Solo 16-year-old sailor hits merchant ship

[Dyflin]

Interesting timing for this to occur.

Jessica Watson, 16-year-old who had set off from Mooloolaba to Sydney on a leg which was to be a precursor to her attempt to solo sail the world non-stop and unassisted, has hit a cargo ship less than 24 hours after leaving port.

The Sunshine Coast schoolgirl, who had set out with a year's supply of Tim Tams in a bright pink 10.2m yacht now called Ella's Pink Lady, has returned this morning to Southport.

A spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Tracey Jiggins said her yacht collided with a bulk carrier shortly before 2.30am, about 15 nautical miles due east of Point Lookout, on North Stradbroke Island.

'The bulk carrier is believed to be heading north up the east coast and has allegedly failed to stop,' said the spokesman.

'She has contacted her parents who in turn called AMSA. She advised that her boat had suffered quite a bit of damage to the vessel and the vessel is dismasted but she herself is okay.'

How much damage is done to the yacht will determine whether she will be able to set out, as planned, from Sydney towards the end of this month.

The reason why her AIS (Automatic Identification System) did not alert her to the presence of the ship is unknown, and it is likely, going on past instances, that the ship will not even have been aware of her presence.

Through her media representative, Jessica says that once her yacht is repaired she is still hoping to complete the 23,000 nautical mile trip in time for her 17th birthday on May 18.

by BW 11:47 PM Tue 8 Sep 2009 GMT

source

 

[Lakesailor]

Women drivers......pah



(Snooks beat you to it)

 

[Sans Bateau]

What the hell are Tim Tams? Or err should I not ask?

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

What the hell are Tim Tams? Or err should I not ask?

It does seem to sound like something ladies keep private..... but no....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Tam

Wake up Dyflin....there is already a blog started on this ????

 

[Seafort]

Tim Tams

What the hell are Tim Tams? Or err should I not ask?

Australian Choccy Bickies.

Dave.

 

[Dyflin]

Wake up Dyflin....there is already a blog started on this ????

Wake up Scotty T, blogs are old news, if it's not twittered, I'm not interested

 

[Blueboatman]

A missed marketing opportunity, surely?

' And when we were hit, I plugged the leaks with..', etc etc.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Interesting timing for this to occur.

JESSICA SPEAKS TO THE MEDIA

Once back on shore Jessica held a press conference. Here are some of her comments on today’s events

Jessica Watson:

The biggest thing for me is I came through the whole thing feeling confident. I won’t play it down. It was a pretty scary incident and it was great to actually know what to do. Years of planning and learning and it was all just alright.

When I called home, back at base, they all just jumped into action and it all just worked beautifully.

We came out of it well I suppose and we’ve just got to get back on track and ready to leave again.

Q: DID YOU RING HOME

I called home, I spoke to Dad, he was really good, asked what’s your position, what’s your problem…I think my first words were it’s alright, but…

It was pretty amazing for me actually, once it happened, it was just like a check list running through my head… it’s alright, nothing more is happening.

Q: ARE YOU DISAPPOINTED

I’m still (running) on adrenalin at the moment, but I suppose it’s pretty disappointing because all that work we’ve put into the boat and I’m so proud of it, and it’s such a pretty boat, we’ve just got to keep going. We’ll get there one day.

Q: ARE YOU STILL GOING TO GO AHEAD WITH THE CHALLENGE

Definitely, that’s the good thing, it just makes me more determined. I’ve been training for this thing for so many years it just gave me confidence. Sort of like wow I can actually handle this, so it’s good.

Q: WHAT’S THE CONDITION OF THE YACHT

It’s hard to say at this point, but I can say I’ve got an amazing team here and they’re already pulling together to see what we can do and what we can work out.

Q: WERE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE YACHT

You know the boat’s in trouble but you’ve still got a really solid hull around you so, sure you’ve lost half you rig, but it’s still solid and nothing much worse can happen. It’s good and safe.

Q: NEXT STEPS

We’ve just to got work out what we’ve got to do to the boat to get it back up and running so we can get sailing again.

Q: ANY IDEA HOW LONG

Too hard to say at the moment

Q: ARE YOU PROUD THE WAY YOU HANDLED YOURSELF

I’m proud of the way we all handled it, the whole team.

END OF CONFERENCE:

Thank you to all the media who have been so supportive and attended today.


Well the good news that the boat has been lifted out for repairs and a new mast, all supplied for free by locals.

Avagoodweekend......

