Jessica Watson's yacht hit by storm

by JOHN EDENS

Australian teenager Jessica Watson suffered a knockdown – when a yacht's mast dips below the horizontal line into the sea – at the weekend.

After almost 200 days at sea the 16-year-old is on the home stretch of her 38,000km (23,000 nautical mile) around-the-world voyage.

She is approaching Tasmania, battling gales, lightning storms and massive swells in the Southern Ocean.

Her grandfather Gordon Chisholm, of Lowburn near Cromwell, yesterday said Jessica made good progress despite a knockdown on Saturday.

She previously suffered four knockdowns in the south Atlantic around the Falkland Islands but the Southern Ocean and Tasman Sea swells could be severe, he said.

After five knockdowns, his granddaughter was getting accustomed to them, he said.

On Jessica's blog, on Saturday, she wrote: "The big seas were from a nasty low pressure system passing to the south and although we missed most of its wind, we sure copped some big seas.

"Probably the biggest I've seen so far ...

"These swells were 10 metre liquid mountains, rolling past with tumbling white tops."

Her yacht, Ella's Pink Lady, handled the battering beautifully, she said.

Jessica said she was ready for forecast storms, sailing around Tasmania on the home stretch to Sydney.



The Southland Times