaning up material that is written when she tired, hungry and worn out from long hours. It certainly makes our job of reading it easier and more enjoyable.

[clockwork orange]

If anyone has read the account of the abandonment of the Wylie 28 Wildflower in similar conditions while returning from the last solo transpac her skipper was also holed up down below as there was nothing more he could do,her skipper had several hundred thousand miles of racing and cruising experience including about 100,000 on Wildflower, much of it solo, as well as being the skipper of Imp when she survived the 1979 Fastnet race so,a lot more experienced than most on these forums(btw,wildflower did not fail him,he scuttled her before climbing on a container ship) so i think Jess did ok,will have learned from the experience and will be better prepared for the next time because of it. In just a few months she will have achieved something nobody on this forum has done and yet some will still be second guessing her decisions.
Steve.

[surfingminniwinni]

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.

Well said!

Now no more negativity, Jessica has earned her stripes, she has achieved so much more than most expected or that most have ever done.

[KiwiGuy]

Thanks Paradix.

I have read all her blogs to date, and realise her Mum was transcribing reports for her on some of her trips without a computer, but most of her early blogs are definitely her own work and already show her personality through the "ships log" format.

Basically she is a thoroughly modern teen who is right up on social networking and has developed a lovely style that reflects her personality. The yachting world must be pretty happy that they have such a good communicator out there telling her dramatic story as it happens. She could have a huge influence on the popularity of yachting.

And I wager that her output is very fast, touch typing being the norm these days for any modern teen.

I also suspect she is a wicked texter, as on at least one video she is checking her satphone for texts. She can sure teach us oldies a real lesson in communicating, winning friends and influencing people!

And her video clip as she went past Cape Horn will be a classic for years. "Wow" :=)

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

From what I understand, Pink Lady was handling the conditions well but it was the rogue waves that knocked her down. Due to the area rogue waves are not uncommon. She could not of anticipated the rogue waves, that is the very nature of rogue waves, they come from another direction and give a sucker punch. Both capt and vessel seemed to of taken it well and I pray that is the worst she will see.
Cheers,
Erika

Exactly...What good is a drogue or any technique against this?..Hunker down strap in and hang on ..thats all you can do....if you were on deck messing with anything your gone.

YouTube - Rogue Wave Full Version XVID

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by Stillraining

What good is a drogue or any technique against this?

It can keep you from broaching and losing your rig.


-Sven

[speakeasy]

I see we're back to this, eh? Well I just want to add that I saw this image in the ash residue of my whiskey glass just minutes ago. I've taken the pic and will copyright it.

[paradix]

Originally Posted by SvenG

It can keep you from broaching and losing your rig.


-Sven

That's good info. I know Jess was out practising with a (series?) drogue before she left, so I'm sure she has one on board. If what people are suggesting about the "perceived" rogue waves actually being broaching on a following breaking wave (and it certainly sounds plausible), then maybe it would have helped her to have one out there.

What I don't know is how feasible it would have been to get out there and launch it once things started getting really rough... Perhaps she will be more conservative next time and get it out earlier.

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by SvenG

It can keep you from broaching and losing your rig.


-Sven

Hmmm...Well I have no personal experience to draw from but I don't see it helping one bit with the sucker punches Erica speaks of and this video shows..but a breaking following sea yes ....maybe you can explain it to me in another thread sometime how it would prevent a roll over with an abeam rouge...The preventing of a broach i understand...My understanding that was not her situation...maybe I missed something.