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

"don't worry ...daddy will put it alright and I'll be on my little 'blonde' way again......"

 

[ricky_s]

I bet she has a boat license.

 

[Refueler]

Well I have two questions - which haven't been answered in any of the news reports I find :

a) Where was she when this happened ? In Cockpit, in bed, making coffee, ?? Being Solo is a difficult job to manage and you have to be careful about when you are NOT on watch ! So where was she in a shipping area for a Bulk Carrier to be around ?

b) She didn't SEE an eff'g girt big Bulk Carrier ... ?? How many have got reasonably close to a ship steaming along ... particularly now that near all are Motorships - the beat of engines through the water and thump is enough to wake the dead !

Don't give much for surviving 23,000 miles at that rate !

All reports says is "The reason why her AIS (Automatic Identification System) did not alert her to the presence of the ship is unknown, and it is likely, going on past instances, that the ship will not even have been aware of her presence." ..... so now it's all ships fault ? Taking that comment - I would hazard a guess she was down below trusting God and AIS !

 

[wooslehunter]

Please stop all this bo...cks about "blonde way", "daddy" etc. A couple of years ago there was a huge stink about the Ouzo alledgedly sunk by the Pride of Bilbao just off the Isle of Wight. 3 men lost their lives. They were neither young or female and were competant. We all felt for them & their families.

A tagedy was luckily avoided here.

The fact is that solo sailors, be they young, old, experienced, men, women etc have to sleep. There are plenty of ways to alert a solo sailor of a collision risk: AIS, radar, Sea-Me etc.

There's s potential give-away here: The reason why her AIS (Automatic Identification System) did not alert her to the presence of the ship is unknown, and it is likely, going on past instances, that the ship will not even have been aware of her presence.

Well, perhaps she was relying on AIS to alert her to a collision risk. The ship should have been broadcasting AIS & perhaps it wasn't. Perhasp she slept through the alarm. Who knows - yet.

Solent CG were having a go at a ship last weekend because they could not be seen on AIS. Then they were visible. Let the powers that be investigate.

 

[Scotty_Tradewind]

Please stop all this bo...cks about "blonde way", "daddy" etc. A couple of years ago there was a huge stink about the Ouzo alledgedly sunk by the Pride of Bilbao just off the Isle of Wight. 3 men lost their lives. They were neither young or female and were competant. We all felt for them & their families.

A tagedy was luckily avoided here.

The fact is that solo sailors, be they young, old, experienced, men, women etc have to sleep. There are plenty of ways to alert a solo sailor of a collision risk: AIS, radar, Sea-Me etc.

There's s potential give-away here: The reason why her AIS (Automatic Identification System) did not alert her to the presence of the ship is unknown, and it is likely, going on past instances, that the ship will not even have been aware of her presence.

Well, perhaps she was relying on AIS to alert her to a collision risk. The ship should have been broadcasting AIS & perhaps it wasn't. Perhasp she slept through the alarm. Who knows - yet.

Solent CG were having a go at a ship last weekend because they could not be seen on AIS. Then they were visible. Let the powers that be investigate.

lighten up a bit old chap..... I guess we are all aware of the possibilities and thank goodness she is o.k.
As Refueler says though..... her story as reported so far....it doesn't really add up does it?

 

[bedouin]

While I hesitate to draw any conclusions on the basis of press reports which are almost certainly wrong - it is hard to find a reasonable interpretation of her story that does not put her firmly in the wrong.

The implication both of her comments and the damage to her boat is that she simply did not know that the ship was there until she hit it.

it also seems probable that the ship was equally at fault, but that does not really excuse her

 

[Refueler]

While I hesitate to draw any conclusions on the basis of press reports which are almost certainly wrong - it is hard to find a reasonable interpretation of her story that does not put her firmly in the wrong.

The implication both of her comments and the damage to her boat is that she simply did not know that the ship was there until she hit it.

it also seems probable that the ship was equally at fault, but that does not really excuse her

No collision of two or more vessels at sea is fault of ONE vessel when both are free to manoeuvre / under way / making way ... as these two appeared to be. Press of course like to step it up a bit ... no doubt "sub-standard" crew will be claim at some time, etc. It's nice to 'gild' the young Solo Girl as the victim - makes good headlines.

 

[oldsaltoz]

Well I have two questions - which haven't been answered in any of the news reports I find :

a) Where was she when this happened ? In Cockpit, in bed, making coffee, ?? Being Solo is a difficult job to manage and you have to be careful about when you are NOT on watch ! So where was she in a shipping area for a Bulk Carrier to be around ?

