Jessica Watson

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MadamCaptain
MadamCaptain
WA
9 posts
WA, 9 posts
30 Oct 2009 5:26pm
maxm said...

hoop said...

Christ maxm, you sound like my old man giving me a lecture when I was 16


Must be a habit from giving them out to my boys when they were 16, hoop! Few years ago now.

I understand what you say and I agree, there would always be exceptions. Somewhere there'll always be a child prodigy that can do stuff easily that normally takes adults years to master. Piano geniuses, science geniuses... no reason there couldn't be a sailing genius out there.

But they must be few and far between. By my count there are three come back, one out there, another two definitely planning and vague stories of maybe another one or two in the planning stages. I doubt they could all be sailing geniuses. So how do we know that a kid going out there is up to it? My worry is that if it's left to parents then, well... some parents just aren't good parents so I don't think they are a reliable judge.

And no, there's no 7 year olds going so maybe you're right, no need to panic. But then why the resistance? We set age limits for voting, drinking, sex and the watching of movies and none of those will kill you (OK... maybe the drinking...). There's no problem about setting an age limit on those is there? I think it'll be a bit late to panic once someone has gone.

Not intending to pick on hoop here! The questions are aimed at everyone, even MadamCaptain who says she knows me well. Didn't realise I knew anyone in WA!!


Hey, I never said I knew you well. Where did you get that idea from because I didn't mention anything like that in my reply. I was only agreeing with you, whereas lots of other people on here would disagree. I have no problem with Jessica wanting to sail around the world non-stop. I understand that she is young but she has the strength and determination to do it - or at least have a go.

I was raised around boats and yachts as a child so I guess thats why I support Jessica in her quest. I wonder if many people on here have spent any time on a yacht? As a child, my parents took us (myself, my older brother and sister) on a sailing holiday for 2 years. We sailed up the north coast of WA, around the top half of Australia, across the Gulf of Carpentaria and down the Queensland coast to Mooloolaba. We stayed there for 6 months, then sailed back to WA. Even though I was young, I still remember lots of things about that trip and they will stay with me for life.

maxm
maxm
NSW
864 posts
NSW, 864 posts
30 Oct 2009 8:48pm
MC, Hi and welcome to the debate!

MadamCaptain said...

Hey, I never said I knew you well. Where did you get that idea from because I didn't mention anything like that in my reply.


You're right, we almost certainly don't know each other. You were quoting whiteout who also doesn't know me but who claimed some of us fit a very specific profile. I was really just having a bit of a chuckle. My strange sense of humour, I guess.
hoop
hoop
1979 posts
1979 posts
30 Oct 2009 8:50pm
Good call Maxm, I was doubting you there for a while.
Crusoe
Crusoe
QLD
1197 posts
QLD, 1197 posts
31 Oct 2009 9:28am
Never realised there were so many glums around. “We’ll never make it”, “We’ll all be doomed”. Every time I go sailing I don’t expect someone to come and find me. The next big trip is to Antarctica (solo) and I don’t expect anyone to come & get me and I won’t be reaching for the epirb if I get in the sh#t. The reaper has many ways of making a call and with all the electronics you can put on a boat these days, its getting harder for him to add yachties to his harvest. Hundreds of years ago the shores of sailing countries like England were littered with lots of wrecks and the bodies of sailers who worked on these boats. It’s sheer luxury flicking on the GPS/Chart plotter and finding where you are. (Thank f#ck I learnt to use a sextant, compass, pencil and paper prior to the electronics age because it would be easy not to worry about learning it now.) If my sons had of wanted to sail around the world solo I would done everything possible to make it happen.

Give Jessica and her parents the support they deserve. I’m sure they have thought long and hard about the reaper hitching a ride on the boat but I’d say he’s being kept busy with the young drivers of car.

