Jessica Watson was a 16 year old Girl from Mooloolaba, who left Sydney harbor in a 34 foot yacht on 18 October 2009 and returned 15 May 2010, completing a solo non-stop unassisted circumnavigation of the globe. Obviously this is fucking nuts.
I’ve done a very small amount of ocean sailing in my time, but I have found my time on the water very profound to the point where I could write at least 50 posts on sailing. I won’t indulge that urge today, except to say that like many other pursuits in life, sailing isn’t really about sailing the boat. You can teach someone to trim a sail in an afternoon. Putting your life in the hands of 10 meters of fiberglass and steel which is under constant tension from the forces around it or having your progress dictated by the whims of the wind and the waves are far more challenging than the technical skills required. This book really captures and communicates this from Jessica’s perspective so its well worth your time.
My two other key takeouts:
During a test run sailing from Brisbane to Sydney, on her first night after leaving Brisbane, Ella’s Pink Lady collided with the Silver Yang, a 63,000-tonne bulk-carrier at 02.00 am. Watson’s boat was dis-masted in the collision. She was able to retain control and return the boat to Southport under motor (Wikipedia). Jessica says that hitting that ship ended up being a really positive thing, as she knew she was ready to deal with other inevitable challenges she would face on the circumnavigation. At the time it happened I was probably one of those people who said ‘egh maybe this trip isn’t for you’, but reading about the 4 years of work that went into getting to that point, and how she handled the failure, it made me understand why it didn’t stop her from continuing her attempt.
Jessica single-handedly chased this dream from the age of 12, for 4 years until she set sail at 16 years old. As with so many things, the intense focus when the going gets boring is the key to achieving a goal. This may be controversial, but most people when faced with a southern ocean storm will grit their teeth and hang on. But very few of us, let alone a 14 year old teenage girl will invest every waking moment into studying diesel engine mechanics or best rigging setups for short handed sailing. The knowledge that Jessica had to acquire to complete this task is astounding, let alone to absorb it when the world is pushing you in 1,000 other directions is truly remarkable.
Notes from a small Life 