Jessica Watson's Round-the-World Voyage

[paradix]

You shouldn't believe everything you read in the press...

Nancy should have checked her WSSRC history more carefully. Compare Jessica's route with the route of Kay Cottee, who is recognised by the WSSRC as the first female singlehanded non-stop circumnavigator. Kay's route was very similar to Jessica's - she crossed in the Atlantic, rather than the Pacific, but no antipodal point, and if anything a slightly shorter overall distance. I wonder if Kay will now be handing back her "Australian of the Year" title, or (more pertinently) her WSSRC record...

In any case, as has been stated many many times, the WSSRC have discontinued their "youngest" category so this was never going to be a record of any sort for them. Whatever you call it, Jessica has actually SAILED it, not sat at home with a calculator or keyboard and picked holes in someone else's endeavours, or criticised their storm tactics, or second-guessed why they may or may not be calling some other sailor, or...

A bientot Cruisers' Forum, I'm off to Sydney to welcome Jessica home.

Other Kinds of Sailing Records

[DaveC]

In a way, sailing non-stop around has one great benefit to all of her future journeys: Sailing across any ocean will now feel like a weekend trip compared to a non-stop circumnavigation! If she sight-sees herself around next time she ought to have alot more fun because the crossings will seem so short.

Plus in doing this she has created a lifetime revenue source for cruising. Lectures and book publishing will keep her cruising for a lifetime.

I would say "lucky girl", but in this case it's not appropriate because she very much earned all of it. Folks can nit-pick at the details, but the fact is this girl sailed non-stop around the world.

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by paradix

You shouldn't believe everything you read in the press...


A bientot Cruisers' Forum, I'm off to Sydney to welcome Jessica home.

Other Kinds of Sailing Records

Wish I could be there with you Paradix..

Jessica Watson is my Hero!..

[Jim D]

This discussion has intrigued me since this voyage was first publicly contemplated; and I don't mean just here on CF, but in all sailing circles and few non-sailing ones too. We all reference the World Speed Sailing Record Council (WSSRC) "rules" because we don't have much else. But we do so even with full knowledge they do not recognize the goal Jessica set for herself. ANd, the route taken by Kay Cottee also makes for an interesting comparison, although i have not attempted to research the highest northern lattitude included in her voyage in order to compare to Jessica's.

THe irksome article is of interest, however I do not attribute any particular authority to Sail-World.com, and I have not determined that Nancy Knudsen is the final authority on anything, although she is certainly an accomplished sailing person. Am I missing something about that site, or that author?

There's plenty of time to add some island landmark to the east of Australia and go round that too, before coming back to home port, if extra distance is somehow needed for achieving the JW goal. I sure assume that the very clever team supporting this whole endeavor can figure that out, and weigh the merits if there actually are any.

Well, there's only faint hope that all this route issue can really be settled to everyone's satisfaction, but regardless, I also want to ask: how can it possibly be said that JW sailed underneath the tip of Africa, and did not comply with "rounding" of Cape Agulhas? The only way I can see to not have rounded is to have sailed the boat ahsore and taken the Cape to starboard. That in itself woud be an amazing feat on the fin-keeled sloop she is sailing.

Jim
~

[slomotion]

With all due respect to Sail World, there is something disingenuous about pointing out that the WSSRC doesn't recognize a "youngest" record and then appealing to WSSRC rules to show that if they did, Jessica's route wouldn't qualify. I also question their explanation of the 21,600 nm figure. Surely someone who crosses all lines of longitude at latitudes ranging from 55 South to 1 North must travel farther than someone who circumnavigates Antartica at 63 South.

Also, per Sail World, "sailing authorities" implemented this distance requirement in response to the 1968 Sunday Times race. This makes no sense. The 1968 race had no minimum distance requirement, but it required you to start from and return to England plus round Capes Horn, Hope (Algulhas), and Leeuwin. Accomplishing this necessarily involved orthodromic distances in excess of 30,000 nm. I think it is more accurate to say that irrespective of WSSRC rules, a popularly recognized custom and tradition has evolved based the 1968 race: You no longer have to start from England; you only need to start/return to the same place and cross the Equator x 2; you must round the 3 Capes, but the technical rounding rules are only taken seriously with respect Cape Horn (I'm not sure that Jesse Martin technically "rounded" Leeuwin); you must cross all lines of longitude, but there are no antipodes requirements; and there are no total distance requirements.

