An Australian girl criticized over her bid to sail solo round the world said yesterday her yacht had been fitted with an ear-splitting new alarm to stop her crashing again.
Jessica Watson, 16, said her pink yacht had been modified since it was badly damaged in a collision with a 63,000-tonne cargo ship just hours into a test run.
Maritime officials have said Watson, who will sleep in 20-minute bursts during the eight-month voyage, probably “dozed off” before the crash.
“I suppose one big thing is that really loud alarm we’ve got now so there’s absolutely no chance of me missing the warning alarm of a ship approaching,” she said. “It’s quite something actually, it hurts your ears.”
She said she had never considered abandoning her bid to become the youngest solo round-the-world sailor despite calls from Australian authorities to give up on the 23,000 nautical mile (42,600km) journey.
“To be honest it never even crossed my head,” she told reporters in Sydney. “I never even thought once that I didn’t even want to do this. It’s never, ever been like that for me.”
Last month’s accident snapped the mast of her 10m yacht, Ella’s Pink Lady, which was “extremely fortunate” to stay afloat, according to transport safety officials.
They also said the teenager did not have a fatigue management plan and her safety guide consisted of a page torn from a school notebook which was covered in childish doodles.
Asked how she would cope with big waves, Watson said: “Just up and over really.”
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