how did jessica face the knock downs?
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Answer:
Teen sailor Jessica Watson says a violent storm that repeatedly slammed her mast into the ocean and damaged her boat caused her to question her world-record sailing attempt.
The 16-year-old recounts in her blog how she rode out a 12-hour-long violent storm on Friday night that brought hurricane-force wind gusts of up to 70 knots and a swell of seven to 10 metres.
During the ordeal, Jessica experienced her first knockdown, which is when the mast goes below horizontal and into the sea.
On her blog, she described the second of four knockdowns in which the mast was pushed 180 degrees into the water.
"Actually pushed isn't the right word," she wrote.
It would be more accurate to say that Ella's Pink Lady was picked up, thrown down a wave, then forced under a mountain of breaking water and violently turned upside down."
Jessica passed the 11,000-nautical-mile mark in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean during the storm but was belted into her wet-seat throughout the tempest.
"It was a little hard at times to maintain my positive and rational thoughts policy, but overall I think I can say that the skipper held up us well as Ella's Pink Lady," she said.
"It was certainly one of those times when you start questioning exactly why you're doing this, but at no point could I not answer my own question with a long list of reasons why the tough times like that aren't totally worth it."
During the drama, one of the boat's emergency signalling devices was activated, giving her family a brief scare before she checked in to authorities minutes later.
The damage to the boat includes warping of the solar panel's stainless steel frame, tears in the mainsail and a smashed-up toilet, but nothing to stop the journey, she said.
According to Jessica, the winds have abated and the dolphins have returned.
- Teen sailor Jessica Watson says a violent storm that repeatedly slammed her mast into the ocean and damaged her boat caused her to question her world-record sailing attempt. During the ordeal, Jessica experienced her first knockdown, which is when the mast goes below horizontal and into the sea.
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