A reminder of the United Nations (UNICEF) Convention and a second view from yours truly.
On November 12th I was the author of a Post called Our next generation featuring the young Jessica Watson from Australia who is on course to try and win the record for the youngest person to sail, solo, unassisted, non-stop around the World. Here’s a part of what was said:
Jessica Watson
Jessica Watson is a teenager. She is hoping to break the record for the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the World. Whatever modern materials and technology can do to make sailing easier, sailing solo for weeks on end is grindingly tough at any age. She’s a wonderful example of the next generation!
Jessica left Sydney Harbour on October 18, 2009 sailing her sloop Ella’s Pink Lady. Her course is an estimated 23,000 nautical miles requiring her to be roughly 230 days at sea.
You can see that the tone of the Post was supportive.
However the comments that the Post attracted were critical of the pressures and influences that may have been brought to bear on this child. For at 16 ‘child’ is what Jessica is. One of our regular contributors pointed out that under the terms of the UNICEF Convention:
The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. In 1989, world leaders decided that children needed a special convention just for them because people under 18 years old often need special care and protection that adults do not.
(My underlining)
As the author of that Post I admit that this aspect had completely missed me and this Post is an attempt to remedy that omission and to remind our readers that it is so easy to see one’s own children as extensions of our adult ambitions.
More on that Convention:
The Convention sets out these rights in 54 articles and two Optional Protocols. It spells out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life.
Again, my underlining.
Now I am not saying that the parents of Jessica knowingly set out to expose their child to harm but Clause 1 of Article 32 of the Convention could make uncomfortable reading for any adult involved in promoting and facilitating the voyage:
Article 32
1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
Gloria Squires who, with her husband Barry, knows a thing or two about ocean sailing, posted a comment on that original Post:
Any short-handed blue water sailing is challenging and I can speak from a wealth of experience for although never single handed I have circumnavigated the world in a 35 foot ketch with my husband Barry. Sailing across oceans is a demanding business even when there are two people on-board there is a constant round of jobs to be done firstly in maintaining your boat and secondly in maintaining yourself both of which are crucial to the success and safety of your voyage.
Blue water sailors need a myriad of skills which include electrical, engineering, navigation, sewing, and imaginative cooking. Meanwhile sleep deprivation is always a serious concern and even more so when there is no one to share the watches.
However it is not just the physical demands of Jessica’s voyage that concern me but also the emotional ones. It is not easy to be at sea for weeks on end even when not alone, the constant movement of the boat, noise of the sails, the need for vigilance, the tiredness and anxiety all these take a toll on the emotions and that is when the weather is good.
When it is bad you can add hunger, seasickness (even in the best of us) lethargy and fear. Nothing instils fear quite like the sight of those greybeards rushing down on you. My question is how will a 16 year old cope with all this emotionally and alone? I know older mature skilled sailor couples who have left the sea after a lot less.
Despite not having done as many sea miles as Gloria and Barry, I have done sufficient to know the truth of what she says.
However the comments that the Post attracted were critical of the pressures and influences that may have been brought to bear on this child. For at 16 ‘child’ is what Jessica is. One of our regular contributors pointed out that under the terms of the UNICEF Convention:ones. It is not easy to be at sea for weeks on end even when not alone, the constant movement of the boat, noise of the sails, the need for vigilance, the tiredness and anxiety all these take a toll on the emotions and that is when the weather is good.
Learning from Dogs 