Jessica Watson

[Nick]

.
Remember Jessica Watson, the youngest non-stop solo circumnavigator? Her new project is to enter the youngest ever crew in the Sydney-Hobart race. The boat is a Sydney 38, an Ozzie one-design, and the average age of the crew will be just 19.

The website is HERE.

[Arghiro]

Strikes me as simply a way of getting sponsorship. The age thing is pointless otherwise. Don't like it, it does nothing for me, just too much of a freak show concept.

Maybe I should do it with OAP's?
(how many goats make a crew?)

[Nick]

Strikes me as simply a way of getting sponsorship. The age thing is pointless otherwise. Don't like it, it does nothing for me, just too much of a freak show concept.

So you think teenagers are freaks? Another symptom of an aging population I guess. Might I suggest you don't ever go into teaching?

I think it's great - hope she wins.

[Gardenshed]

Go for it Jessica
Sensible size of boat (38 feet). If it was a pure publicity stunt, they'd be trying to get a maxi or TP52. I wish them all the best.

Of course they need sponsorship, Jessica isn't a trust fund beneficiary and few teenages have the means to charter and organise an event like this. Great to see the energy chanelled into something like this.

It would be great to see some Scots kids with a bit of get up and go trying to do a few local events (OSC Round Mull, some of the CCC Offshore championship events?) and encourage others to get involved in offshore sailing.

[Silkie]

Like this?

[youtube]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qBKLwMVj38k[/youtube]

[Arghiro]

Strikes me as simply a way of getting sponsorship. The age thing is pointless otherwise. Don't like it, it does nothing for me, just too much of a freak show concept.

So you think teenagers are freaks? Another symptom of an aging population I guess. Might I suggest you don't ever go into teaching?

I think it's great - hope she wins.

Yer great Pirrock,
I have spent a lot of my life teaching all ages. You know that is not what I said, you are deliberately distorting my comment. But hey, its a forum innit, just like ToP.

My point is that she is deliberately choosing kids in order to engage sponsorship. That is my objection, a bit like taking "all girl" crews or "all black" crews (why has no-one tried that yet?) That's why I suggested an OAP crew - the whole thing is publicity driven & I don't like that. Just like racing to be the youngest RtW, it isn't good seamanship, it's chequebook sailing.

Of course I don't wish her ill, she will have enough to contend with anyway, but I will not be lighting candles at her altar either. Please allow me my own opinion without trying to abuse me.

[Nick]

Yer great Pirrock,
. . . hey, its a forum innit, just like ToP.

If you say so . . .

[FullCircle]

Strikes me as simply a way of getting sponsorship. The age thing is pointless otherwise. Don't like it, it does nothing for me, just too much of a freak show concept.

So you think teenagers are freaks? Another symptom of an aging population I guess. Might I suggest you don't ever go into teaching?

I think it's great - hope she wins.

Yer great Pirrock,
I have spent a lot of my life teaching all ages. You know that is not what I said, you are deliberately distorting my comment. But hey, its a forum innit, just like ToP.

My point is that she is deliberately choosing kids in order to engage sponsorship. That is my objection, a bit like taking "all girl" crews or "all black" crews (why has no-one tried that yet?) That's why I suggested an OAP crew - the whole thing is publicity driven & I don't like that. Just like racing to be the youngest RtW, it isn't good seamanship, it's chequebook sailing.

Of course I don't wish her ill, she will have enough to contend with anyway, but I will not be lighting candles at her altar either. Please allow me my own opinion without trying to abuse me.

I agree, it does seem very '-ist' in excluding possibly better crew choices just based on making sure they are all teenagers. I think its been done to death now. Its a publicity stunt. Worthy of course, but a publicity stunt nevertheless.
After all this Star Crew are not forming to take on the Woollamulu Spring Series and win it, just the most headline grabbing event.

[marisca]

Yer great Pirrock,
. . . hey, its a forum innit, just like ToP.

