Photo courtesy of Jessica Watson
16 year-old Jessica Watson is back on dry land after seven months at sea.
I can’t say I didn’t get a little verklempt when I watched video footage of Jessica Watson stepping off of Ella’s Pink Lady and into the arms of her family. They hugged and cried; she was gone, after all, for 210 days. Being that my interview with her in June of last year was my first ever, the story holds a special place in my heart, so it was especially touching to to see her complete her journey.
Departure: 17 October 2009 9:49 AM. Finish: 15 May 2010 1:50 PM.
32 cans of Spam, 64 cans of tuna, 32 cans of pineapple, 576 chocolate bars, and 290 freeze dried ready meals later, she can call herself the youngest person to sail solo around the globe. Only issue is, it won’t be recognized by the World Speed Sailing Record Council.
But ocean swells as big as 4-storey buildings didn’t faze her, and neither will this. In fact, her camp already knew this since the council discontinued its under-18 category after Jesse Martin, a fellow Aussie, broke the record in 1999 when he was 18. Her response:
Call me immature but I’ve actually been having a bit of a giggle over the whole thing. If I haven’t been sailing around the world, then it beats me what I’ve been doing out here all this time!
Why did she do it?
With all that time on the boat, she must have had opportunities for self-reflection. In her blog she talks about one, which came when she was about half-way around the world:
Photo: whatmegsaid
When I first dreamt of sailing around the world, the first thing that caught my attention, was curiosity about whether or not it was even something that was achievable.
It wasn’t so much the action and adrenaline parts that appealed to me, but thinking about all the details and finding ways to minimize the risks. I wanted to challenge myself and achieve something to be proud of.
And yes, I wanted to inspire people. I hate that so many dreams never actually become anything more than that, a dream.
I’m not saying that everyone should buy a boat and take off around the world, but I hope that by achieving my own dream, I’m showing people that it is possible to reach their own goals, whatever they might be and however big or small.
Although she would like to say that she didn’t do it to prove a point, it isn’t entirely true. Being brushed off in the sailing world based on her age and gender frustrated her. She knew she could handle certain tasks but wasn’t given the opportunity.
I hope that part of what I’m doing out here is proving that we shouldn’t judge by appearance and our own expectations. I want the world to know exactly what ‘little girls’ and young people are actually capable of!
Skepticism
If you haven’t followed her story, shortly after departing Brisbane on her way to Sydney to start the trip, she had a run-in with a merchant ship.
Photo: mikebaird
Basically, she got ran over. She wasn’t injured in the event, but her boat, Ella’s Pink Lady, sustained some damage. The critics’ voices became more vocal.
John Morrissey of the Australian Family Association said this:
I’m a secondary teacher and I’ve been teaching 15 year-old girls for 42 years and I’d be amazed if any of them could cope with something like that. I don’t know how closely they are shadowed…but on long-distance epic journeys like that there is a lot of isolation and it is normally people of 50 or 60 who have the sort of maturity needed to deal with it.
Bill Muehlenberg, secretary of the Family Council of Victoria, called the venture “irresponsible.” Furthermore, “it sounds fairly reckless indeed given that even old experienced sailors can get into a lot of strife.”
Some comments from the general public:
- “I saw this on the news last night and turned to my wife and said I bet this girl dies [doing], it.”
- “What a load of garbage. The kid should be given a clip over the ear, told to get into her room and do her homework and the parents should be told to get a responsible attitude or they will be taken to task by authorities. This is a disgrace.”
- “The family don’t have a TV – so this little girl will be quite unworldly-wise! Horrifying thought that a kid can go off alone in this day and age. Pirates abound for instance – hope someone steps in and offers her a companion to look after her.”
- “This is a no brainer. The parents should be counselled. How ridiculous.”
- “Sounds like a recipe for disaster. But don’t worry the Australian Navy will be more than happy to chase her around the world to save her hide, at our expense of course.”
Not a hero
One of the men greeting Jessica on her return was Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. In his speech, he referred to her as a hero. When Jessica took the mic afterward, she rebuffed the label, stating:
I’m an ordinary girl who believed in her dream, you don’t have to be someone special to achieve something big. You just have to have a dream, believe in it and work hard, anything is possible.
With her signing a $700,000 deal with Rupert Murdoch and securing other contracts, a book deal, a documentary, and merchandising, she will be left open to attacks from people insisting she, or her family, was in it only for the money and fame.
Photo: Jonas B
This is a shame.
For people to judge her and her family like this while fat cats around the world are getting rich off of other people’s work and we’re glued to the television watching American Idol and Big Brother — we should be discussing these issues, not questioning the motives of a teenager who dreamed big.
And that’s all she is. A young woman who wanted something so badly that she did everything in her power to make it a reality. I hope she gets everything she deserves.
Welcome home, Jessica.
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22 Comments... join the discussion!
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I think many people feel threatened by her. Rolf Potts talks about this in his book Vagabonding. Hearing these sorts of stories forces you to reflect on your own life and the decisions you’ve made (and perhaps ones you didn’t and now regret?). If you aren’t particularly keen on doing that then I guess it’s easier to either block it out or knock down the people who are actually out there living their own dream.
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That makes a lot of sense, Carlo. A lot of bitterness really comes out in those comments.
