Sydney - Australian solo sailor Jessica Watson was asleep and never saw the 63,000-ton bulk carrier that almost sank her 10-metre yacht last month, safety authorities said Tuesday. The 16-year-old left Sydney on Sunday aboard Ella's Pink Lady on a quest to become the youngest person to sail solo and unaided around the world.
She was faulted by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau for not spotting the Silver Yang on her radar before she set her alarm clocks and took a nap.
"The collision woke Ella's Pink Lady's skipper," the bureau said in its report on the September 9 accident. "She climbed out of the cabin, grabbed the tiller and tried to steer the yacht. She looked upwards and thought that (it) was likely that the yacht's rigging would become entangled with the ship and dismast her vessel, so she returned to the cabin. A few seconds later, the mast came crashing down."
The near catastrophe came just a day into her journey down the east coast to Sydney to begin her record attempt.
Watson has consistently refused to say whether she was asleep when her boat bashed into the Silver Yang.
Spokesman for the Watson camp, Andrew Fraser, who earlier said the collision was a "blessing in disguise" because it uncovered deficiencies in her equipment, said the teenager had read the report.
"She has taken on board all the comments and put additional safety precautions in place such as louder alarm systems, back-up systems and additional automatic identification equipment," he said.
The damning report whipped up more concern about the Queensland teenager's preparedness for her eight-month voyage.
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, speaking at the weekend, echoed the worries of many when she said "a lot of Australians are nervous for Jessica - I'm nervous for Jessica."
Watson hopes to beat a record set 10 years ago by fellow Australian Jesse Martin, who at 18 circumnavigated the globe on his own and unaided.
Her route across the Pacific and to the Atlantic tracks that of fellow Australian Kay Cottee, who became the first woman to sail solo and unassisted round the world 21 years ago.
