Jessica Watson - 16 year old solo sailor to circumnavigate the globe

Those of you who read my hubs will know that I have an interest in young sailors. This started when, at the age of 11 or 12, I read 'Dove' - Robin Lee Graham's account of his single handed circumnavigation of the globe which he began at the age of 16. This brave story fascinated me, especially as his voyage was undertaken at a time when communication and navigation devices were a lot less sophisticated than they are today. I have also been following the story of Dutch girl, Laura Dekker, who although only 13 years old is determined to become the youngest sailor to sail around the world solo. The Dutch courts have stopped her plan for now.

So it was with great interest that I watched young Australian, Jessica Watson, who is 16 set sail out of Sydney harbour on October 18th. She will attempt to become the youngest person to single handedly sail around the world unassisted - and non stop. In August this year British sailor, 17 year old Mike Perham, became the youngest person to sail solo around the globe. But as he had to stop for repairs to his boat, his trip did not count as unassisted. The record for the youngest unassisted circumnavigation is currently held by Australian Jesse Martin, who completed his trip at the age of 18 in 1999.

Jessica plans to spend 8 months completing her circumnavigation on her 10 meter boat, "Ella's Pink Lady". The journey is 28 000 nautical miles through some of the most dangerous seas. As of yesterday she had covered just over 1000 nautical miles and is slightly ahead of schedule.

Her departure was not without some controversy. In September, on a practice run, her yacht collided with a 63 000 tonne Chinese cargo ship. Jessica was luckily unscathed although her boat sustained some damage. This prompted some of Australia's most experienced sailors to urge her not to go ahead. She felt that she had learned from this experience however and plans went ahead for her voyage.

One of the interesting things about this solo circumnavigation is that the world can closely follow Jessica's progress. She is writing a blog and has even included video commentary so one can watch her as she journeys. She is in daily contact with her parents by radio and email. She receives hundreds of comments on her blog from well wishers and other interested parties. This is a very different scenario from the one that faced Robin Lee Graham where he would be alone and out of contact with the world for weeks on end. It would certainly seem that some of the loneliness is taken out of the voyage for Jessica. Just reading all the comments on her blog must occupy quite a few of her hours. I have included a link below.

Also included below is an interview with Jessica. She seems like a very mature 16 year old and is certainly focussed. The interviewer also talks to her mother. She is a lucky girl to have the support of her parents in pursuing her dream as it can't have been easy for them to decide to let her go on such a potentially dangerous journey.

There is no doubt that Jessica is an experienced sailor.  She has been sailing since she was nine years old and it may be that the psychological stress of being alone for eight months will be reduced with the modern communication methods available to her.  Nevertheless, as I pointed out in my hub on Robin Lee Graham, more people have been into space than have single handedly circumnavigated the globe.  This will be no walk in the park for Jessica.  Join me as I watch her progress.

Other Solo Circumnavigators of Interest

• Joshua Slocum is the first documented sailor to circumnavigate the globe between 1895 and 1898.  His book "Sailing alone around the world" is still considered to be a classic adventure.
• Francis Chichester was the first sailor to go for speed when he undertook his solo circumnavigation in 1966.
• Robin Lee Graham was the youngest sailor to complete a solo circumnavigation.  He was 16 when he set off but the voyage took him five years.
• Alec Rose was a British grocer turned yachtsman.  He sailed around the world in 1967 to 1968.  His story is told in the book "My Lively Lady".
• Chay Blythe completed a solo circumnavigation - going west - in 1971.
• The Polish sailor Krystyna Chojnowska-Liskiewicz was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe (with stops) in 1978.  She was closely followed by Naomi James a couple of months later.
• Kay Cottee was the first woman to complete a non-stop solo circumnavigation in 1988.