True Spirit: The Aussie girl who took on the world

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There are many people out there dreaming of great things…Believe and encourage them so they won’t lose one of humanity’s most prized assets—the ability to dream.” It's not perfect, it's not flowery, descriptive writing that drives you on an emotional rollercoaster. Jessica Watson's journey was interesting to read about because of her determination to complete her dreams. She set this goal when she was turning 13 and kept persevering and convincing her family and fiends she was capable. During her preparation their was a lot lot media reporting on her. Majority of the media were saying the Jessica's parents were mad for letting her attempt such a life threatening journey at the age of 16. 210 days after departing from Sydney Jessica returned in her trusty boat the pink lady proving the media wrong and making her family proud. Jessica showed true courage and perseverance. This is why she is one of my role models. They all had great advice and kept reminding me to have fun and enjoy every moment of my adventure, from the preparation to the end and each second in between.”

Did Jessica perform the tradition of dunking herself in salt water when she crossed the equator for the first time?Any age record is eventually broken…Ultimately, this wasn’t about a record—I was looking for a challenge.” I wasn’t sailing around the world to become famous…I wasn’t thinking it was a great way to make money…I was setting off on this epic trip to challenge myself, to see if I could do it, and to show others that it is possible to make a dream a reality. My family and I knew the risks involved, and we knew it was going to be a hugely demanding journey both physically and mentally. I had faith in the boat, my sailing abilities, and the support I had…I’d know soon enough if I had what it takes.” This book was smooth. It flowed smoothly from section to section, never once making me feel lost or rushed. Jessica's solo, nonstop, unassisted around-the-world journey took 210 days (approximately seven months) and she logged 24,285 nautical miles, though her officially recognized sailing distance was considerably less. She departed Sydney Harbour on October 18, 2009 and returned on May 15, 2010. It can get a bit confusing but throughout this book I have used miles to measure distances on land, and nautical miles to measure distances at sea.

Written in three sections, the first part covers Jessica’s family life, her relationship with her siblings and parents and how she came to sail. I found it interesting that the family grew up travelling in their family boat and for most part the children were home schooled which allowed plenty of time to learn practical outside classroom skills. A half-moon had risen, giving the sea a silvery sheen above the darkness below. After sunset, the still, glassy conditions of the afternoon had been blown away by a light wind from the west, and Ella’s Pink Lady was making good time under full sail with the mainsail, staysail, and headsail set. I couldn’t have asked for better conditions for my first night out. Watching Ella’s Pink Lady sail along at a steady 4 knots, I felt extremely proud of my cute little pink yacht. I contemplated the next few days before my circumnavigation. It was a beautiful night, and the thought of something going wrong was the farthest thing from my mind. In 2014, she gave a TEDx Talk called “Sail Away” which details all of the preparation that went into her voyage–from learning to stitch up sails to using the stars to navigate. In her most recent podcast appearance on the Australian podcast I’ve Got News For You, she also recounted her voyage and life. No, at least not on her round-the-world trip. "That happened on a sea trial," she clarifies. She did use a fork, having gotten the idea from sailor Jesse Martin, who forgot his brush when he circumnavigated the globe. The movie finds Jessica (Teagan Croft) taping two forks together and using that as a brush. The book then moved into the explaining all the gruelling boat preparations, fundraising and voyage planning before moving into the actual voyage. Whilst sailing, Jessica communicated with the outside world with a series of blog posts. Through these blog posts readers get a taste of Jessica experiences on the ocean and through her descriptive and exciting entries Jessica describes amazing and sometimes terrifying things and encounters. I was amazed at her practical thinking with fixing all problems that arouse and her mental toughness.

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What an awesome story! You may remember last year when there was a bit of controversy over a young (16years old) Australian girl wanting to sail solo, round-the-World. Well, True Spirit is her story. Watson and her family lived on a boat for several years and this was when she developed her love of sailing. She loved to read about sailors and their solo journeys around the World. At around age 14, she decided that she would like to become the youngest person to sail solo and unassisted around the World. This was her dream and for the next two years, her main focus. She spent all her spare time reading books, talking to the sailors, crewing for local yachties, and generally mentally preparing herself. Single-minded, determined and ultra focussed, Watson won many supporters who not only helped her to organise sponsorship but also to prepare and equip her yacht. Jessica Watson had a perfect way of describing her adventure that made me feel like part of it. I was invested in her journey.