Youngest Solo Sailors Triumph
Posted on 16 May 2010 by LynThomas in sports
16 year-old Jessica Watson has returned home to Australia, in high victory, after her around the world, non-stop unassisted solo sail.
She set foot on dry land, after 210 days at sea and a 23,000 nautical mile journey, to be greeted with rock star status. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was among the first to welcome her back on dry land.
Jessica became the youngest person to successfully complete the challenge, finishing just three days before her 17th birthday.
Jessica had faced 40 foot waves during her 7 month trip, as she traveled through some of the world’s most treacherous waters and battled monstrous storms. She said those times gave her moments of doubt, but generally she was able to keep her spirits up.
Critics said she was too young and inexperienced for such a treacherous journey, particularly after her collision during pre-voyage trials in September, with a 63,000- ton Chinese bulk carrier. Her parents maintained she was well-prepared and had been sailing since she was 8 years old.
“She said she’d sail around the world, and she has,” a tearful Julie Watson said from a nearby boat, as she watched her grinning daughter cruise past the finish line. “She’s home!”
Watson sailed northeast through the South Pacific and across the equator, south to Cape Horn at the tip of South America, across the Atlantic Ocean to South Africa, through the Indian Ocean and around southern Australia.
Her feat will not be recognized as an official world record, because the World Speed Sailing Record Council has discontinued its age-related categories – youngest and oldest.
With 40 sponsors, promotional and endorsement deals could earn Jessica at least A$1 million ($886,000), Monash University marketing lecturer Peter Scholem said. “For the young market she would be an extremely powerful image. For any individual sponsorship you are talking about several hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Australian Jesse Martin holds the record for the youngest person to sail around the world solo, nonstop and unassisted, after he completed the journey at 18 in 1999.
Martin boarded Watson’s boat to take over during her cruise toward the Opera House, so she could relax and wave to fans. Britain’s Mike Perham, who completed a solo circumnavigation at 17 in 2009, though technical problems forced him to stop for assistance, also joined Jessica on her 34-foot yacht.
Jessica does not see herself as a hero, but an ordinary girl who believed in her dream.
Sixteen-year-old American Abby Sunderland of Marina del Ray, California, launched her solo round-the-world bid in January. In May, she had to pull into port in South Africa for boat repairs, ending her nonstop attempt. She still plans to try to complete her voyage.
The Dutch teenager Laura Dekker, who was stopped from her around the world solo sail, by the Dutch authorities, in 2009, will no doubt attempt to beat Jessica’s record, at the first opportunity she gets.
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