Bumpy prelude to round-world voyage

The Australian ^ | September 10, 2009 | Daniel Crow

[Oztrich Boy]

FOR a 16-year-old sailor planning a solo voyage around the world, Jessica Watson's first night at sea delivered a stern warning of the dangers she faces.

In the dead of night, just hours after Jessica set sail from Queensland's Sunshine Coast on a 10-day trial voyage to Sydney, her 10.4m sloop Ella's Pink Lady collided with a big cargo ship.

But despite the collision, which left her yacht badly damaged, an uninjured Jessica says she will not be deterred from becoming the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and independently around the world.

...

[SunkenCiv]

[Tucson Jim]

There shouldn’t be a question about Jessica. She is almost home and no canal passages.

http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/index.htm

Very brave girl!

[Oztrich Boy]

There shouldn't be a question about Jessica.

There shouldn't, but there always is.

IIRC, I was writing that as a ironic comment on the attitude "Joshua Slocum couldn't use the Panama canal, so later voyages transiting Panama aren't circumnavigations at all".

With Jessica it will probably be "She only rounded 4 of the 5 Capes that Chichester/Robin Knox-Johnston did"

She's already catching flak for "being Sponsored" (The King of Tonga refurbished Slocum's boat, for Poseidon's sake), "it's not unassisted of she didn't build the boat by herself, with tools she made herself, never having learned anything about boat design", and having a sat phone and modern nav equipment and not doing it in the "traditional manner".

Although I can't prove it, I would not be surprised if Captn James Cook got criticized for taking a chronometer with him "Real sailors navigate on latitude alone, dammit!"

My feeling is "a sailor uses the technology of the day, but doesn't rely on it". Jessica, like Kay Cottee before her used the satellite navigation available, but they both carried a sextant in a locker, just in case.