On deck calling the vessel but no reply (not unusual).

b) She didn't SEE an eff'g girt big Bulk Carrier ... ?? How many have got reasonably close to a ship steaming along ... particularly now that near all are Motorships - the beat of engines through the water and thump is enough to wake the dead !

She altered her heading several times and was heading north when struck, not south as she was when she spotted the thing.

Don't give much for surviving 23,000 miles at that rate !

All reports says is "The reason why her AIS (Automatic Identification System) did not alert her to the presence of the ship is unknown, and it is likely, going on past instances, that the ship will not even have been aware of her presence." ..... so now it's all ships fault ? Taking that comment - I would hazard a guess she was down below trusting God and AIS !

She was below when struck, bracing herself for the collision, a smart move given the pressure she must have been under. After that she also sorted out the mess of rigging and broken mast, securing everything single-handed and made for the nearest safe port.

This is not her first single handed trip and she will get down to Sydney by the end of the moth to start the circumnavigation. The area she was in is almost as bad as crossing the English channel from a traffic volume view but with more sea room and more large commercial ships with non English speaking crew and few if any on a proper watch. This might explain why the ship did not stop.

 

[Refueler]

I used to nav very large bulkies up through there to Hay Point - to load Coal for Japan or UK. Ships were 60 - 120,000 Ton ... so I do know the region.

I checked the chart just to make sure ... given she reckons she was just north of North Stradbroke Island, ( will check again later when I have charts again to be sure ...) But shipping in that area is running to / from Great Barrier Reef or into Brisbane locale ... so not an empty stretch of water.

Since posting my above - I have been finding more reports that add info ... and STILL I am not convinced of her story .... admittedly given press gilding !

Now taking the area ... why would she run north ? If ship is tracking north as claimed - then she's adding to the misery ... she should run 90 deg. away from the approaching vessel ... she was going South ... ship going North ... sorry but I'm not seeing a clever picture at all. She in fact can go where the ship cannot ... so why run North ....

I don't doubt she's a good lass and all-hail she's giving this a go and she managed to tidy up and make it to port ... glad she's alive - even not injured ... But doesn't alter fact that something IMHO doesn't add up.

I agree that Ship should have stopped ... in that area and time of night should have had not only OOW but also Watchman on Bridgewing. So that needs explaining. Someone will have some explaining to do when they catch up with ship.

 

[dulcibella]

We are all glad that she wasn't hurt or killed, but her attitude to the accident suggests that a more mature approach to her responsibilities may be needed before she takes on things like this. All the "challenge" b.....x that is now rife in sailing ignores the fact that sailing is first and foremost a trade that needs to be mastered, not a fairground ride.

 

[jimi]

Think if I was daddy I'd be treating this as a "wake up to reality" check!

Is there some sort of competition for RTW youngest solo sailor? If so ,some people need to get a life!

 

[Wandering Star]

Oldsaltoz, I don't sail singlehanded very much but I have nothing against it, the idea just doesn't appeal, no more than that. What I don't understand (as I've written in Snooks original thread) is if as it's claimed, Jessica saw this ship but the ship didn't see her or alter course for her, wtf was she playing at by not avoiding the ship as a priority? Calling it whilst it's 2 miles away might just be ok but wasting time calling a ship when it's almost on top of you just to assert your right of way, is pretty pointless because whether the crew of the ship were aware of her existence or not, everyone (except seemingly Jessica) knows a ship takes more than a few minutes to alter course.

So whichever vessel was stand on is irrelevant - This is a Darwin moment, you don't just do nothing in this sort of situation, it's not an option if you want to live.

If she really became aware of that ship BEFORE it hit her then her reactions just don't add up. I'm not questioning her gutsy character or the bravery of the girl., I'm only considering what she claims her reactions were, if the reports are correct she claims she saw the boat in time to call it several times and then still had time to brace herself in her bunk whilst waiting for the collision.

My thought process would have been instinctive, I would have thought "this ship's going to hit me if he doesn't alter course" and I would have altered course myself in ample time THEN I might have shouted "You Bast*rd" into the VHF. But even if I only first saw the ship at close quarters, I wouldn't have wasted time on the radio or bracing myself in my bunk, I would have thought "FFS, OMG", spun the helm and hightailed it any which way.

Her story and her apportionment of blame, just doesn't add up for me, for me it sounds a straightforward 50/50 apportionment - sorry.

Cheers, Brian.