[sailorbyfate]

At the risk of being condemned as less than the enthustiastic supporter of Jesica that I am, I'll clarify my earlier remarks.

The WSSRC rounding rule is:

When a course includes a mark, beacon or point to be rounded, a string representing the wake of the vessel after starting and before finishing would when drawn taught pass each mark on the required side and touch each rounding mark.

By this rule, she did not round Cape Agulhas. I'm satisfied she rounded all the capes. She just didn't do it strictly by the WSSRC rules. As if those matter.

As I said earlier, I think this is trivial and unimportant. Jessica has said that this was never about breaking a record. The record was something that got her the support she needed. I admire her cleverness and diligence that got her that support.

[Jim D]

That tight string rule is applicable to all sailboat racing. Its a very simple way to describe a geometric requirement that the marks be passed correctly. It's especially important when a mark is surrounded by water, because you could round it once, and then go back around it the other way, and the string would no longer capture, or enclose, the mark correctly.

In this case, the string would be drawn correctly with regard to Cape Agulhas. There isn't a string problem with her route. You can't depart east-bound from the vicinity of Cape Horn, take the African continent to port, and proceed across toward Australia without doing it correctly.

~

[sailorbyfate]

Originally Posted by Jim D

That tight string rule is applicable to all sailboat racing. Its a very simple way to describe a geometric requirement that the marks be passed correctly. It's especially important when a mark is surrounded by water, because you could round it once, and then go back around it the other way, and the string would no longer capture, or enclose, the mark correctly.

In this case, the string would be drawn correctly with regard to Cape Agulhas. There isn't a string problem with her route. You can't depart east-bound from the vicinity of Cape Horn, take the African continent to port, and proceed across toward Australia without doing it correctly.

~

Perhaps you can explain where I miscalculated. Her Northernmost position West of Cape Agulhas was 32° 7.920'S 5° 11.118'W on Feb 10. Draw a great circle (the Ruler tool in Google Earth is good for this) through this point and Cape Agulhas. Her route never crosses that circle.

If somebody can identify two positions on her route that pass the string test with Cape Agulhas, I'd like to know what they are.

[Jim D]

I give up.



No, wait, that was too easy. So let's try this. Go to the link you provided, and read 26.a. Does that definition of the RTW route suggest any problem with her rounding of the tip of Africa, strings or no strings? I dont think it does. However, I really do concede if you still feel otherwise. And so far, you and I are the only ones enjoying this string topic, so maybe we lost our audience! Darn, I hate it when that happens.

~

[slomotion]

Again, and in defiance of WSSRC definitions, there is a customary and traditional definition for rounding Capes Horn and Good Hope. Under this view you must pass to the south of the Cape and you must also cross lines 5 degrees north of the Cape's latitude in each of its adjacent Oceans. I don't think it is possible to apply this to Cape Leeuwin and in any case, it is usually only observed with respect to Cape Horn.

[sec906]

Originally Posted by sailorbyfate

If somebody can identify two positions on her route that pass the string test with Cape Agulhas, I'd like to know what they are.

Were precise positions published anywhere about her route? How would you determine that she didn't pass the "string test" without those?

[sailorbyfate]

To see Jessica's route in Google Earth, download the kml file I've attached and open it in the Google Earth application. You can see lat/long and plot great circles directly.

The kml file does not contain the data. It downloads the data from the same source that is used in the "Voyage" link on Jessica's website. So it automatically stays current.

[DeepFrz]

I wonder if she even applied to WSSRC for ratification?

[Factor]

I wonder if I care.

And I dont. She has done a wonderful thing. Whether or not Ms Knudsen or anyone else thinks so. She has set and (nearly) met her own challange - I am sure she and I couldnt give a toss if the String Theory is appliacble.

I remember we had the same argument between Naomi James and Kay Cottee. naomi reckons it wasnt antipodean and therefore not a "real' one.

Both ladies are wonderful examples of sailing skill and courage as is Jess.

[surfingminniwinni]

I'm with Factor!
Lets see any of the detractors hop in a 34ft sailboat and do the same!!

I'm in Tasmania atm, and Jess has now got 25 - 30 knot's on the nose. Northerlies at this time of the year, unbelievable.

Wish I could be in Sydney, to see this historic achievement's finale.