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| [KensOtherBlog] 16 Year old young lady circumnavigating alone? |
10/21/2009 |
At the bottom of this email are links to the website, and blog, of Jessica Watson.
Her journey, and blog, is just getting started, so it is too early to say how interesting it will be, but my suspicion is: “very.”
She’s a 16 year old young lady, setting off to circumnavigate alone, in a small 34 foot sailboat, named “Ellas’s Pink Lady.”
Her circumnavigation got off to a dicey start a few weeks back when she was struck by a freighter on a practice run.
Here's an article about the collision, from an Austrailian newspaper:
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Watson missed cargo ship on her radar before collision
ARI SHARP
October 21, 2009
THE teenage sailor Jessica Watson failed to detect a 64,000-tonne cargo ship on her yacht's radar and then went to sleep less than five minutes before the two collided, transport safety investigators say.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau yesterday released findings of its preliminary investigation into the September 9 incident in which the 16-year-old's 10.4- metre sloop, Ella's Pink Lady collided with the Hong Kong-registered carrier Silver Yang.
Ms Watson was on the first night of a journey from Mooloolaba, on the Sunshine Coast, to Sydney as a trial run before her attempt to sail around the world, which started on Sunday.
In releasing the report, the safety investigators declined to comment on whether it was wise for her to proceed with the eight-month journey, saying it was up to Ms Watson and her support crew to decide.
But before Ms Watson departed from Sydney, the safety bureau arranged a visit to the bridge watch keeper's position on a tanker ship in order to help her understand what could be seen from that vantage point.
It also suggested she visit fatigue management experts in an effort to help her better manage her sleep patterns on the solo journey, and encouraged her to fit radar reflectors to make her craft more easily seen.
The six-page safety report says Ms Watson checked her radar before a planned sleep about 1.46am but did not detect the Silver Yang on her radar despite it being only one mile from her position.
But a crew member of the Silver Yang had spotted the Pink Lady at 1.25am, and 23 minutes later altered the ship's direction by 10 degrees in an effort to avoid it.
Silver Yang then applied hard-to-starboard rudder to steer out of the path, but at 1.50am Pink Lady's bow collided with Silver Yang's port side.
Lead investigator Peter Foley said Ms Watson had used high-quality equipment, but improvements had been made ahead of her journey around the world.
''She's got a very well equipped vessel, and the radar system, no, we're not concerned about the adequacy,'' he told reporters.
The agency said it would take up to six months to complete the report, and that it was in contact with Ms Watson's support crew if recommendations needed to be passed on to the skipper.
The report released today will be followed by an analysis and then a determination of safety issues.
The agency emphasised it did not seek to apportion blame in the case of incidents it investigated, but instead made recommendations to improve safety.
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I must admit that I am not a supporter of this type of venture, and not because of her sex or her age. I will get slammed for this comment, but I really do not think boats should be on the ocean, under way, with no one at the helm. I do not like the whole idea of single-handers crossing oceans. She has radar which is supposed to wake her up if another boat comes within range, which I suppose makes it reasonably safe, although I think the accident would argue that it isn't. I can't imagine that insurance companies think this is a good idea.
Her bravery and sense of adventure is awe-inspiring, and I wish her well. That said, were it up to me, I would not think single handing a sailboat, or a solo person 16 years old circumnavigating, are very good ideas.
Jessica's website: http://www.jessicawatson.com.au
And, her blog: http://www.youngestround.blogspot.com/
-Ken Williams
Nordhavn 68, Sans Souci
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| Posted by Ken Williams on Oct 26, 2009, 11:19 PM EST |
Greetings Adam! It was great meeting you. I was stressing out on Friday night over needing to give the speech, so my apologies if I seemed flaky. I'm a software developer, not a public speaker, and freak out when I need to do those kinds of things.
I noticed on Jessica's blog that she talks about the training she received from the Coast Guard on sleep deprivation (spelling?), and that she mentioned that she is setting the clock for as little as 5 minutes. She wakes, checks the radar, and goes back to sleep.
I do something like this when I'm on anchor watch. I set the clock every 30 minutes, and wake up, check the wind speed, reset the clock, and go back to sleep. Every couple of hours, I look at the chart plotter, to verify we haven't moved. I've done this for years, and don't even think about it anymore, and it doesn't seem to interfere with my sleep. I feel completely rested after a night of anchor watch.
