Jessica Watson's Round-the-World Voyage

[mt gay rum]

Originally Posted by Hud3

Sven,

I've averaged better than 10 kts over several hours in my 32' waterline boat with a theoretical hull speed of 7.5 kts. How did I do it, you ask?




The Gulf Stream!

Ah go figure currents in the ocean... what a surprise... too damn funny

[sarafina]

I am interested in her (or any vessel's) on going proximity to assistance, should it be needed. Given the proposed loops she may sail, how far from contact is she?

I am imagining say she becomes ill, say her appendix blows, and needs medical assistance and sets off her EPIRB. What is the ESTIMATED longest length of time she would wait for help? I know at some places she will be closer to land or shipping lanes than at other times. When will she be at at her most remote, and how far away is help?

[TaoJones]

It's impossible to say, Sara. It depends on how close the nearest vessel capable of rendering aid is at the time. If she sets off her EPIRB, given her proposed route, receiving assistance from land-based SaR sources is unlikely.

TaoJones

[Stillraining]

Originally Posted by TaoJones

It's impossible to say, Sara. It depends on how close the nearest vessel capable of rendering aid is at the time. If she sets off her EPIRB, given her proposed route, expecting assistance to come from land-based SaR sources is unlikely.

TaoJones

It always blows my mind that when the Titanic went down there was another ship 5 hours off...she should be so lucky

[SvenG]

Originally Posted by mt gay rum

Ah go figure currents in the ocean... what a surprise... too damn funny

Yes I misunderestimated her team even more than I expected <- me

Either her team has already gotten her into the gulf stream or she was going even faster than reported through the water in the west-flowing current where she is guessed to be. Or maybe she snuck south of New Zealand to avoid the helicopters and paparazzi ?

Pages 366 and 367 of Cornell's "World Cruising Routes" is wonderfully supportive of Ella's Pink Lady's valiant struggle through the unhelpful opposing local currents. They do indeed flow from east to west-southwest where she may now be.

What an amazing team !

I will prepare to apologize again ?



-Sven

[sarafina]

It makes sense that most likely aid would come from ships, not land, and I know some areas are more heavily populated out there. What might be her most remote location? And how many hours/days, estimated of course, is she from aid in that case?

And here I am assuming clear weather, that it is not in the middle of a gale that prevents assistance from setting out.

[paradix]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

Ok, out of the loop here so fill me in. What day is she going to make the u-turn south? Have I missed it?
Erika

Hi Erika

She'll turn south after she's reached the equator, which obviously depends on conditions up until then, but is likely to be a couple of weeks away at least. At the moment she's about four or five days sailing from Fiji.

Incidentally, you mentioned in the other thread that you thought her route was a very bad idea. Why was that? (I'm genuinely interested - not being defensive )

I know Jessica very well and I'm happy to answer any questions I can, although I'm not intimate with the finer details of the voyage.

In response to others:

Newt: She is attempting to sail singlehanded, non-stop and unassisted, as slomotion has outlined, and as undertaken by Jesse Martin ten years ago. Jesse Martin is recognised by the WSSRC as the youngest person to achieve this, although the WSSRC have since decided to discontinue their recognition of future age-based attempts (youngest or oldest) so it is uncertain whether Jessica's achievement - should she succeed - will be recognised by the WSSRC. Regardless, it will be a matter of fact, so official recognition is not that important to her.

David_Old_Jersey: I agree entirely that nobody here owes Jessica their support, or their apology in general. Healthy, informed debate and conflicting views are necessary or this would be a very dull world indeed. (There are a very few individual posters who have taken their criticism to a personal, spiteful level who probably do owe Jess an apology but that is never going to happen, is it.)

sarafina: I'm guessing their are other, more experienced people who can answer your question so I won't attempt it!

[TaoJones]

In the event she activates her EPIRB, I can only envision a "Ronnie Simpson" scenario; i.e. taken aboard the nearest vessel capable of rendering aid, then going wherever it was originally going.

She will be far from land once she turns SE from the equator until she nears Chile. Then, when she gets 'round the Horn, she will only be near land when she passes south of the Cape of Good Hope. (Of course, this is assuming we're not counting the land under a mile of ice that is Antarctica, or the land at the bottom of the sea.)

TaoJones

[paradix]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

Whilst I wish her well, and will be interested to follow her progress (once it stops being a secret),...

This seems to have become something of an obsession with some folk around here. Since when has her progress been a secret? She has been regularly updating her blog with her progress in respect to significant waypoints (Lord Howe I, Norfolk I), her heading and her distance travelled, so surely that is enough to put a pin in the map of her approximate position. On another thread, people are criticising the kidnapped couple for publicly letting others know of their intended route. Jess is not in pirate-infested waters, but she has been in the proximity of populated islands and other vessels and is entitled to her privacy for both safety and personal reasons. Everyone who needs to know her exact position has her tracking data. Everyone who doesn't, has updates on her progress through her blog.

[hoppy]

She has posted a couple of videos on her website of her off Lord Howe Island and Ball's Pyramid. Sven will be excited by her lack of admitted pace in the videos.

I cruised through there when I was Jessica's age, but I with a thousand other people on a cruise ship

Jessica Watson - youngest ever to sail around the world

There is also a good interview of her by Jessie Martin there.

I hope that once I have a yacht I will have even half the balls she has to sail even just a modest ocean voyage

[osirissail]

- - The are only reporting her SOG, not her boat speed.

[llyrisk]

Paradix said
"I know Jessica very well and I'm happy to answer any questions I can, although I'm not intimate with the finer details of the voyage"

Do you know anything about her food supplies? I have mostly read that she has supplies for eight and a half months plus reserves. Given that Jesse Martin took eleven months in (I think) a similar sort of boat (although I don't know what route he took, maybe it was totally different) I would think she would need to be carrying at least a year's supply, wouldn't she?

[paradix]

Originally Posted by llyrisk

Do you know anything about her food supplies? I have mostly read that she has supplies for eight and a half months plus reserves. Given that Jesse Martin took eleven months in (I think) a similar sort of boat (although I don't know what route he took, maybe it was totally different) I would think she would need to be carrying at least a year's supply, wouldn't she?

Yes, Jesse Martin's boat was very similar to Jessica's, also an S&S34. His route was quite a bit longer, as he went north in the Atlantic and rounded the Azores. I believe his journey was around 29000nm, compared to the approx 23000nm planned by Jessica. He took 11 months (planned to take 10) whereas Jessica is planning 8 months. She will have reserves for a month or so beyond that I expect. If something happens which extends her time at sea beyond her reserves then she will need to forgo the "unassisted" part of her challenge and accept supplies from off the boat. Of course she can also harvest from the sea to boost her food along the way.

[llyrisk]

Thanks for that information Paradix

[mt gay rum]

Based on her recordings shes right where she has been blogging all along.. boat speed must be pretty accurate... Glad to finally see footage... anyone see the footage on i think it is one Ten (one of her sponsors from Aus) footage on Jessica ??? any more info there???