If you have any doubts about her doing it, why don’t you go down to the old peoples home and ask them if there was something they had wished they had done when they were young. If you want to say home, don’t make everyone one else.
maxm
maxm
NSW
864 posts
NSW, 864 posts
31 Oct 2009 12:37pm
Hey crusoe, just out of curiosity, do you take and use a calculator? I've got a reasonable one in my CN kit to do all the tedious calculations. But I've got backup for that Just In Case batteries go dead, etc. My backup is a booklet of trig tables that I made up. In high school we used to use pretty comprehensive trig tables and one of those would have been perfect but I couldn't find one for love nor money. So I've made my own that I think would do.

Just wondering if you use anything like that and if so, what you use?

Apologies for the threadjack... please continue...
MadamCaptain
MadamCaptain
WA
9 posts
WA, 9 posts
31 Oct 2009 12:12pm
Crusoe said...

Never realised there were so many glums around. “We’ll never make it”, “We’ll all be doomed”. Every time I go sailing I don’t expect someone to come and find me. The next big trip is to Antarctica (solo) and I don’t expect anyone to come & get me and I won’t be reaching for the epirb if I get in the sh#t. The reaper has many ways of making a call and with all the electronics you can put on a boat these days, its getting harder for him to add yachties to his harvest. Hundreds of years ago the shores of sailing countries like England were littered with lots of wrecks and the bodies of sailers who worked on these boats. It’s sheer luxury flicking on the GPS/Chart plotter and finding where you are. (Thank f#ck I learnt to use a sextant, compass, pencil and paper prior to the electronics age because it would be easy not to worry about learning it now.) If my sons had of wanted to sail around the world solo I would done everything possible to make it happen.

Give Jessica and her parents the support they deserve. I’m sure they have thought long and hard about the reaper hitching a ride on the boat but I’d say he’s being kept busy with the young drivers of car.

If you have any doubts about her doing it, why don’t you go down to the old peoples home and ask them if there was something they had wished they had done when they were young. If you want to say home, don’t make everyone one else.



When we went on our sailing holiday, it was back in the early 80s so no GPS or epirb. My Dad did have sailing experience but like Jessica, he had never done any 'long' sailing trips before. He did lots of short trips and he did sail our yacht from Perth to Carnarvon (with a small crew) in VERY rough seas. We never had to be rescued at any time throughout our 2 year voyage. I can remember Dad showing us how to use the life raft on our yacht (we never had to use it) My older brother and sister knew how to sail her aswell (they were 12 and 13 at the time). If the situation did arise where they 'had' to sail the yacht by themselves, they would probably have managed to do it for a short time. I was only 6 when we set out on that trip (I'm in my 30s now) but I still remember a fair amount about yachts and sailing. My Dad now has a GPS and an epirb for when he goes out fishing in his boat (we don't own the yacht anymore). He would still love to buy another yacht, sell everything and just go sailing for a very long time!!!

Everyone has to start somewhere and its the only way we can get experience. How much experience did Jesse Martin have before he sailed solo around the world? Or anyone else for that matter?
MadamCaptain
MadamCaptain
WA
9 posts
WA, 9 posts
31 Oct 2009 12:16pm
There is a movie called 'The Dove' a true story about a 16 year old who sailed solo around the world, back in the 1970s. I can't remember if he sailed non-stop and unassisted but the movie was quite interesting. I remember watching it as a kid (after we got back from our sailing holiday) but I haven't seen it since then. I would love to watch it again.
MadamCaptain
MadamCaptain
WA
9 posts
WA, 9 posts
31 Oct 2009 12:25pm
cisco said...

MadamCaptain said...
Obviously the negative comments are coming from people who have never spent any time on a yacht.

I will support Jessica all the way and I think she will make it!


You are right MadamCaptain. There are a lot of comments coming from people who apparently have no concept of living aboard an ocean going yacht.

Recommended reading for those interested in that concept is "The Ocean Sailing Yacht" by Donald M. Street. I have my copy and it ain't for sale at any price except the ridiculous. ($100,000 and it is yours) Another interesting read is "Sailing the Farm" by Ken Neumeyer. A bit post apocalyptic in his philosophy but quite practical.

