Any lawyers out there???

[gavsgonefishing]

I read with interest the different points of view based on the different regulations, or more accurately the interpretation on the regulations and ongoing sea experience from people in the trade. To me each view put forward is correct and considered to be thought out and practical.

No matter how much electronic aids and other gadgets are shoved into any vessel or how much "training" is given to make a teenage girl (or boy for that matter) will make up for one critical factor: common sense.

The powers to be can write as many laws as they see fit to keep themselves in a career, it still does not give that person the basic, but unfortunately, the most evasive human trait, common sense. It take years of experience (again some people never get there ) to look at a situation and based on rules and regs, training, practical experience, conditions, and whatever else goes through your head, make a decision without panic that is the most favourable.

Everybody can and will make mistakes no matter how long you have been doing the same job, but the idea is to try and eliminate the critical errors through practical experience and common sense.

You cannot shove that sort of experience into any 16 year old teenager(has anybody tried to talk to a teenager or older to take care or look at what they are doing?)

Thankfully nobody was hurt and I hope someone with some sort of reality check will look at the incident as a learning experience

[Lbudgie]

2 facts regardles of wat any book say's or what qualifacations anyone has ar hasn't got.
Fact 1..She was awake. She said so.
Fact 2.. She tried to comunicate with the ship.

giving these two FACTS, she had time to change course.
unfortunatly I think she will become part of natures way of getting rid of fools.

[seatime]

Ando, might as well add petulance now!!

[Ando74]

Seatime, what ever you think's a fair thing mate. I'd actually think industrious as I'm actually at work.

Let me know when you want to meet up for a beer.

[PinHead]

Seatime, what ever you think's a fair thing mate. I'd actually think industrious as I'm actually at work.

Let me know when you want to meet up for a beer.

shouldn't you be watching out for ships and not on here..hehe???

Maybe she was reading Ausfish instead of watching what was happening outside.

I don't think we will ever know exactly what happened but I do hope that if she does attempt the solo round the world that she survives..whether she makes it or not.

[Ando74]

PinHead;1074524]shouldn't you be watching out for ships and not on here..hehe???

Maybe she was reading Ausfish instead of watching what was happening outside.



Good one!

With all these electronic gizmos I can do it from my bunk without looking out the window.

Hang on a minute, that light looks pretty close.......!! Gotta go.

[Mindi]

2 facts regardles of wat any book say's or what qualifacations anyone has ar hasn't got.
Fact 1..She was awake. She said so.
Fact 2.. She tried to comunicate with the ship.

giving these two FACTS, she had time to change course.
unfortunatly I think she will become part of natures way of getting rid of fools.

A bit harsh budgie but absolutely correct....a person with more xperience would have done so...

[Chine]

The following article was in power-boat.com

Investigations carried out by Australia's State and Commonwealth authorities after teen sailor Jessica Watson's collision with a merchant ship last week have come to nothing, as the yacht and the merchant ship were in international waters at the time, 15 nautical miles off the coast.

Jessica's 34ft yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, collided with a 225-metre Chinese bulk carrier, Silver Yang on Wednesday after she set sail for Sydney, where she had planned to start her record-breaking bid.

Andrew Fraser, spokesman for her public relations company, was quoted as saying, 'It's my understanding that nobody could be charged because it happened in international waters more than 12 miles offshore.'

OK my question is this.
If I'm fishing out at Fitzroy reef without safety gear and I'm nabbed I can get charged under Australian law so how come they are only 15 miles off shore and whoever was negligent can't get charged because it's deemed as international waters.

MM,

To answer your question it is important to understand that the federal Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has limited funding and therefore does not investigate every incident. The decision to investigate is governed by a specific set of guidelines such as fatality, pollution, major structural damage to merchant vessel, high frequency incident etc. This particular incident did not tick sufficient boxes and hence, no investigation. The distance off is irrelevant. If a Passenger ship has multiple fatalities owing to fire in the middle of the Tasman Sea, it will be investigated and recommendations made.

Secondly, your question has raised some interesting discussion some of which has been based on assumptions.

