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.
If this conclusion implies that the yacht's AIS transponder was switched off then it raises some very serious questions about Jessica's understanding of this valuable technology. Both the yacht and "Silver Yang" AIS displays, be they MKD or something else, would have sounded audible CPA alerts and in Jessica's case she should be employing a four mile CPA alert to aid her fatigue management plan. I am assuming, of course, that the yacht is fitted with an AIS transponder...........if not, then she should not undertake the voyage. This must be a fundamantal equipment requirement in this situation.
* 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".
A potentially deadly mistake.
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".
This could be transposed on to a large scale paper chart from the GPS chartplotter track history when she was on watch. Not a difficult task.
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.
Originally Posted by Ando74
Interesting report.
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