Jessica Watson

Yes and I was one silent sceptic after her first attempt resulted in an incident with a rather large tanker.

But, I have since been won over and followed her progress during her epic voyage. I watched for the entire telecast on channel 7, then One, on her remarkable achievement as she entered the Heads to complete her voyage.

I am now as proud of her as most other Australians and wish her every success for her future goals in life.

Boy, what a challenge for her to follow up though.
Her absolute maturity in her personal presentation and verbal comments brought more than one tear to my eye.

Good luck Jessica!


Bill.

Are you referring to those of us who thought it would be dangerous, we were proved correct when she run into the side of the cargo ship just off the coast

I’m sure it was just a lucky accident that it happened where it did, if it had happened 10,000 nm from Australia I'm sure she would not be here today?

I believe she's a very mature 16 yo to have completed the journey and still be in such good spirits.

Maîneÿ . . .

With respect Mainey I think you are wide of the mark. If an adventure doesn’t hold some danger or risk that you are prepared to take, then you might as well stay at home on the couch.

I was originally not keen on the idea UNTIL she had that brush with the tanker. After seeing her come in to the Gold Coast seaway with the damage all properly recovered and lashed, I new she was on for the attempt. I believe her maturity jumped yet another five years at that point.

“What if it happened 10,000 Nm from Australia I’m sure she would not be here today”

What sort of a statement is that?? Do you think that Australia has the only safe port in the world?? Try telling that to the young American woman who was doing the same thing at the same time and had to pull into a foreign port for repairs, hardly dangerous.

Jessica Watson is an inspiration and roll model for all young people to push back from this hyper-safety conscious and cotton wool wrapped world we live in, to get out and seek adventure and challenge, even getting their nose bloodied some times.

The only sad thing that has come out of all this is that her childhood stopped at 16yrs.

Regards. Clive.

You sure "she" ran into the ship and not the other way around??

Bit more to it than the way you depict it.

Clive,
'What if it happened 10,000 Nm from Australia I’m sure she would not be here today'
You ask: "What sort of a statement is that??
Do you think that Australia has the only safe port in the world?? "

No, I'm simply saying if she had the accident 10,000nm from (any) land she may not have been able to get back to (any) land at all.

John,
I'm not positive how it happened, however I can't imagine a huge tanker running into a small yacht and the yacht still remaining upright, I believe Jessica was not on deck at the time.


Yes, Jessica has truly achieved a fantastic feat, traveling round the world, but it had an unfortunate start that worried some if not many people, however it has finished with a spectacular event in Sydney Harbor, suitable for her truly fantastic accomplishment.

[ wonder if that very ‘bent’ multicrystalline solar panel still works? ]

Maîneÿ . . .

Mainey.
Seem to remember in one of her blogs that the bent panel still worked (good opportunity for the manufacture there), think it got bent in one of the early “knockdowns”. And we worry about a few ks of rough road.

Clive.

Clive,

Now we must stay on topic and not turn this into a *S O L A R* thread

ha ha ha

Maîneÿ . . .

"No, I'm simply saying if she had the accident 10,000nm from (any) land she may not have been able to get back to (any) land at all."

That'd be a good trick if she was 10,000nm from land coz that would put her in outerspace lol.

Hi all,

I like the idea that she knew the risks and wanted to do it anyway especially cause she is a young girl.

I like how she knows there is more to life then looks, celebrities and gossip. She is a superb role model for my young nieces.

You only live once and it would a boring and dull life if we didn't take calculated risks and were wrapped up in cotton wool.


Cheers Wilko

Yep she is truly amazing. She aint the first to di it or any of that, but she is still amazing, and alot more braver then I.

As for the cotton wool gestures, i agree. But i believe there are many people who wrap themselves in cotton wool around here also. The need to carry every conceivable peiece of radio equipment and sat phones and the rest of it to me is wrapping themselves in cotton wool. Not just getting out there and giving it a shot, and relying on common sense and self belief.

I wonder what the early explorers would have done without a sat phone and HF radio? Oh wait, sorry, forgot they didnt have any. They had horses if they were lucky and had to rely on there own ability to get places and to survive. These days people think they did it tough crossing the desert in a 200 series Landcruiser with air con a camper trailer and $50,000 worth of equipment.

No longer the hard country we once were. Cotton Wool country now.

Hi Muntoo,

I believe we have it too easy these days and we certaintly can do it with a lot less gear, but if someone thinks their keeping there dream alive by having all the gear under the sun then its none of my business.

I did shake my head 6 weeks ago when a city slicker turned up to a camp site on the Murray with a portaloo.

Wish I took a photo.

Cheers Wilko

So my photo is now up and this is our last yacht, gee wish I had her now and was out sailing hahahaha.
This is the same size as Jessi's vessel.

G'day Bruce...I'd like to be back out there again too mate, but in something like my second last "boat" 1966 - 1968 :-) Spent a bit of time doing survey/research work in the Southern Ocean on the old girl too. Image Could Not Be Found

A sensational achievement by a sensational young Australian.

Fred.

Good one Fred think it may have been a little more comfortable then Jessica's lol, but your right it is hard to get out of the system.

I am appalled that now Jessica is home safe everone is shouting and cheering!!!!!

What if it had all gone wrong and she was lost at sea ?

As the parent of a teenage girl I have no regard for Jessicas parents.
Letting a young girl take take these risks no mater how brave she is shows a complete lack of responsibility. Ok she may be a millionare at 17, she could also have been a young girl that never reached 17 .

thank God it all turned out for the best.

Butch58 wrote; >snip< "thank God it all turned out for the best."

Sorry Butch, you're entitled to your opinion, like we all are, but to be honest, I disagree and think of it this way;

Thank Jessica it turned out for the best.

After all, she was in charge of the vessel, she has just spent (7months???) at sea on her own, it was Jess who made it safely home....... no-one else had any say in it.

As far as " now Jessica is home safe everone is shouting and cheering!!!!!" goes, I, like many others on this site, was cheering her on the whole way! Good on her!

And good on her parents for having the faith in her.



Cheers

Brian

Father of 2 boys aged 20 & 17, but they don't know how to sail, so I'm in no danger of having to "let" them break Jessica's record....
;-))

Cheers Brian,
Maybee I'm just over protective of my daughter, she can't sail either !!

Butch,

I'm happy to say I would hate to be in their situation, to let my 16 yr sail solo around the world. But they did and good on 'em.

And by the same token, there are a lot of situations where you can't be too over protective of your daughter mate.

Cheers

Brian

He was 13 with only 5 shillings and a one-eyed horse that he had bought with his savings.


Cheers Kev

And she told Crud she was no hero to, don't forget that

I just loved that moment... priceless.

heya Isuzumu ....

I wasnt forgetting it ... I was agreeing with her low key attitude to the whole media trumped up business ... and those hanger on, glory seekers wanting to be in her spotlight.

Tis why I wish her well for the future.