Jessica Watson's task is to LIVE aboard an ocean going yacht for some 270 odd days as it takes her from Sydney to cross the equator twice and thence back to her point of departure via the Southern Ocean. A daunting task for even the most strong hearted and determined amongst us.

Jessica appears to have those two vital qualities of courage and will.

There can be no doubt of the capabilities of the design of yacht she has. Examples of this yacht design have been sailed on this route many, many times over.

So all Jessica has to do is 9 months of straight WORK after which she will get at least 3 months of the best holiday she could imagine. That is like a "three on, one off" timetable.

Who else has the dream job doing what you love doing on a three on one off timetable.

I do believe most of the negative comments come from jealous people who do not have the guts or wherewithall to live out their dreams.

Keep going Jessica. You can do it!!


Our yacht was very similar to Jessica's, similar size and design (S&S33) although ours was a ketch. It was named 'Passage West' after a small villiage in southern Ireland, where my grandfather was born. My Dad went in a few races with it but it wasn't really designed for racing. My Dad often tells me that sloops are better for cruising. However, after my parents sold it, it had a few owners and then a couple bought it and they circum-navigated it around the world (not non-stop, it took them 5 years). They took it to Passage West to honour its name. We were very thrilled about that!!! I think my Dad wanted to do that aswell but after living on the yacht for 2 years, he wanted to get back home.
whiteout
whiteout
QLD
269 posts
QLD, 269 posts
31 Oct 2009 7:07pm
maxm you obviously sold your folkboat and have been grieving this fact but when you want to sail again all you have to do is come to Queensland and sail in the sun and realise that there is more to life than being a:
winging cockroach
negative computer nerd
and a smart ars_
When it comes to being adventureous you were locked out of the club, you never have extended yourself past living in your house and have obviously occumplished nothing in your years on this earth other than an electricity bill.
maxm
maxm
NSW
864 posts
NSW, 864 posts
1 Nov 2009 10:53am
whiteout, whiteout, whiteout. What do we do with you? Trolls aren't known for being bright but even as trolls go you're not a particularly clever troll are you?
hangtime
hangtime
NSW
397 posts
NSW, 397 posts
2 Nov 2009 8:28am
Aye knock it off you guys!
This thread started with positivity, Dont turn it bad with petty crap.
Save that for the General discussion thread
mammoth
mammoth
TAS
1 posts
TAS, 1 posts
4 Nov 2009 6:49pm
Once upon a time, people were married at 14, had families and went to war or embarked on lifelong careers by 16 and managed to survive without 'mummy'. Just because we have been breeding a few generations of soft, whinney, TV junkies does not mean that there is not strength and resilience in the young. I know of several 65 year olds with huge yachts who should NOT be allowed to risk all at sea, but then, who the hell am I to play nanny. For that matter, who are you to?
hangtime
hangtime
NSW
397 posts
NSW, 397 posts
4 Nov 2009 9:56pm
mammoth said...

Once upon a time, people were married at 14, had families and went to war or embarked on lifelong careers by 16 and managed to survive without 'mummy'. Just because we have been breeding a few generations of soft, whinney, TV junkies does not mean that there is not strength and resilience in the young. I know of several 65 year olds with huge yachts who should NOT be allowed to risk all at sea, but then, who the hell am I to play nanny. For that matter, who are you to?


hoop
hoop
1979 posts
1979 posts
4 Nov 2009 9:09pm
Spot on Mammoth.
Ramona
Ramona
NSW
7757 posts
NSW, 7757 posts
5 Nov 2009 8:46am
mammoth said...

Once upon a time, people were married at 14, had families and went to war or embarked on lifelong careers by 16 and managed to survive without 'mummy'. Just because we have been breeding a few generations of soft, whinney, TV junkies does not mean that there is not strength and resilience in the young. I know of several 65 year olds with huge yachts who should NOT be allowed to risk all at sea, but then, who the hell am I to play nanny. For that matter, who are you to?


