Jessica Watson

Jessica Watson suffered from dyslexia as a child. When Jessica was 11 and her family were still living on their boat, her mother Julie read Jess Martin’s book Lionheart. Having struggled to excel at most things at this age, Jessica decided that she could do what Jesse did and sail around the world. 

Aged 13, she told her sister Emily she was going to sail around the world. She then told her parents, who initially just thought it was another teenager’s dream that would fade away. However, Jessica is no ordinary teenager. She sought advice, began researching solo circumnavigations, vessels and took every opportunity to sail when she could. Her years of preparation had begun...

Aged 15, after much persistence, Jessica was donated a 34 foot S&S yacht by fellow adventurer, Don McIntyre. Jessica then door knocked seeking sponsors and support so she could re-fit the boat to the proper specifications to sail around the world.

Jessica painted the boat pink and named her Ella’s Pink Lady, after her major sponsor, Ella Bache (skincare company).  During this time, Jessica oversaw the entire re-fit over four intensive months of preparation in an outback country shed

Finally, after years of preparation, Jessica and the boat was ready. On the first night of a sea trail sailing from Sunshine Coast to Sydney, Ella's Pink Lady collided with a 63,000-tonne bulk carrier and her boat was dismasted in the collision. She was able to retain control and return the boat to shore under motor.

It was an unfortunate incident where she could so easily have been killed. The media pounced and politicians sought to introduce legislation to ban her from continuing on her journey. The media were relentless.

However, Jessica maintained her composure, learned a lot from the incident, then set about repairing the damage. She was now more determined than ever to achieve her goal.  A month later, she was on her way again. The media were monitoring her every move. Her sea trial to Sydney was successful. However, the media were not aware of the technical issues Jessica faced on this sea trial, where she had to undergo complex repairs during the journey.

On 18 October 2009, she departed Sydney aiming to achieve her dream of sailing solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world. 

She was then smashed by hurricane force winds and 50 foot plus waves in the Atlantic Ocean in one horrific storm. Her boat was knocked down 4 times. On the third occasion, the rogue wave (believed to be approx 90 foot or more) picked up Ella’s Pink Lady and smashed her into the next wave, turning her upside down and 10 feet underwater. Jessica hung on for grim life during this eight hour storm!

After six months, she entered Australian waters again. It was front page news across the country. With only 4 weeks to home, Jessica then suffered two weeks of horrible lightning storms and massive waves. Right in her own backyard in the Southern Ocean near Tasmania.  The news of the storms spread and finally, the whole nation was willing Jessica home. She was so close, but yet so far, battling the turbulent weather.

As she rounded Tasmania, she made front page news again and the whole country now eagerly awaited her arrival into Sydney. What greeted Jessica in Sydney Harbour on 15 May, 2010, was a sight that she will never forget for the rest of her life. Neither will anyone else who was there! 

After having not seen a person for seven months and having viewed land in the distance on only three occasions during this time, Jessica was greeted by 1,600 support boats and over 100,000 adoring fans around the Harbour as she crossed the finish line. Jessica also had a national television audience in the millions following her last stage, as every major network in Australia broadcast the final four hours of her voyage to watch history unfold. 

As she docked at the Sydney Opera House, the country wept with pride. She walked up the pink welcome carpet, met the Prime Minister on stage and then delivered what many believe is one of the most simple, but brilliant and inspirational speeches of all time where she replied to the Prime Minister’s summary of her as our newest Australian hero:

“I would like to disagree with our Prime Minister. I do not consider myself a hero. I am just an ordinary person, who had a dream and worked hard at it. By sailing solo, non stop and unassisted around the world, I have proved that anything really is possible”.

It was an extraordinary performance, considering she had not seen a person in seven months.  She had captured the hearts of not only Australians, but millions of supporters around the globe as they cheered on the 16 year old Aussie, who had overcome the adversity and odds to achieve what many thought impossible.

It was Jessica’s writings during her voyage that seemed to captivate people. She  became a story teller and her fan base grew to the extent of having five million hits on her website when she sailed into Sydney.

Within three months of her return, Jessica wrote a book called “True Spirit” which told the story of her epic voyage. The book went straight to number one in Australia – another extraordinary achievement from the girl who suffered badly from dyslexia, only years earlier!

Jessica also filmed a documentary, which was narrated by Sir Richard Branson.

She was named Young Australian of the Year 2011 in January.

In March, she announced she would skipper the youngest crew ever in this year’s Rolex Sydney to Hobart campaign.

In May, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) appointed Jessica as a Youth Representative where she will help fight child hunger in Laos. 

Jessica Watson – she is an inspiring story that ultimately proves that we all have the power to live our dreams – no matter how small or big they are!