Saturday, September 26, 2009

Solo sailor urged not to sail

Jessica Watson has been warned not to attempt to sail solo around the world after the release of the Maritime Safety Queensland report on her collision. Jessica made many mistakes and did not prepare properly. I can not find a link to the report, and it was only a brief piece on the news.
I have found this in the Courier Mail:

Maritime Safety Queensland inspectors concluded the Sunshine Coast teenager:
• Most probably dozed off before her vessel hit and was dragged alongside the 63,000-tonne cargo ship.
• Did not turn on a device that would have warned her of a potential collision.
• Could not produce a clear, plotted plan for her journey.
• Had not developed a fatigue management plan.
• Kept a log with "irregular latitude and longitude entries".

At first I thought that she was capable, that she had been trained. But now I have my doubts because her collision was caused by negligence, and I don't believe that Jessica is aware of the danger she faces by not following or lapsing in following basic maritime rules.

After the collision, Premier Anna Bligh said Jessica should continue on, saying "you don't take on a big dream like this and (baulk) at the first hurdle".

But The Courier-Mail understands high-ranking government officials were alarmed by the facts of the collision once they became known.
Read the whole article here.

1 comment:

Carpe Jugulum said...

It is useful to also note that often small sailing vessels don't show on radar and the first notice you have is when you see their masthead light, by which time a larger ship is virtually on top of them.

That not withstanding, she knew she was in a major shipping channel and should have plotted a course that skirted large vessels (outer reef approach with an incoming tack from the west). IMHO lousy planning, and the fact that at the first sign of trouble she rang mum & not MSB or the nearest Harbour master would raise concern that she may need a little extra instruction in sailcraft.

Anna Bligh should either try sailing solo or shut her piehole.