Youngest round the world sailor returns home

Sixteen year-old Jessica Watson returned home after a 210 day, 23000 miles solo around the world voyage at sea to become an instant heroine, earlier criticism mostly forgotten. Australia came out to welcome Jessica and her boat “Ella’s Pink Lady” back into Sydney harbour in droves; media helicopters buzzed overhead, people had filled up beaches, Sydney’s waterfront and the Opera House. There was even a sky-writing plane that wrote ‘Jessica’ across the sky. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Premier Kristina Keneally came out to receive Jessica, even as she was delayed by two hours struggling with a torn mainsail and heavy swell. The Prime Minister hailed her as the country's "newest hero".

The 16-year-old became the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world. Jessica is still too young to buy the champagne that was popped to herald her record; in any case, all that the tired but overwhelmed teenager wanted to do was sink into a "big, non-rolling bed and eat some fresh food". Her parents helped Jessica as she disembarked, a little wobbly at the knees. "As a little girl, people don't think you're capable of these things, they don't realise what young people, 16-year-olds and girls are capable of. But it's amazing what you can do," said the girl who has yet to finish school- and is looking forward to getting her driver’s license!

There is still some saying that the record is not official. For one, they say, Jessica did not sail enough to the north of the equator, as the World Speed Sailing Record Council indicates, to make this a true round-the-world voyage. The Council had withdrawn the ‘under 18 category’ after worldwide criticism and controversy about young teenage sailors being exposed to risks at sea.

To most Australians, however, Jessica is the real thing. Jessica is not fazed by all the controversy either. "Call me immature, but I've actually been having a bit of a giggle over the whole thing. If I haven't been sailing around the world, then it beats me what I've been doing out here all this time!" she wrote in a blog when at sea. She also said that she was overwhelmed by the welcome in Sydney, and that it was a "mega mega under-exaggeration" to describe her return as "the most amazing day". Among the highlights of her trip, she said, was the sighting of a blue whale.

Jessica has been sailing since she was eight, but she ran into a lot of criticism, as did her parents, when she sailed out of Sydney Harbour last year. Many said she was too young; many were concerned about her safety, especially after she had collided with a ship on a practice run earlier. Nevertheless, she embarked on a remarkable voyage through the South Pacific, across the equator, south to Cape Horn, across the Atlantic Ocean to the Cape of Good Hope, then through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia.

The teenager is now a celebrity. A book, True Spirit: The Aussie Girl who Took on the World, is to be published later this year, and some are already calling for Watsons Bay, the last bay she saw as she left Sydney on October 17 last year, to be renamed ‘Watson’s Bay'. At that time, there were only a handful of spectators who had come to see her off.

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Jessica Watson reaches halfway mark after three months of sailing

Teenager on non-stop 23,000 mile solo trip around the world

pic courtesy the razor, Australia

Jessica Watson rounded the tip of Cape Horn last Thursday as her parents Roger and Julie circled overhead in an airplane; they had flown down especially from Australia to have a look at their teenage daughter who is halfway through her world solo sail bid. Sixteen year old Jessica plans to be the youngest person ever to sail across the world alone and unaided.




The 16 year old was buzzed earlier by a British RAF Typhoon fighter near the coast of the Falkland Islands; an event that gave her "quite a fright" over her breakfast. The first half of Jessica’s 23,000 nautical mile odyssey has taken her to a region known well for treacherous high waves, gale force winds, strong currents and icebergs: ‘The Everest of ocean sailing’, some say.






Jessica’s voyage almost never began; she was heavily criticised when, two weeks before sailing, she hit a bulk carrier on a trial run off Stradbroke Island, Australia. An inquiry was conducted, and there were accusations that, amongst other things, Jessica may have ignored safety procedures and was asleep when the incident occurred. Many said she was too young to undertake such a perilous journey, and that the authorities should intervene to abort her voyage.


All that seems to be history. On board her 10-metre sloop ‘Ella's Pink Lady’, Jessica is thrilled today. She has been sailing along for three months now, having left Sydney on October 18, and says, “It's great to have come this far with so few signs of wear and tear. With Cape Horn being the subject of all my attention for so long, it's strange now to refocus and start thinking ahead to the rest of the voyage and the other milestones along the way. Even though it's all been very exciting and a total novelty, I am also glad to again be clear of land and the shipping that comes with it. It's nice to be able to settle back into some sort of vague attempt at a routine and to be able to sleep better knowing that it's just Ella's Pink Lady and I again."