The "Silver Yang" is a 27 year old panamax bulk carrier crewed by a mainland Chinese crew with limited English. She was loaded with 67,000 tonnes of coal bound for China and was drawing about 12.5 metres. She would have had plenty of underkeel clearance and as such would not have been constrained by her draft nor would she have been restricted in her ability to manoeuvre. As a matter of fact, she would have handled quite well so if the yacht had been detected in adequate time, the collision should have been avoided. The yacht was crewed by a relatively inexperienced single crew member with no back up. It is the responsibility of all parties to avoid a close quarters situation and in this instance there was a collision and so it is logical to say that there is an element of blame on both sides.

There are many unanswered questions, which if addressed, would go someway to bedding down the assumptions.

These questions are applicable to both the yacht and "Silver Yang" and they basically centre around technology, training and fatigue.

[BigE]

If you consider the make up and situation of both parties....... it adds considerable weight to the preception that Common sense , just isn't that common anymore.

I am hopeful that both parties will look at the situation with hindsight and learn some of life's valuble lessons.

BigE

[dogsbody]

Rule no1 When moving along if something big gets in the way....TURN!

Dave

[siegfried]

The f$%#@n kid should be in school and the idiot parents locked up oops I forgot shes 15 or 16 so has lots of experiece...yeah right , wa*%ers, dont forget to buy the book when its all over cause no ones sailed around the world before...bllaaahh, if she wants a real challenge put an optimax and an etec on the back of the thing

[Mindi]

The f$%#@n kid should be in school and the idiot parents locked up

Oh Seigfried...you old fashioned thing you....!!! ... thinking kids should still be at school at 16.

[bassfan]

The more I hear the more I think the parents should be charged with child abuse. She is not deemed legally capable to drive on a suburban road and yet they are happily sending her into all sorts of danger. I have no doubt that at some stage its likely that someone will be called on to pull her out of the sh!t. I hope it all ends safetly

Agree 100% with Horse. What parent with half a brain would put their child into such a dangerous situation? To hell with living the dream, this poor girl is going to come to grief on this trip and the idiot parents are letting it happen...

To gaol with the parents I say, and put the poor kid into responsible adult care...

Bassfan

[Chine]

The following article was in power-boat.com

Investigations carried out by Australia's State and Commonwealth authorities after teen sailor Jessica Watson's collision with a merchant ship last week have come to nothing, as the yacht and the merchant ship were in international waters at the time, 15 nautical miles off the coast.

Jessica's 34ft yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, collided with a 225-metre Chinese bulk carrier, Silver Yang on Wednesday after she set sail for Sydney, where she had planned to start her record-breaking bid.

Andrew Fraser, spokesman for her public relations company, was quoted as saying, 'It's my understanding that nobody could be charged because it happened in international waters more than 12 miles offshore.'

OK my question is this.
If I'm fishing out at Fitzroy reef without safety gear and I'm nabbed I can get charged under Australian law so how come they are only 15 miles off shore and whoever was negligent can't get charged because it's deemed as international waters.

MM,

It now appears that both MSQ and the ATSB have taken an interest in this incident and will be producing reports. The Master and relevant Deck Officers of the "Silver Yang" will be interviewed at the vessel's next port of arrival.

[Ando74]

Interesting report.


The Courier-Mail has obtained a copy of the report into a collision between Jessica's yacht and a Chinese bulk carrier this month which shows basic problems led her to a potentially fatal crash off southeast Queensland.

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.


The MSQ report found Jessica had set her vessel on autopilot and checked her radar about 2am, noting "a target at about six nautical miles" and "determined the vessel was passing to starboard well clear and not in a crossing situation" before going below deck.

"Satisfied there were no immediate dangers, (Jessica) put her head down for 10 minutes," the report says.

"The master (Jessica) ... may have dosed (sic) off. The master recollects the roar of a close vessel and went topside as the boat scraped port side to port side."

The report says that after the vessels separated, with Jessica's yacht dismasted, she contacted the skipper of the Silver Yang by radio and received an apology and a pledge to pay for the damages.

But the report also found problems with the alarms fitted on Jessica's yacht to alert her to nearby vessels including a device that "was not enabled that night".

It also found Jessica could not produce "course plots on paper charts or waypoints on the plotter" or a "fatigue management plan for single-handed conning".

Government authorities have analysed legislation in an attempt to prevent Ms Watson from embarking on the gruelling test. But the laws indicate that Jessica - who will become a legal adult when she turns 17 next May - needs only the approval of her parents to start the journey.