Jessica Watson dreams of getting into the Guinness Book of Records.
Jessica, who spent more than six months alone at sea, said: “I wanted to challenge myself and achieve something I could be proud of. And yes, I wanted to inspire people. I hate being judged by my appearance and other people's expectations of what a 'little girl' is capable of.”
What we will tell you about:
Jessica Watson there ai?
Jessica Watson was born on May 18, 1993 in Gold Coast. The girl is the fourth child in a family in which they always dreamed of traveling. School didn't stop Jessica from taking sailing classes at the age of 10. At the age of 14, she became famous for sailing yachts.
According to the future conqueror of the ocean, her reference book was the memoirs of the famous Australian yachtsman Jesse Martin, who circumnavigated the Earth at the age of 17. And Jessica passionately dreamed of achieving such success.
At the age of 11, with the support of her parents, older brother and two sisters, the girl began to prepare for the greatest victory of her life. What's a bit puzzling is that as a child, doctors diagnosed Jessica with dyslexia. Anything can happen when the sea is stormy, for example, in difficult times, you must quickly read the coordinates to steer the yacht in the right direction.
Jessica's family does not have a significant bank account. Alas, she doesn't even have her own home. Shortly before the birth of his fourth child, his father sold his assets and bought a yacht. For five years, parents and children lived on a 16-meter cabin boat off the Gold Coast in Australia. And then they transferred to a rather old double-decker bus.
Raise funds for travel and bans
Jessica Watson's plans may have collapsed for a trivial reason: lack of financial resources. To everyone's surprise, we must praise the girl's business acumen and dexterity. She turned to the press for help. And journalists launched a massive advertising campaign. Fortune smiled on the persistent Jessica. Unexpectedly, we found an investor in a reputable cosmetics company. To achieve her goal, Watson received a high-quality yacht with everything she needed to use. The ship was named “Pink Lady”.
It seemed like everything was going like clockwork, but the Australian Children's Defense Fund intervened in the preparations for the round-the-world trip, and sought to ban the planned trip. With great difficulty, Jessica's parents received permission from the authorities for their daughter to participate in such a risky event.
At the same time, special conditions were also announced: “The Pink Lady” does not enter the port, does not anchor the ship and only receives assistance in emergencies. That's right, young travelers are allowed to use radio communications and consult with coaches.
Just before the match started, an unpleasant event occurred that could affect the morale of the young Australian. On 9 September 2009, the Pink Lady collided with a cargo ship while on a test voyage from Sydney to Brisbane.
The yacht lost its mast, but Jessica managed to control the controls and return to port with the traction of the engine. According to a 16-year-old Australian female student, this incident served as a lesson for her future and forced her to focus on preparing for a trip around the world.
Start your journey
On 18 October 2009, Jessica Watson set sail from Sydney Harbor on the 10 meter yacht Pink Lady. The sea storm became a real test for the courageous girl's character and will.
The circular route will start and end in Sydney and pass near New Zealand, Fiji, Kiribati, Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and the South East Cape. The trip is expected to last eight months and Jessica plans to cover approximately 23,000 nautical miles (43,000 km). This is exactly what is needed to set a world record.
On January 23, 2010, Jessica left the following inscription in her travel diary: “The yacht and I survived four strong collisions with the waves. There was nothing I could do – it was too dangerous to be on deck. So I tied my rope and held on as tight as I could. The autopilot did a great job. I'd like to believe that my shouts of encouragement helped him too.”
During the storm, the sailboat tilted sharply, the mast lying horizontally on the water. Waves covered the yacht like a wall, but Jessica remained afloat and overcame all problems. The ship capsized four times with waves up to 10 meters high! And every time, Jessica sets the direction.
One day she almost died. A huge wave covered the yacht so much that the mast was completely submerged under water. After the storm, the ship needed repairs and Watson took it upon himself to handle it. She replaced wind turbine blades and repaired engine fuel pumps.
Back and scandal
On May 15, 2010, the cruise ship “Pink Lady” docked at home. A brave Australian woman's solo trip around the world lasted 210 days. Jessica Watson's comeback has become a national holiday.
“I was expecting that some of my mother's friends and acquaintances would come. But what I saw stunned me. When the cruise ship turned into the harbor, I saw the whole beach strewn with people. I've never seen so many people in one place before.”
At Sydney Harbor, on the shore where more than a hundred thousand people gathered, she was personally welcomed by Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
However, the World Sea Records Council (WSSRC) was in no hurry to revise this record. They studied Jessica's route and concluded that she was a few miles short of her round-the-world route. Watson was very upset. But she later admitted in her book that she had let go of that situation.
“That doesn't bother me. A thousand technical arguments won't make up for the simple fact that I got on a boat, circumnavigated the globe, and returned to the starting point.”
Further fate
In 2011, Jessica Watson was named Young Australian of the Year. A year later, the girl received the Order of Australia. After completing her famous world tour, Jessica entered college. After graduating, she became one of the founders of a maritime startup.
The government bought Jessica's yacht “Pink Lady” for 300 thousand USD; The ship is currently on display at the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane.
In 2018, Jessica Watson's novel Indigo Blue was published and was adapted into the film The Power of Dreams in 2023, in which actress Teagan Croft plays the traveler.