Its only in the last few years that we have become the nanny state. I joined the navy at 15 along with about 14,000 others from '62 - '80's. As Cisco mentioned the voting age was lowered for people that were fighting and had no vote. In actual fact if you were in a war zone during an election you could vote, I first voted at 17. There were quite a few junior sailors who left recruit school and were posted to ships that left straight away for the gun line off Vietnam, they were 16 years old. Not sure of the exact numbers but its about 40.

On the subject of experience and technology, I would like to recommend the DVD "Deepwater". Especially interesting is the interviews. Jessica is a bit over qualified compared to some of these competitors.
MicMac07
MicMac07
VIC
8 posts
VIC, 8 posts
6 Nov 2009 11:00am
Jessica has just passed the 2000 mile mark...You go girl!!
whiteout
whiteout
QLD
269 posts
QLD, 269 posts
6 Dec 2009 8:09am
jess is doing a great job and wish her all the best
stonedpirate
stonedpirate
WA
248 posts
WA, 248 posts
6 Dec 2009 9:46am
Good luck to her but she better not hit my red witch on her re entry :P
ozza925
ozza925
WA
32 posts
WA, 32 posts
10 Dec 2009 8:21pm
cisco said...

So you ended up buying the Red Witch Craig or was it somebody else who was recently looking at buying one??

If you do encounter Jessica on her re-entry I would have to suggest you are sailing a Red Witch in waters where a Red Witch is not meant to be.

My boat is the same design as hers and it secretly told me one day if I want to take her out to the sorts of places Jessica has gone, I should see a psychiatrist first.


baah there are no waters where a red witch shouldn't be. right stoney?
Ramona
Ramona
NSW
7757 posts
NSW, 7757 posts
11 Dec 2009 9:04am


baah there are no waters where a red witch shouldn't be. right stoney?


In the late 60's a Red Jacket, Red Witch's smaller sister, followed the Sydney Hobart fleet down to Hobart. She started 30 minutes after the start. The only modification was a lead shoe added to the keel. This was when Red Witch's and Jackets were everywhere! Have to remember that 30foot was a large yacht in that period.
MichaelR
MichaelR
NSW
862 posts
NSW, 862 posts
11 Dec 2009 3:05pm
cisco said...

Well that is quite interesting. Just goes to show what a well found and well prepared yacht with equally well prepared crew is capable of.

Whiteout's yacht is a 26ft Folk boat and many examples of that design have circumnavigated the world. I believe 26ft Thunderbirds have also circumnavigated.

SNIP
Who's got the latest on Jessica's progress??


youngestround.blogspot.com/ is Jessica's blog, usually updated daily.

Speaking of circumnavigating, there have been at least two Top Hat 25s, go around, Once in the 70s, buy Ian and Jan Mitchell, and again just last year by their son Jamie, who was born in Durban during Ian and Jan's trip.

This is a link to copies of magazine ads from Ian and Jan's trip,
homepage.mac.com/clatimer/TopHatYachts/FileSharing11.html
Plus links to Jamie's trip.



Noting that none of these trips were single handed, or non stop, just leisurely journeys taking years. Imagine being in the Indian ocean for 38 days between Perth and Mauritius with nothing but yourselves and whales for company.

Jessica's journey is a walk in the park compared to Ian and Jan Mitchell's.

Michael
hangtime
hangtime
NSW
397 posts
NSW, 397 posts
16 Jan 2010 1:57pm
Cape Horn rounded!! Half way ! Go Jessie go!
MichaelR
MichaelR
NSW
862 posts
NSW, 862 posts
18 Jan 2010 1:46pm
Indeed, although it should be noted that her parents did a fly over on the morning after she rounded, so help isn't that far away for her....

That being said, she's doing it pretty easily so far. The southern ocean on the way between Africa and Australia is going to tell the true story of her courage, now that she's got the first rounding under her belt...

I hope she makes it, but I also hope she donates some of her money to those who will never get to see a boat, let alone sail in it........

