Jessica Watson's Round-the-World Voyage

[dpex]

Originally Posted by KiwiGuy

She has re-written the book on how to get big things done starting from next to nothing except the desire.

Probably will become the topic of many an MBA research project!

You have to wonder how many more Jessica Watsons there are out there that we don't hear about. She has certainly set the bar very high for what 16 year olds can achieve.

Y'know, I don't agree. I think there are very many teens out there who complete extraordinary things. But the media only ever tell us about the blood, the gore, the bad, and the inane.

One of my favourite bitches is about the television censorship laws in NZ.

It is illegal to broadcast any item which has been constructed, and which contains serious violence, sex...oh yes, sex is always the biggie, and bad language, before 2030hrs.

Yet, at 1800 hrs the news displays vast and often very focused coverage of rape, pillage, murder, luge-riders dying, you name it. But apparently, if the horror is real then that's okay cos young minds have to learn to cope with it.

But if it's purely fantasy, where the actors get up and walk away after a particularly horrid assault, that's not okay, because that depicts life improperly...... Huh?

Also, in NZ we have Maori. The media take such pleasure in telling us about every bad-arse Maori. Rarely do we hear about the 95% of good-arse, hard-working, high achieving Maori.

And so it is with attaining teens. Those who take a gun and shoot sundry others get world-wide coverage. Those whom, like Jessica and??? whom achieve amazing things, get ignored.

Apart from an article in an American newspaper, I have seen nothing about either girl.

But I don't care what the world audience thinks. I care about what I think. And I think these two are just marvelous.

[FrankZ]

This is a gentle nudge towards the topic. If it isn't Jessica and her progress let's leave it out of this thread.

Thank you

[surfingminniwinni]

Jessica rounds Cape of Good Hope. Next stop Australia.

Go Jess.

[dpex]

Originally Posted by surfingminniwinni

Jessica rounds Cape of Good Hope. Next stop Australia.

Go Jess.

Next Stop!? Hell's teeth. She has to do about 6,000NM through the middle of nothing before rounding Tasie. That's around 35 days, some of which will be around Lat 50S. Brrrrr. Cold.

I've been wondering. Anyone know why she took the big hook up North? The weather wasn't that bad on her GC course.

Hope she gives the Agulhas a wide berth.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by surfingminniwinni

Jessica rounds Cape of Good Hope. Next stop Australia.
Go Jess.

Originally Posted by dpex

Next Stop!? Hell's teeth. She has to do ...

Since she’s attempting a non-stop circumnavigation, it’s been next stop Australia, since the first day she left home.

[infiniteblue]

I'm thinking she went so far north to avoid wind.
They wont admit it, but she dodged a bullet with her mad heavy weather tactics a few weeks back,and the parents and weather boffin in NZ are doing all they can to route her away from any possibility of big winds.

[surfingminniwinni]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Since she’s attempting a non-stop circumnavigation, it’s been next stop Australia, since the first day she left home.

Oh well if you want to be picky, I guess I could have worded it better.

[surfingminniwinni]

Originally Posted by infiniteblue

I'm thinking she went so far north to avoid wind.
They wont admit it, but she dodged a bullet with her mad heavy weather tactics a few weeks back,and the parents and weather boffin in NZ are doing all they can to route her away from any possibility of big winds.

So I guess you would love to sail thru big winds?

[04 Marine]

Does it really matter if she choose to avoid big winds? Quite frankly, I think she took the right route. Why subject your boat and yourself to conditions that could and should be avoided. After all, this is not a race it's an adventure. She has no commitment to a sponsor to be first, but she does have an unspoken responsibility to every 16 year old in the world that might be planning their own adventure, to prove that a 16 YO can be smart enoungh and responsible enoungh to plan, use avaialble resources and captian her boat to the finish.

[Hud3]

If I were doing that voyage, I'd want weather routing advice that kept the winds I encountered under 45-50 knots as much as possible. Over that windspeed, small mistakes or lapses in judgment can have nasty consequences, like shredding sail clews.

Don't ask me how I know that...

[bruce in oz]

well said (porly splet, but well said)

[paradix]

Originally Posted by infiniteblue

I'm thinking she went so far north to avoid wind.
They wont admit it, but she dodged a bullet with her mad heavy weather tactics a few weeks back,and the parents and weather boffin in NZ are doing all they can to route her away from any possibility of big winds.

I'm sure Jess would be the first to admit she's dodged a bullet, as would any sailor who has turned turtle and lived to sail on.

I'm not sure how you justify describing her heavy weather tactics as "mad", however, There was significant discussion about this at the time (including on this thread), with the general consensus that she did everything she could in the circumstances with the possible exception of deploying her series drogue - and it's likely it just got too dangerous to be out on deck doing that by the time the worst weather hit. No doubt she'll learn from that and adjust her strategy accordingly next time, perhaps deploying the drogue earlier. But to say her strategy was "mad" implies something radically different should have been done. In which case, can you let us know what you think should have been done?

[John A]

My take of the swing north was to side step a storm, to allow her a breather after her ordeal with the knockdowns, to sail in warmer temps. and to prepare for rounding the Cape of Good Hope and sailing acrossed the southren Indian Ocean.

Other than that, she did the singlehanders thing and did it because she wanted to.

We, who are not there should not pass judgement.

fair winds Jessie

[Jim D]

I read all her blog posts, and recall that she clearly wrote the northerly course was set to avoid a storm system, and to get to some warmer latitudes. I believe she even talked about needing to head back south when there was a weather window. It was clearly written, not hidden nor obscured.

[infiniteblue]

Originally Posted by paradix

I'm sure Jess would be the first to admit she's dodged a bullet, as would any sailor who has turned turtle and lived to sail on.

I'm not sure how you justify describing her heavy weather tactics as "mad", however, There was significant discussion about this at the time (including on this thread), with the general consensus that she did everything she could in the circumstances with the possible exception of deploying her series drogue - and it's likely it just got too dangerous to be out on deck doing that by the time the worst weather hit. No doubt she'll learn from that and adjust her strategy accordingly next time, perhaps deploying the drogue earlier. But to say her strategy was "mad" implies something radically different should have been done. In which case, can you let us know what you think should have been done?

OK I believe it was me who thought she was caught by the increase in wind and sea and was unable to go on deck to deploy a drogue. I reckon she was paying more attention to her NZ boffin and not enough to the sea state where she was. If running downwind under electric auto pilot in 65 knots isnt mad then