Yachting FAIL - Jessica Watson

[cat man do]

Round-the-world girl crashes yacht into bulk carrier

Posted 1 hour 10 minutes ago
Updated 35 minutes ago
Hit bulk carrier: Jessica Watson (Liam Kidston)

• Video: Teen sailor prepares to smash record (ABC News)
• Map: Point Lookout 4183

A 16-year-old girl attempting to become the youngest ever solo around-the-world sailor has had to abandon her trip after less than 24 hours after her yacht hit a merchant ship off Queensland.
Jessica Watson, from the Sunshine Coast, left Mooloolaba yesterday morning with the aim of becoming the youngest ever solo sailor to go round the world.
She was sailing her yacht Pink Lady 15 nautical miles east of Stradbroke Island, near Brisbane, when she hit the bulk carrier around 2:30am.
The accident broke her yacht's mast and damaged the deck, but Ms Watson was unhurt.
She called her parents who notified authorities. They told her to turn on her motor and head to Southport, on the Gold Coast.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority will be monitoring her return journey, and Brisbane Water Police has a boat on standby.
Brett Harrison from the Weather Bureau says conditions in the area were relatively calm at the time.
"There would have been some showers around earlier this morning [but] it doesn't look particularly bad apart from those showers," he said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...section=justin

A bit of a bummer but gee whiz, how the hell did this happen?

[twowheel]

Dang. I agree...how? Was she asleep? Did the merchant vessel not have it's lights on? Was there some other circumstance that we're not aware of?

One thing, at least it happened close to home.

[rusky]

Well it takes 2 to miss or ignore an AIS signal.

My assumptions are she may not have looked behind her and these ships only take 10 minutes to go from horizon to being on top of you. Its wash may have flicked her mast into it and she lost everything above the spreaders. The mast looks to be still onboard.

She is one tough customer though. Early reports are that she will fix it and continue.

We send her our best wishes.

[cat man do]

Looks like she can always fall back on a modeling career

[rusky]

Its also surprising that VTS wasnt monitoring her. Ships will appear as a loom on the horizon and by the time you can see definition, its too close. They are moving at 15-20kn which gives you 10-15 minutes time. Ships also for some weird reason will drasticlly change course.

We had a small (8000t) ship play chicken with us off Townsville a few years ago. We changed course 3 times and turned the motor on to drive out of its way. This Ship was the 'Alchem Calaca' and it ran over a wave rider bouy, moved from depths of 100' to 35'.The Townsville harbour master was a yachty and we obviously reported this as it scared us.

The ships masters report was that the 3rd officer was moving his ship( over salamander bank shoals} "in order to pass all yachts port to port". This master has a history of things like this and it came out.

So poor Jess - copped the lesson that this ship didnt keep a watch on radar or on AIS. The VTS system covers the reef and harbour entrances. Their radar would have seen the whole scenario like an air traffic controller - they should/could have given the ship a warning even if she was asleep. Maybe her egg timer should have been set to 10 minutes.

It will all come out eventually.

[cat man do]

Originally Posted by rusky

My assumptions are she may not have looked behind her

Perhaps?


http://www.prostyle.com.au/

She is one tough customer though. Early reports are that she will fix it and continue.

We send her our best wishes.

Good on her and good luck with round 2

[Tellie]

What happened to all that experiance everyone who supported this gal claimed she must have had? Maybe the 13 year old can break Jessicas world record and make it 48 hours before needing to be rescued.
Stunts, plain and simple.

[ColdFusion]

It must have been a terrifying ordeal. Just glad she's OK and will be heading out again after repairs, no doubt a little bit older and wiser.

[barnakiel]

Keep lookout. Is it not rule No 1?

Hopefully she will fix up and go on. Good thing it happened close to shore and she could get assistance promptly.

b.

[rusky]

Yep Barnakiel.
Dead right but - who hasnt caught themselves nodding off and also for me its the first and second night that are the worst until I get into the routine and my body clock starts to get used to the cat naps.

She is responsible for her actions but I cant throw stones at her - whats done is done and she will not let it happen again. Hopefully the ship reporting system will also get a wake up call as these guys are paid to watch the shipping traffic.

See you later

[Tellie]

24 hours guys. This isn't "The stupid things I see at the boat ramp" The girls lucky she's not dead.

[Morgan Paul]

That guy in the video was talking
gibberish.

Looks like she can always fall back on a modeling career

I agree she is a nice looking sailor.

[SabreKai]

Having problems with spoken english? He was perfectly clear to me.

Anyway, as far as it goes, lets hear what she has to say before we skin her alive and kick her overboard. We weren't there. So what do we know?


Sabre
84 days n a wake up.

[cantxsailor]

They sure don't make 16yo girls like I remember them.............m

[Zednotzee]

Originally Posted by Tellie

24 hours guys. This isn't "The stupid things I see at the boat ramp" The girls lucky she's not dead.

I have to agree to a point. It's entirely likely she has tons of sailing experience, but I can't help but observe that very few parents would leave their 16 year old alone for a few months in a house, & they hardly ever get run over by bulk carriers.
This kind of stuff reminds me of Jessica Dubroff, & I hope it doesn't take the same sort of tragedy in the sailing world to put a stop to it. Hopefully though we won't need to legislate common sense (never works anyway).