Michael
whiteout
whiteout
QLD
269 posts
QLD, 269 posts
18 Jan 2010 9:15pm
That's it a 16 year old girl doing the best she can Go Jess you show them.

Too bad others don't applaud you but others all they say is negative bites of disinformation, I only wish is that other teenages take note and travel in your footsteps instead of showing their bravado on the roadways.
MichaelR
MichaelR
NSW
862 posts
NSW, 862 posts
19 Jan 2010 11:24am
whiteout said...

That's it a 16 year old girl doing the best she can Go Jess you show them.

Too bad others don't applaud you but others all they say is negative bites of disinformation, I only wish is that other teenages take note and travel in your footsteps instead of showing their bravado on the roadways.


Excellent point Whiteout. Please don't take my comments about "not really doing it on her own" as a naysayer. I applaud her, however she is doing it. I just wish she would use the publicity and money she will earn for good, such as, as you say, educating other teenagers.

Michael
hoop
hoop
1979 posts
1979 posts
19 Jan 2010 12:10pm
Do you donate the money you earn to disadvantaged teenagers MichaelR ?
I'm not sure why this is such a concern. What's wrong with making a bit of money?
MichaelR
MichaelR
NSW
862 posts
NSW, 862 posts
20 Jan 2010 1:27pm
hoop said...

Do you donate the money you earn to disadvantaged teenagers MichaelR ?
I'm not sure why this is such a concern. What's wrong with making a bit of money?


Indeed I do donate some Hoop, you know what they say, "if you don't do something about it you're part of the problem". Sometimes it's not money but time, but yes I do think about and care about those who are less fortunate and try to do something for them. So far, I see nothing in Jessica's blog or official site that shows any form or charity support. If you take the example of the "Long Way Round" series that Ewan and Charlie did, they made a stack of money for themselves with books and DVDs, but also made a stack of money for Unicef and other smaller charities. I never said there was anything wrong with making a bit of money, just that in my opinion she could use this trip to do a lot more good than she's currently doing. So please don't read more into my post than what I actually wrote.

It's good to see someone like Jessica setting an example about reaching goals and doing something worthwhile. She's one of the lucky ones and hopefully will inspire others to set and achieve goals.

Michael.

hangtime
hangtime
NSW
397 posts
NSW, 397 posts
23 Jan 2010 7:38pm
Jessica just survived 3 knockdowns and 70knots of wind with 10 meter seas, Awesome .
Go Jessie
I dont care if you keep all your money to yourself! Im enjoying the adventure from my laptop
badinfluence
badinfluence
QLD
538 posts
QLD, 538 posts
25 Jan 2010 10:30am
Hhhhmmmm, have to admit, the only criticism I have had over Jess' voyage has been that it does seem to be a little self-indulgent without raising money for a charity to mitigate it.

Just wonder how her siblings took to the notion of their parents pouring a LOT of money into their sister's venture whilst they remained onshore doing same old, same old. Must be a really tight, loving family.........my girls fight over EVERYTHING, despite being very loved and well adjusted

However, I guess there is the prospect, as discussed, of the opportunities that a trip like this presents. Maybe she'll put something back in for the time and effort she has received. Probably a lot more likely than the rich kids who have their 15K plus per year doled out for going to posh schools....not much of that goes back into society[}:)]...instead generally perpetuates the greed that dominates our world.

At the end of the day, wish her fair winds and no more knockdowns...that's gotta hurt!!

Go Jess

hangtime
hangtime
NSW
397 posts
NSW, 397 posts
27 Jan 2010 7:11pm
Jessie gets a phone call from The PM Kevin Rudd on Australia day and that says a lot!
To me it kinda says that the naysayers are starting to come around and realizing that #1 she has weathered mad conditions (70knots with 10 m seas), #2 She has passed half way when she was tipped to never be seen again and #3 she has a very mature approach, Just check her blog and read her latest post to see how level headed she is, Commenting on the American girl who has just left chasing the same record as Jess - www.jessicawatson.com.au/ ----- Go Jessie Go
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