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She dreamt something and achieved it. If there’s something better than that in the world, I don’t know what it is.
Congratulations to her and everyone she inspires!
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Wow, some (…most) of the comments from the critics are downright horrible. That girl’s got cojones – good for her following her dream and acheiving her goal!
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Jessica Watson is a stud! You go girl!!
kinda makes you want to lift your gaze a little higher and think a little loftier.
i am officially inspired
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Wow, that’s such an inspirational story. If she can do that at 16 what will she be able to achieve in 10 years! The negative comments are shocking – there is never an excuse for stepping on someone´s dream.
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This is an incredible, unbelievable, and superb story! I can’t even imagine the experience that Jessica must have gone through…it certainly inspires me to get off my ass and make those dreams mean something to me!
Thanks for sharing this, it showed me that there are actually people out there that have the compassion to actually DO something with their lives.↵ -
Totally inspirational!!
And such a perfect example of how you’ll always hear voices of doom saying “No, don’t do it” when you’re doing something new and brave.
I was wondering the same as Erin. I can’t wait to see where she goes now. And if she gets buckets of cash for this sail around the world? Great! People are paid millions for all kinds of crap. Jessica has a real mission and purpose.
Oh, and Carlo. Loving that you got all verklempt. Great initial interview and follow up!
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Agreed and agreed and then some. She is an inspiration, and should be lauded as such. Not for sailing around the world at 16, but for managing to consume 32 cans of spam and living long enough to correct the Australian Prime Minister!
Welcome home, Jessica – and nice one!
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Indeed. I wonder, because surely there were times of boredom and experimentation, if she ever tried making choco-SPAM?
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inspirational! i’m glad she had the strength to follow through with her dreams despite all of the negative commentary and lack of support from many. i’m sure that her parents played a big part in supporting her and helping her accomplish this. it can be hard when you have a goal or a direction and no one else seems to understand why or how. it can be even harder when there is discouragement from people you thought would be there for you. i’m glad she was able to show that you can follow through
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I particularly enjoyed your closing paragraphs. It is an amazing story, but I’m not surprised there are critics. I suppose it depends on your exposure to different levels of maturity in teenagers; of course there are many who have encountered nothing but 16-year-olds who behave like 16-year-olds, but therein lies the flaw in our reasoning behind so many issues, from trying children as adults in court, to laws concerning statutory rape, to our standards as to whom we would want to date (e.g. a young person finding himself or herself closer in maturity and personality to a much older individual): maturity isn’t always dependent on age. Critics can call Jessica Watson a lot things, but to call her immature… well, that’s just stupid.
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So amazing! When I was 16 the most I ever did was threaten to run away from home and come back a day later when I didn’t know what to do with myself. I agree with Carlo’s comment above–Most critics are probably resentful that someone so young has lived out their dream when they perhaps have not.
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Those critics should be ashamed of themselves. I would venture to say that Jessica inspired a lot more young girls in seven months than the teacher did in 42 years. I would love to see the numbers on that!
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Well, doing this at the age of 16 and by a female…it’s unbelievable in my part of the world (pakistan/Asia)…I am 28, and recently planned to go to Kalasha festival (Chehlam Jusht), an indigenous community in the Himallian mountains, but couldn’t make kaz I was worried how would I manage to spent three days without electricity, gas, well furnished rooms etc….and this kid…she has been superb…in her thinking, and doings…and dreaming so big and achieving it..and I would give half the credit to her parents as well…kaz they have been groomed her to do so….and the last, but not the least…correcting the prime minister of the country…it’s like putting a cherry on the cake….and lastly I would say, forget about the critics…it’s what they can only do….Great job Jessica…
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Jessica should certainly be congratulated on making it back safely after such an achievement, but there was a degree of luck involved too.
You can make all the preparations in the world and still be caught out in life-threatening conditions any time you go to sea and i think this is what some of the naysayers were concerned about.
Thankfully she snuck though unscathed.On the other hand, veteran seadogs are going to be in just as much trouble if they’re dismasted in the southern ocean, so age isn’t that much of a factor when you’re at the mercy of the sea.
She took a risk and pulled it off.
Kudos, kid.↵ -
I’m about to cycle from Queens into Manhattan. I’ve mapped out a route and am going to be wearing a helmet. However, this won’t stop a car from hitting me or a rogue pedestrian crossing my path, but I’ll still do it.
Not quite the same scale, I know, but risk is inherent in everything we do in life. All we can do is be as prepared as possible. This just goes to show how much she really wanted it – knowing the great risks, having to go against all her critics – and at 16. I think she has maturity well beyond what many people twice or thrice (can I say that?) her age.
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i LOVED this story. and i completely agree with some of the earlier comments that people who crap all over your out-of-the-box dreams are just people who aren’t living their own lives to the fullest, in whatever way that may be. i live a pretty unconventional life, travelling a lot, living in other countries, and often people tell me how ‘brave’ i am and how they could ‘never do that’. i don’t get it! anyone can do anything they want! i don’t think i’m brave at all, i just know what makes me happy and feeds my soul, and i live my life accordingly. it sounds like Jessica takes the same approach. laugh in the face of dissenters! follow your heart! it’s the ONLY way to live fully.
cheesy quote to end this: “Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking”.
HT
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