Erik D. Jones's Blog

Story courtesy of Latitude 38 online

A 16-year old Aussie girl, Jessica Watson, is the latest in a tidal wave of young people trying to continue the moment set by Zac Sunderland and Mike Perham to be the youngest solo circumnavigator.  During a shakedown cruise on September 8th from the northern coast of Queensland to Sydney, the pink S&S 34 Ella’s Pink Lady was dismasted when it collided with a 738-ft bulk carrier, Silver Yang.  Watson was unharmed in the incident.

Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) assessed young Watson’s skills after performing an investigation of the incident and in a letter addressed to the family said that their official opinion is that Watson is too young and inexperienced to attempt a circumnavigation.  According to the inspectors, Watson noted the approach of the carrier on radar at 2am and then went below to take a nap.  At 2:10am, Watson’s sailboat collided with the carrier.  MSQ also noted that Watson failed to set the proximity alarm on her radar.

Watson’s family is determined to send their young daughter out into the open sea and remarked on their website that “Jessica Watson and her team wish to advise all of her supporters that she remains on track to achieve her goal of being the youngest to sail solo around the world.”  The Watsons go on to bemoan the leaking of the MSQ letter but say they “respect all of the maritime authorities and the important role they play in ensuring safety on the sea.”

——

My opinion:

There was a 7-year old girl who died while trying to break the world record for the youngest to “fly an airplane across the United States”. Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Dubroff. Another foolish parent, irresponsible flight instructor and a complacent legal system in the United States that allowed that to continue. In the end, she was killed along with her father and flight instructor when she tried to push on (trying to meet a schedule for media coverage and publicity) and took off overloaded, at high altitude and in inclement weather.

Now with this 16-year old girl and the latest world buzz around young “kids” trying to circumnavigate the world, I see this as a repeat of events–this time with sailboats instead of airplanes.  I think the MSQ is sending the right message and I think the Australian government has an obligation to take action against the parents if they continue this course of action.

If one’s child is a prodigy then a parent should foster and encourage those talents, but not at the risk of either depriving a child of their childhood or putting them in danger. This act seems purely motivated by selfishness and greed. Taking a child cruising to learn to sail, hone their talents and explore the world is one thing, placing them on a boat at 16 and waving good luck while pandering to the media is dangerous and stupid.  I could not imagine embarking on a world-wide solo circumnavigation at 16–even if I had the cognitive skill to do so. Emotionally it’s extremely difficult and physically challenging even for adults.

• Hello Las Vegas! in Henderson, NV http://loopt.us/35tlyg.t #
• I had to laugh at this guy who showed up at the airport curbside and asked the Sky Cap if he could get a bell hop to carry his baggage! #
• Off to the City of Sin for a weekend romp! #
• Went sailing last night. Watched the sun set over Angel Island. Anchored and grilled up steaks. Sailed home watching the lights of SF city. #
• Hello City by the Bay! http://loopt.us/awmxsQ.t #
• Back in California. Boo at least I get to see the kitties soon! in Long Beach, CA http://loopt.us/Vv_Tww.t #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• Leaving Cabo now. Next stop Long Beach! Back Sunday. Miss the kitties! A little more vacation left. It has been so important and restful! #
• Brian lost his camera. at least we downloaded all the pictures last night so not much lost. Restaurant claims they don't have it. Boo! #
• Greetings from Cabo San Lucas! http://loopt.us/evkwjA.t #
• Greetings from Mazatlan! #
• Away we go!! Bon voyage!! http://loopt.us/tyyH-A.t #
• Vacation long overdue has started. Mexico here we come! #
• The TSA security guard sung the full Happy Birthday sing to me after checking my ID. Lol. #
• Landed in LA in step 1 of my cruise to Mexico. Saw the Airbus 380 too! in Los Angeles, CA http://loopt.us/Gb7AVA.t #

Powered by Twitter Tools.

• Off to see Kathy Griffin tonight at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco. Stopping for drinks first. #
• Losing steam at work. Need to recharge with vacation soon. Tonight, I'll just enjoy the second to last bottle of our amazing Red Ale we made #
• Let's see if Caltrain can manage not to screw up today. #
• And of course the next train was a local. So every single stop. Caltrain has FAILED its riders. Letter writing time… #
• Caltrain screws it up even more by asking all passengers going to my stop to get off and wait for another train! Almost an hour late now! #
• Caltrain breaks down again today. Train in front breaks so we pick up their passengers. Then it breaks down again so we have to push it! #
• Just saw a Caltrain going the wrong way on the southbound track. Never a good sign. Guess I'll be late to work. Oh well!!!! #
• Just racked our third batch of beer, an oatmeal stout. It's lookin good! Two more weeks until bottling. #
• Hopped on the bike and rode tonight. Always feels so good after the first 5 minutes of mental arm wrestling. Been too long.. #
• Cancelled my Myspace account today. It was time to put that tired horse out to pasture. #
• Finished reloading my computer with the RTM of W7. Also removed the bad hard drive in my RAID. Now to setup regular backups… #
• Think we caught the little culprit responsible for setting off our burglar alarm. Alas Mr. Mouse didn't survive the trap. Sad but is life. #

Powered by Twitter Tools.