Rundle’s poem of the week
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Jessica Watson Floats Her Boat I must go down to the sea again For though I’ve talked up this solo trip I must go down to the sea again I must go down to the sea again I must go down to the sea again |
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9 Comments
Guy, you’re right about the PR. It’s insane and I would have thought that her parents but more importantly the media (and in particular channel 10 and their digital “One” channel) would have had more sense than to put a teenager into a position where pulling out of the voyage becomes more and more difficult. Will she become Australia’s Donald Crowhurst? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Crowhurst) I hope her parents have watched the film Deep Water.
On a separate point I don’t actually have a problem with a 16 year old attempting this. It wasn’t that long ago that you could join the Australian Navy as a 14 year old Midshipman. We have as a society gone way to far in infantilising teenagers. I have no problem with children staying in education to enhance their job prospects but the government’s desire to require them to stay at school until they are 18 years old is symptomatic of a society that doesn’t want teenagers to grow up.
I don’t have a problem with 16 y-o’s doing daring and dangerous stuff either. what disturbs me about this fad is that its as much about a psychological torment as a physical challenge. a year alone is tough for anyone - at 16 it just strikes me as a dumb thing to do. really, isn’t 16 about doing stuff with people, experiencing the journey to adulthood together - not staring at a rock while your parents sing happy birthday over the radio? its not as if anyone hasnt sailed round the world solos before. being a coupla years younger than the last person to do it makes not much difference.
It’s sure as h_ll a novel way of avoiding being stuck in school, waiting for your 18th birthday.
What’s the bet that this girl never sees the inside of s school room again?
Guy, given the trashing this gutsy adventurous girl got in places like the Tele (http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/solo-sailor-teen-jessica-watson-in-dramatic-sea-crash/comments-e6freuy9-1225770844272), and also given the compassion and decency that normally underlies even your most satirical pieces, I think joining in the jeering is unworthy of you.
The Tele blog I link to above did not print my comment disagreeing with most of the views printed, so I wonder if they were selective and only printed the sneering posts.
What is everyone’s problem? She had all the safety gear sorted, including the engine that got her home without even any need for a public rescue.
I dunno, I was sort of hoping if you said anything at all on the subject it would be to counter all the armchair sneering.
And: “at 16 it just strikes me as a dumb thing to do”.
I guess if Jessica wanted your opinion on what is or isn’t a good way to spend her 17th year, she would have asked you.
“Gutsy”? “Adventurous”? Alternative descriptions have included - “Idiotic”, “Foolhardy”, “Disaster-bound” - and these are aimed mostly at the parents who encouraged and supported this foolish endeavour!
Seriously James, would you honestly encourage your 16-year old daughter (who would not be considered by modern society as mature enough to safely drive a car, within an environment with adequate rescue and medical response services available within minutes), to try to pilot a yacht around the globe solo without any real assurance of a response by such services.
The risks, by any sane assessment, are simply unacceptable, and the likelihood of a tragedy far too high for an adult, let alone a child with limited judgment and pyschological development. Apart from that, there are of course, the sailing skills that her life will depend upon. And, she’s already managed to run into a rather large ship. So far, not so good!
A question here is - just which country will have to foot the large bill in the near future, for the highly-likely search and rescue effort.
Although it was said that ” fortune favours the brave”, is is not so much misfortune, but poor judgment and poor risk assessment that kills the foolhardy. And, frequently!
I’d have some misgivings but if her heart was set on it, and if I was confident in her abilities and preparedness, yes.
All 16 year olds are not the same, and there isn’t just one right way to live a life.
You’ve offered some possible predictions so let me offer another. Jessica sails again and at some point runs into trouble again. Once more she resourcefully bails herself out of it and perseveres. In this manner she completes her voyage. And at the end of it she looks in the mirror and knows something very few people are certain of: that she can do anything she sets her mind to.
Ten years later she’s successful and famous in some field of her choice, and has emigrated to the USA because Australia’s sneering and negativity would have just brought her down.
Psychological torment is the key here.
Check out BigOceans.com, this guy is sailing from continental Europe to OZ, with plenty of stopovers, and support along the way. Reading his blog posts will give you some idea of what it’s like to do a solo trip like this… it’s pretty grueling for a 27 year old, never mind someone ten years younger.
That’s why you won’t catch me out there doing that trip!