Roberta and I haven't done many overnight passages alone. We did one four day passage mostly alone (her parents were with us, but they don't do much except help keep us awake). After the first day, we were into a routine and felt we could have gone forever. That said, I remember being totally exhausted when we arrived, and barely able to think. I hadn't realized how fatigued I was.
It will be interesting reading Jessica's blog. I'm sure she'll talk about the sleep topic, and what she does that works or doesn't work.
Thank you,
Ken W |
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| Posted by Adam on Oct 26, 2009, 10:22 PM EST |
| Ken, we had an interesting but all too brief conversation at the Nordhavn Rendezvous with Jeff, the original owner of 5503 Enterprise. He solo'ed from the PNW (Vancouver?) all the way down the west coast to Latin America. I asked him what his strategy was regarding sleeping; I'd heard previously that he set a course well offshore to reduce the amount of surrounding traffic. His answer was that he trained his body to wake up every hour. He would check the radar and do a visual scan, then go back to sleep. When asked about the effect on his alertness he said that after a couple of days his brain was able to immediately reenter REM sleep after each of these hourly "popups". The Grabs also reported quickly acclimating to their 4-hour watch schedules. I guess the body can handle a pretty significant variance from traditional notions of required uninterrupted sleep. |
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| Posted by Chris Hallock on Oct 26, 2009, 02:37 PM EST |
Ken,
Just as the boats on the crossings you have been on (NAR / GSSR) have had happen to them, the autopilot "crashes" for lack of a better term, and you could be driven somewhere else and not even know it for a few hours, way off course.
I agree with you, I would be paranoid about leaving the helm unattended. Now if you’re a couple splitting watches, there isn’t to much of a choice. If your doing single person watches and have a restroom break or engine room check? Not to mention medical emergency or slip and fall. At least your not leaving the helm empty for hours at a time, lots can happen in hours.
It really all comes down to wanting to set a record, not just to say you did it, otherwise she could wait a few years and then set out once she was an adult. If she is successful, then when does the 15 year old set sail to break that record and so forth?
Sixteen years old is a minor, in Australia as well. How does she get a credit card or sign necessary papers for immigration and customs etc? She can’t sign any type of contracts or such as they wouldn’t be binding because she isn’t considered and adult.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_of_age#Australia.2C_New_Zealand_.26_United_Kingdom
Thanks,
Chris |
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| Posted by Ken Williams on Oct 26, 2009, 12:15 AM EST |
Ed:
I thought about the example of 16 year olds getting driver's licenses this afternoon. You are right. Sixteen year olds are old enough to drive on busy freeways alone, where the speeds are an order of magnitude faster than on a boat, and the vehicles are feet from each other, not miles.
Single handed sailing still worries me, but I'm fairly alone in seeing it as a problem.
It's an area where I am irrationally paranoid. On Sans Souci, I drive people crazy insisting that two people be at the helm at all times. Both Seabird and Grey Pearl do one person three hour watches, but on Sans Souci we do two-person four hour watches. I don't like the idea of leaving the helm unattended during bathroom breaks or engine room checks. With two people, one can 'drive' while the other reads, surfs the internet, runs errands, provides conversation, whatever.
Does the coast guard, and insurance companies, have an official policy on sleeping on watch? I guess is it 'unofficially accepted.'
Thank you,
Ken Williams |
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| Posted by Ed Scripps on Oct 25, 2009, 11:42 PM EST |
Well I'm sure we could debate this topic endlessly. So I'll just respond to your comments by saying; I would somewhat agree about the maturity/age issue although we let 16-years-olds loose on our freeways every day and they cause considerably more damage and death than Jessica has. I don't know how you miss a freighter on radar, but I do know two highly trained pilots missed a major metropolitan airport recently.
I do disagree about solo navigators, Every four years the famous Vendee Globe solo around the world race is held, despite navigation rules These are probably the bravest and most capable sailors in the world and this world would be a duller place without those intrepid sailors. As far as the safety of it goes, I feel a great deal safer on the water with solo navigators than I do at any given moment on I-5. |
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| Posted by Ken Williams on Oct 25, 2009, 12:59 PM EST |
Ed:
My concerns about the Jessica Watson circumnavigation fall into two areas:
1) I'm very protective of children. Sixteen is hardly a 'kid', but it is still a young enough age that maturity hasn't really settled in. Is a sixteen year old really mature enough to be running through the Gulf of Adan alone? Her run-in with the freighter, and her reaction afterward seemed to argue that she should get a bit more maturity under her belt before tackling a circumnavigation. How does one 'miss' seeing a freighter on radar?
