Mantas 3 Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Has anyone from outside of Australia been following this? Jessica Watson aged 16, will be the youngest sailor ever to have sailed around the globe unassisted when she arrives in Sydney harbour next week. I think she will be lucky to stand up once she steps ashore after 7 months on a small boat. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted May 10, 2010 Share Posted May 10, 2010 Good on her! Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted May 10, 2010 Author Share Posted May 10, 2010 She'll never work again.... Link to post Share on other sites
deemacvee 0 Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Though she was too young, too frail to handle it. Then she had her accident with the tanker on the way to the start in Sydney. I thought her parents were irresponsible and feared it would end in tragedy. I have followed her trip every step of the way http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/ and will be there on Saturday to wave her home, eat my words and applaud her remarkable feat. Never judge a book........ Link to post Share on other sites
foreversnow 5 Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 Originally Posted By: deemacvee Though she was too young, too frail to handle it. Then she had her accident with the tanker on the way to the start in Sydney. I thought her parents were irresponsible and feared it would end in tragedy. I have followed her trip every step of the way http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/ and will be there on Saturday to wave her home, eat my words and applaud her remarkable feat. Never judge a book........ I to was very concerned for her and thought her parents were insane letting her do it. BUT have also been following her trip. WELL DONE you GO GIRL!!!! She is one tough little cookie. Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted May 11, 2010 Share Posted May 11, 2010 I was so so wrong and she was so right. A true Aussie "I can do it and dont care what anyone else thinks" spirit. She isnt home yet though so fingers crossed. I watched a doco on the guy who paddled a canoe, almost all the way from Aus to NZ, sadly died within sight of land..... Back on topic, just goes to show girls can do anything... Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted May 16, 2010 Author Share Posted May 16, 2010 SHE MADE IT !!! Unbelievable achievement. A little girl who is not even old enough to drive a car across town has sailed solo, unassisted, non-stop around the world. In the words of one veteran Sydney to Hobart sailor." We thought we were tough. She makes us all look like Doris Day" Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Wow thats awesome! She is a true super star. These young entertainment stars are nothing on this girl. I wonder what her next goal is. INCREDIBLE feat. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted May 16, 2010 Author Share Posted May 16, 2010 She's such a little sweety too. I'd just like to give her a big hug.. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 And all the ozzie pm did was give her a "free driving lesson". Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 But a few good points have been raised - has she actually sailed around the world? Been reading up on this journey, hence why I haven't commented. An amazing achievement for someone so young. But to sail around the world, I thought you had to reach an opposite point to where you started? I.e. starting in UK, you had to reach tip of NZ or somewhere? Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Sorry Rob not sure what you mean - wouldnt that be 1/2 way around the world? She started on the east coast of Aus and finished there and crossed the equator if I recall correctly, isnt that around the world? http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/the-voyage Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 well it depends on whether she actually went AROUND the world. What was her route? Although still fantastic, but if she sailed up to the equator and back, thats not "around" the world is it? Also sailing to an opposite point on the world isn't "around" either, thats "across". Surely to be truely "around" you would have to sail to that opposite point and back again to the start?? Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Link to her journey is posted above TB. Not sure what else she needed to do.... Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 yeah I would class that as around the world.....well done! Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Well for example, the traditional circumnavigation from the UK is start in Portsmouth, the opposite side would be the North tip of NZ. Like this: Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 If someone where to sail around Antarctica, that would be around the world, but would you classify it the same as someone who followed the red line? Link to post Share on other sites
panhead_pete 27 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Im pretty sure one of the rules is that you have to cross the equator for it to count. If you do that its Gold. Whilst many great sea fairing ventures started from the UK in the past,you surely dont have to visit the mother country to qualify Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Didn't say you did, did I? It was just an example. There is a good article here about her journey. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted May 16, 2010 Author Share Posted May 16, 2010 Interesting article that Rob. Basically it boils down to a WSSRC definition of round the world sailing, in fact it all comes down to the distance travelled and the method calculated. Why the distance discrepancy? The different set of distance has popped up because media has been given Jessica's distance sailed by summing distances sailed from sat tracking or perhaps daily logs, therefore counting every zig and zag across the oceans. That of course has never been the way any sailing distances are calculated. Also interesting that the WSSRC doesn't even recognized Jesse Martins record either and wouldn't recognize Jess Watsons no matter how far she travelled. The WSSRC no longer recognizes the 'youngest' or 'oldest' in any area of sailing. The truth is, the word 'record' is being used less and less in the media because people aren't really interested in that. The focus is more on the achievement. Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted May 16, 2010 Share Posted May 16, 2010 Yep, which is an amazing achievement for her age. Link to post Share on other sites
Mantas 3 Posted May 16, 2010 Author Share Posted May 16, 2010 Somehow I don't think it will be the last we hear about that either. There's always controversy surrounding major events like this and the the old boys at the WSSRC are certainly entitled to their opinion. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted May 17, 2010 Share Posted May 17, 2010 I was fortunate this weekend. A mates birthday party on a party boat on Sydney Harbour was set to depart a few hours after she was supposed to get in - but due to her delay in arriving we were right there as little Jess arrived at the Opera House. Was quite exciting! Good for her! Link to post Share on other sites
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