I hope it never descends to that level and to the casual viewer your posts may not have the humour you intend.

Putting a young crew together is laudable and I wish her well. If they turn out to be the youngest ever, so what? But if it is put together simply to obtain that soubriquet, I find it rather sad. However, it may get sponsorship from Pampers and Cow 'n Gate just like RKJ got his from Saga.

I note from JW's website (I went looking 'cos of this thread) that she is sailing round the Eillan Ban with that other publicity junkie Mike Perham. Another record?

[Nick]

I find it rather sad. However, it may get sponsorship from Pampers and Cow 'n Gate just like RKJ got his from Saga.

The crew will all be over 18 as this is the minimum age for entry, it is not exactly a boat load of foetuses. Some people - particularly teenagers or young people in their twenties - might find your comments patronising at best. I think it is great that Jessica is doing something to boost the aspirations and self-esteem of her own age group and inspire young people to get into sailing, and I find disparaging comments like this puzzling. I can only assume that none of the respondents who choose to react in this way know, have worked with or care about the aspirations of teenagers, as they are apparently unable to tell the difference between an eighteen year old and a child.

Jessica has already proved herself with her circumnavigation, which was conducted low key, without fanfare and against a background muttering of doomsayers who said she would fall at the first hurdle. She did it non-stop via the 3 great capes in a normal 33ft cruising yacht - an MAB of the type many of us sail. She survived several complete inversions off Cape Horn which she reported without undue drama or bravado in her blog. (Leading some of the 'critics' to suggest that it was her publicity team writing the entries . . . ) and although she returned home to a hero's welcome in her native Australia her remarkable achievement went largely unnoticed in the rest of the sailing world - I don't even think there has been an article in a UK magazine.

Now she is continuing to look for new sailing horizons and involve more young people in sailing. I think she is a great ambassador for the sport, and anyone who disagrees is just a curmudgeonly old git. I will try to find a smiley for them.

[Mark]

publicity junkie Mike Perham.

That's really unfair. Watson and Perham are professional sailors. Professional sailing is funded by advertising and book/TV/film sales. All of that requires publicity.

Are Lewis Hamilton or Tiger Woods publicity junkies?

[Mark]

anyone who disagrees is just a curmudgeonly old git. I will try to find a smiley for them.

The already is one - the envy smiley.

[marisca]

Oi you lot, lay off! What I wrote was

Putting a young crew together is laudable and I wish her well. If they turn out to be the youngest ever, so what?

Of course I agree it's good she's getting young people sailing and if she and others can fill the role model to encourage more to take up sailing then whoopee. Her circumnavigation was awe-inspiring and I followed it avidly. It's the idea of striving for youngest for youngest's sake to get sponsorship that I'm agin - and I didn't get the impression from JW's website that that was necessarily the aim, but seemed to be the impression in other posts. In retrospect, I regret the accusation of "publicity junkie" - you are right, she doesn't deserve it and I had no evidence on which to hang such a baseless slur.
As for Mike Perham - it's the "brand" that I have issue with. Sailing round the world is a tremendous achievement that I admire and certainly will never emulate, but the hype that went before, maybe necessary to make it possible, seemed more akin to Teignmouth Electron than B&Q/Castorama. Are top-class sportsmen Publicity junkies? Some are and I don't believe the 2 mentioned by Mark actually need the money from razor sales or bank deposits on top of their earnings from sporting success. But then no-one is going to offer me anything to endorse their product. Anyone fancy sponsoring me for the SIPR? My USP is rather difficult to pinpoint.

[Mark]

Oi you lot, lay off! What I wrote was

I agreed with the rest of what you wrote, just didn't think the Perham bit was very fair!

[Arghiro]

I see my opinion doesn't suit the forum "owner". Fairy Nuff, I don't really give a stuff, he has every right to his opinion too. He has said little to alter my opinion, but I am surprised at his reaction to my having one.

So it goes. As I said, it's a forum innit? . . . . .