Jessica is now headed for the Cape of Good Hope, and intends to be back home in Australia before her 17th birthday, a feat that which would make her the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world unaided. After months of rough seas and tough sailing, she hopes to get better weather on this leg. "As the voyage is nonstop I won't be pulling into port, so calmer seas and refuge behind land will feel like a holiday,'' she says.
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Jessica Watson sets off around the world

Four days, ago, Australian sailor Jessica Watson finally set sail on a 22,000 nautical mile around the world solo trip from Australia. Jessica is just 16, and wants to be the youngest person to complete the journey nonstop and unassisted.


Jessica's plans had raised a raging controversy in Australia and across maritime circles, as an earlier trip from the Sunshine Coast resulted in a near disaster: she ran into a 60,000 tonne Chinese bulk carrier, probably while asleep, and broke her yacht's mast. Critics point to Maritime Safety Queensland's report into the collision, which criticised her navigational skills: she had dozed off without turning on a warning device, did not have any clear plan and had kept a log with "irregular latitude and longitude entries". Media reports after the collision had alleged she kept a safety checklist on a scrap piece of paper, was otherwise unqualified to undertake such a perilous journey and was way too young for such an exacting expedition. Psychologists warned of the effects of prolonged loneliness on one so young; it is an eight month solo voyage, after all.


Her supporters, including her family, friends and corporate sponsors, claimed otherwise. They said that the media 'was being sexist and criticising Jessica's determination because she was a girl. They claimed that the boat and safety measures had been augmented, that Jessica was more than capable and that her determination to undertake the voyage after the collision showed the kind of grit that was required to succeed in the epic voyage. Jessica's mother Julie said that the collision had provided the opportunity to reexamine Jessica's safety and fatigue management systems, and that everything had been done to guarantee the girl's safety: "Everything has been revisited and ramped up, so we've just left no stone unturned,' she said. "She probably has more gear on board than most ships," the mother said.


These arguments are now moot anyway: At the time of writing this report, Jessica is 150 miles off Sydney and doing six knots, according to reports. She has enough technology to assist her on the 'Ella's Pink Lady', her Sparkman and Stephens 34 yacht. Besides improved radar equipment subsequent to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's preliminary report on the earlier collision, the 10.23 m yacht is equipped with satellite navigation and tracking, communication, radio, weather and storm tracking, satellite phones and internet for the eight month voyage.


Jessica's route will take her from off Sydney towards northern New Zealand, from where she will turn to port towards Fiji. Once past Fiji and Samoa, she goes Northeast past the Line Islands and then turns South past the roaring forties before rounding the 'Everest of Ocean Sailing', Cape Horn. She then sails 'Cape to Cape', rounding the Cape of Good Hope before heading home to Australia.


The real tests will be Jessica's responses to the inevitable hairy situations that she will face and her ability to make the right decisions under pressure. There are other questions in many minds: how much risk is acceptable when teenagers too young to vote want adventure at sea? And, is Jessica adequately capable of handling the yacht in all weather conditions over a period of eight months?


We will find out the answers to these questions eventually. Meanwhile, can only applaud this teenager's grit and determination.
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Teenage girl she will be youngest to sail around the world despite collision:

Sixteen year old Australian schoolgirl Jessica Watson, whose yacht, ‘Ella’s Pink Lady’ collided with the cargo ship ‘Silver Yang’ in a busy area off the southern Queensland coast, remains undeterred, saying that she remained confident of becoming the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Jessica sailed out from Mooloolaba on Queensland's Sunshine Coast on a ten day preliminary journey to Sydney in her boat. Near disaster struck soon thereafter: her yacht crashed into the bulk carrier 15 nautical miles east of North Stradbroke Island's Point Lookout when she was below decks. Speaking to reporters after she was escorted back to the Gold Coast, she said she was tired but upbeat: "The whole incident gives me confidence that I can actually handle this," she said. "It could have happened to anyone. I'm unlucky, I suppose, but you also learn from it," she added. Damage to the yacht may involve repairs to the vessel’s rigging and a small section of the hull. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is conducting a full investigation of the incident. In a press release back on land, Jessica said she was ‘still in high spirits and acknowledges the ongoing support of her family, friends and sponsors who are all solidly behind her record breaking bid to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the world.’

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