2) I do not like the idea of boats running around the ocean with the helm unattended. I think it is a stunt that could get people killed. The Coast Guard rules are very explicit that a proper watch should be maintained at all times. Perhaps I know too much about electronics, and how likely they are to fail. I've also seen too many freighters with no AIS, who have inadequate lookout themselves.
I certainly support your attitude that society should not tell us how to run our lives. However, I would say that it is fine for society to define some minimum age beneath which there are limitations on conduct, and to restrict activities, regardless of age, which could harm others. In this situation we are talking about someone who is not 'legally of age', and who is not 'maintaining a proper watch.'
I'm still following Jessica's blog, and really do wish her success. She seems very mature for a 16 year old, and I suspect the collision with the freighter made her a much better sailor. I do think it is very cool that she is doing this, and love that she has such good connectivity. This is a first, as far as I know, that someone on a solo circumnavigation, has had such great internet. She is uploading pictures and video! It will be incredible, and unprecedented, to be able track her trip around the world in such detail.
It isn't my style to be negative, but, this one worries me.
-Ken W |
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| Posted by edscripps on Oct 23, 2009, 07:11 PM EST |
| "unfortunately we have no laws in place to prevent such things." Thank god we have no such laws in place to keep people from following their dreams. Some of the world's best known sailors went to sea with little to no experience and experience won't keep you from getting run down by a freighter, many believe Joshua Slocum met his fate that way. Our society has become far to afraid of adventure and testing ourselves, we're much more content sitting the on the couch watching Dancing with the Stars. Everyone has their own comfort zone and I applaud those who push their the boundaries. As Jimmy Buffet said "I'd rather die while Im living than live while Im dead." |
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| Posted by Jim Evans on Oct 22, 2009, 02:11 PM EST |
Ken,
On her web page under the heading route + rules the first line states:
" My goal is to sail solo around the world non-stop, unassisted. I have chosen a route that is a traditionally recognised path and distance for ‘around the world sailors’."
This is what caught my eye about the non-stop statement.
Jim Evans
Fairbanks,Alaska |
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| Posted by Ken Williams on Oct 21, 2009, 10:19 PM EST |
All:
I found the full collision, preliminary report. It can be found at,
http://yachtpals.com/files/news/jessica-watson-collision-report.pdf
I haven't read it, but hear it is not pretty. From something I read today, the implication seems to be that AIS is her backup for the radar. The problem is that only about 80% of the freighters we saw had their AIS switched on. It was making us crazy.
In other words, if there is a lot of sea clutter, her radar is blind. And, if a freighter has no AIS, then her AIS is blind. I'm not sure how she is supposed to sleep? Perhaps, when there are rough enough seas, she just won't be able to.
My sense is that single-handed sailors survive, by avoiding busy shipping routes. That, to me, seems like playing russian roulette.
-Ken W |
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| Posted by Ken Williams on Oct 21, 2009, 09:30 PM EST |
John:
I wonder how she is doing her blog updates? My guess is Iridium.
Her comments after crash are what concerned me most. She didn't seem to really get it that the freighters don't pay attention. Our three GSSR boats put out quite a footprint, and there is no doubt in my mind that if we hadn't pro-actively stayed out of their way, we'd have been struck.
-Ken W
PS This is one of those times where I hope I am wrong. I'm curious if she has any kind of 'chase boat' following along at a distance, or an advance team, who is going country to country to handle clearing for her. Or, perhaps she won't be clearing in and out of the various countries? |
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| Posted by Ken Williams on Oct 21, 2009, 09:26 PM EST |
Jim:
I didn't see the words 'non-stop'. I'll look to see what I can figure out. I can't imagine that she is going non-stop. She probably means, 'stopping only long enough to provision and fuel'.
I can't figure out how to get the blog to send me email when there are updates. Anyone else figured it out?
-Ken W |
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| Posted by Jim Evans on Oct 21, 2009, 08:50 PM EST |
| I am very curious about their definition of "non-stop" as stated on her web page. ????? |
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| Posted by John on Oct 21, 2009, 05:10 PM EST |
Again Ken, I think your comments are 100% correct. Colliding with a Freighter less than 18 hours after departure from Brisbane to Sydney, when fatigue should not have been an issue shows inexperience in my view. It also caused a lot of comment here about whether she should be allowed to make the trip, but unfortunately we have no laws in place to prevent such things.
While we all wish her the very best of luck, the general feeling appears to be an expensive rescue operation is imminent & many doubt she will complete the trip |
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